It would appear that the children in your life have more empathy than you may have imagined.
An inventive new study has endeavored to learn at what age humans begin to show emphatic feelings towards one another. And while your children may act rather selfishly from time to time, the chances are they actually possess a pretty good understanding of feelings and how to read the emotions of others.
Humans show empathy earlier than you may realize
In a study led by a group of psychologists at Ludwig Maximilians University, Germany, it was found that humans begin to show empathy at around the 18-month mark.
The research showed that in order to show empathy, one must first possess a knowledge of the self – meaning infants need to realize that they are their own person, separate from other people, before they can begin to feel emotion towards others.
This self-discovery usually occurs within the second year of living and is said to be the first step on the path to feeling and displaying empathy.
The study also found that the more sensitively a caregiver acts toward the needs of a child, the more likely the child will show empathetic traits at a younger age.
The infant empathy experiment explained
In order to uncover their findings, the Ludwig Maximilians team studied 127 pairs of mothers and their children, over a period of 18 months.
The children were observed at 6, 10, 14 and 18 months old and at each observation were monitored to see how they reacted to the emotions of others.
The children were shown another person reacting to a minor injury, as well as another person laughing – with their reactions to each closely monitored.
It was found that the ability to empathize with others is not an innate one, but rather a learned ability that humans develop through social interaction.
The importance of the study explained
Discussing how crucial it is for young children to feel empathy, Markus Paulus, Chair of Developmental Psychology and Educational Psychology at the Munich-based university said: “A child couldn’t survive without sensitive caregivers who act with empathic concern.
“Children learn from them how to deal with negative emotions. As a result, they are subsequently able to apply these lessons themselves”.
Paulus’ co-author added: “Empathic concern helps us respond appropriately to the distress of others. It motivates us to care for them”.
Though the study is not yet available to the public in full, you can check out a free summary of the findings here.
