Playfulness in Chinese preschoolers: the role of self- and other-oriented empathy and gender

Abstract

ABSTRACT The self-oriented and other-oriented empathy dimensions may have different relationships with playfulness. However, a scarcity of research exists on the association between empathy and playfulness. The present research contained two studies. Parents of 386 preschoolers (M age = 4.89, SD age = 0.79) attended Study 1, and teachers of 369 preschoolers (M age = 4.16, SD age = 0.83) attended Study 2. The parents and teachers completed the Chinese versions of the Children's Playfulness Scale (CPS-C) and the Chinese Empathy Questionnaire (EmQue-C). The results of these two studies revealed the pattern of associations between empathy and playfulness: while the self-oriented empathy dimension (i.e. emotion contagion) negatively predicted preschoolers’ playfulness, the two other-oriented empathy dimensions (attention to others’ distress and prosocial behaviour) positively predicted playfulness. Moreover, gender moderated the association between empathy and playfulness. These findings enhanced our understanding of the social and emotional traits of playful children.