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ERIC Number: EJ880276
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0022-0965
EISSN: N/A
Children's Intergroup Empathic Processing: The Roles of Novel Ingroup Identification, Situational Distress, and Social Anxiety
Masten, Carrie L.; Gillen-O'Neel, Cari; Brown, Christia Spears
Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, v106 n2-3 p115-128 Jun-Jul 2010
Individuals often feel more empathy toward members of their own social groups than toward members of other social groups. However, individual factors contributing to this empathy bias remain largely unexplored among children. This study examined intergroup empathic processing among 94 children (mean age = 8.74 years, SD = 1.76) assigned to novel color groups. After 1 week in their group, children were interviewed to assess their ingroup identification and trait levels of social anxiety. Subsequently, a social threat was simulated, and children's feelings of situational distress and empathy bias for others who experienced the same threat were assessed. Findings indicated that, among children who reported more social anxiety and situational distress, those with a stronger ingroup identity displayed more empathy bias favoring their ingroup. Given that empathy is an important contributor to prosocial behavior, implications for children's intergroup relations are discussed. (Contains 1 figure and 3 tables.)
Elsevier. 6277 Sea Harbor Drive, Orlando, FL 32887-4800. Tel: 877-839-7126; Tel: 407-345-4020; Fax: 407-363-1354; e-mail: usjcs@elsevier.com; Web site: http://www.elsevier.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A