ABSTRACT
In the study reported in the previous chapter, Goldberg-Reitman presented children with a sequence of cartoon pictures depicting simple stories in which a little girl encounters some sort of problem, one that a parent might be expected to assist her with. She then asked her subjects how they thought the little girl in the story felt, how they th ought the mother of the little girl would respond, why they thought she would respond that way and what they thought the mother was thinking and feeling. This paradigm is similar to the one that has been used extensively in the study of children’s empathy. In this research, children are often presented with simple cartoon sequences that tell a story. After the story is over, they are asked how the main character in the story felt, why he or she felt that way, and how the story made them feel themselves (Hughes, Tingle, & Swain, 1981).
