Development of emotional literacy and empathy among elementary-aged Japanese children

ABSTRACT This study explored cross-sectional gender and grade level trends in emotional literacy and empathy among 634 elementary school children in Japan. Children were presented with hypothetical scenarios involving positive, negative, neutral, and mixed emotions, and identified the emotions that the characters were feeling and the intensity of their emotions. Three-hundred thirty fourth- through sixth-grade children also completed a self-report survey on empathy. Results were mixed. Grade and gender differences emerged in children’s ability to identify appropriate emotional expressions in the negative scenario but not in the other scenario types, grade and gender differences were found in the number and variety of emotion words identified, and grade but no gender differences were found in children’s ability to differentiate varying levels of perceived emotional intensity. In terms of empathy, gender but no grade level differences were found in empathy levels, and empathy and perceived emotional intensity were related. These grade and gender considerations may be incorporated in social-emotional learning curricula to enhance the utility of programs for diverse populations.