TY - JOUR
T1 - Emotion understanding, theory of mind, and prosocial orientation
T2 - Relations over time in early childhood
AU - Wilkens, Natalie
AU - Eisenberg, Nancy
AU - Kao, Karen
AU - Spinrad, Tracy
AU - Bolnick, Rebecca
AU - Hofer, Claire
AU - Kupfer, Anne S.
AU - Fabricius, William
PY - 2011/1
Y1 - 2011/1
N2 - Data were collected when children were 42, 54, and 72 months of age (Ns=210, 191, and 172 for T1, T2, and T3, respectively). Children's emotion understanding (EU) and theory of mind (ToM) were examined as predictors of children's prosocial orientation within and across time. EU positively related to children's sympathy across 2.5 years, and T1 EU positively related to parent-reported prosocial orientation concurrently and across 1 year (T2). T2 ToM positively related to parents' reports of sympathy and prosocial orientation concurrently and 18 months later (T3); in contrast, T3 ToM did not relate to sympathy or prosocial orientation. T2 ToM accounted for marginally significant variance (p<0.058) in T3 mother-reported prosocial orientation over and above that accounted for by T2 prosocial orientation. Fostering the development of EU and ToM may contribute to children's prosocial orientation.
AB - Data were collected when children were 42, 54, and 72 months of age (Ns=210, 191, and 172 for T1, T2, and T3, respectively). Children's emotion understanding (EU) and theory of mind (ToM) were examined as predictors of children's prosocial orientation within and across time. EU positively related to children's sympathy across 2.5 years, and T1 EU positively related to parent-reported prosocial orientation concurrently and across 1 year (T2). T2 ToM positively related to parents' reports of sympathy and prosocial orientation concurrently and 18 months later (T3); in contrast, T3 ToM did not relate to sympathy or prosocial orientation. T2 ToM accounted for marginally significant variance (p<0.058) in T3 mother-reported prosocial orientation over and above that accounted for by T2 prosocial orientation. Fostering the development of EU and ToM may contribute to children's prosocial orientation.
KW - Emotion understanding
KW - Empathy
KW - Prosocial behavior
KW - Sympathy
KW - Theory of mind
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=79951472944&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=79951472944&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/17439760.2010.536776
DO - 10.1080/17439760.2010.536776
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:79951472944
SN - 1743-9760
VL - 6
SP - 4
EP - 16
JO - Journal of Positive Psychology
JF - Journal of Positive Psychology
IS - 1
ER -