The prediction that empathy should function as an inhibitor of overt aggressive In h i 1 mj MI I" II." ln>l IN obtaining^experimenta^measu^g^^oê mpathy and^aachers' rating£jf aggressive^TehaviQ^^riforty 6-and 7-year-olds ana^TOy^ighn^anaTyear^l^s? in the older age group high empathy boys were significantly less aggressive than low empathy boys while the converse held for the younger boys. There were no significant differences between high and low empathy girls at either age level. The disparate findings for boys and girls are consistent with other data reflecting differential correlates of aggression in the two sexes. The contrasting relationship between empathy and aggression for boys at the two age levels appears to be a function of developmental changes in the role of aggression in social behavior.
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