Nurturing empathy, one tale at a time.
Developing empathy through storytelling
Antisocial behavior, which disrupts social norms and harms others, is a global issue with long-term consequences. Early intervention is crucial, as antisocial tendencies often begin in childhood. A key protective factor against antisocial behavior is empathy, which is the ability to understand and share feelings of others. Empathy plays a crucial role in promoting prosocial behavior and contributes to a society in which people help and support one another.
Storytelling can be a powerful way to stimulate empathy. This study investigates the potential of parental storytelling to foster empathy and prosocial behaviour in children aged 3 to 6 years. Over the course of eight weeks, parents engage daily in one of the following activities with their child:
- Reading empathy-evoking stories,
- reading neutral stories, or
- Exploring a search book together.
We will then examine how these activities affect oxytocin levels, parent-child interaction, empathy, and prosocial behaviour. A follow-up of two weeks will allow us to further explore prosocial development.
By focusing on strengthening empathy and prosocial behavior in early childhood, we aim to gain insight into how everyday parent–child interactions contribute to positive social development. In doing so, we hope to provide valuable insights for strategies that foster empathy and prosocial behavior, thereby contributing to a safer society.