Empathy and group processes in Japanese preschool children: The odd one out among friends receives less empathic concern than out-groups

Abstract

Research on empathy in intergroup contexts among children in collectivistic cultures is limited. To address this gap, this study examined empathic responding in two group contexts (intergroup and intragroup) among Japanese children by taking into account the collectivistic cultural context. Children aged 4 to 6 years participated in an experimental session (N = 50, Mage = 65.11 months). They listened to two versions of narratives about children of their age who were saddened because of a nasty wind that had blown their sand mountains away. The group membership and in-group status of the characters were manipulated. In the task, children rated the extent to which the characters were feeling sadness (affective perspective taking) and indicated the number of stars (empathic concern) for the characters. Age-related differences were found, with older children showing more affective perspective taking than younger children. Children of all age groups tended to express less empathic concern for the odd one out among friends (a loner in the group) than for the majority. Findings suggest that empathic responding is in part shaped by socialization, and cultural variations in empathy may emerge early in life.