Relationships between empathy and executive function in preschoolers

Abstract

The current study examined relationships between hot and cool executive function (EF) and two stages of a threefold model of empathy: reactive empathy and regulatory empathy. Ninety-three preschoolers (53 girls, 40 boys, age range 36 to 68 months) completed a complex working memory task and a response inhibition task to assess cool EF, and a gambling task to assess hot EF. Empathy was assessed by asking preschoolers to care for a baby doll when it was happy and when it was crying. Results indicated a positive relationship between reactive empathy and hot EF, a negative relationship between EF and aggression, and inconclusive results as to a relationship between cool EF and regulatory empathy. Continued research should assess a greater variety of EF processes, use a wider age range of participants, and develop a more accurate method of measuring regulatory empathy.