{"title":"Empathy and Theory of Mind in Preschoolers.","authors":"Poline Simon, Baptiste Barbot, Nathalie Nader-Grosbois","doi":"10.1080/00221325.2025.2515142","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Empathy and Theory of Mind (ToM) undergo major development in preschoolers and help them in their social interactions. This study investigated (1) how affective, cognitive and behavioral empathy are linked with ToM relating to affective and cognitive mental states; and (2) whether subgroups of children could be differentiated according to their skills in these two domains. Mothers of 364 three-to-six-year-old children completed the French version of the Griffith Empathy Measure, Empathy Questionnaire, and Theory of Mind Inventory. The ToM Tasks Battery was also administered to children. A path analysis model showed positive relationships between distinct dimensions of empathy and ToM. Hierarchical cluster analyses identified four subgroups of cases, including one of children at risk of difficulties in empathy and ToM. This study emphasizes the importance of assessing these domains to detect children at risk and refer them to intervention programmes that target the development of these skills.</p>","PeriodicalId":54827,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Genetic Psychology","volume":" ","pages":"1-20"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7000,"publicationDate":"2025-06-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Genetic Psychology","FirstCategoryId":"102","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00221325.2025.2515142","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"PSYCHOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Empathy and Theory of Mind (ToM) undergo major development in preschoolers and help them in their social interactions. This study investigated (1) how affective, cognitive and behavioral empathy are linked with ToM relating to affective and cognitive mental states; and (2) whether subgroups of children could be differentiated according to their skills in these two domains. Mothers of 364 three-to-six-year-old children completed the French version of the Griffith Empathy Measure, Empathy Questionnaire, and Theory of Mind Inventory. The ToM Tasks Battery was also administered to children. A path analysis model showed positive relationships between distinct dimensions of empathy and ToM. Hierarchical cluster analyses identified four subgroups of cases, including one of children at risk of difficulties in empathy and ToM. This study emphasizes the importance of assessing these domains to detect children at risk and refer them to intervention programmes that target the development of these skills.
期刊介绍：
The Journal of Genetic Psychology is devoted to research and theory in the field of developmental psychology. It encompasses a life-span approach, so in addition to manuscripts devoted to infancy, childhood, and adolescence, articles on adulthood and aging are also published. We accept submissions in the area of educational psychology as long as they are developmental in nature. Submissions in cross cultural psychology are accepted, but they must add to our understanding of human development in a comparative global context. Applied, descriptive, and qualitative articles are occasionally accepted, as are replications and refinements submitted as brief reports. The review process for all submissions to The Journal of Genetic Psychology consists of double blind review.
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