Building Empathy Through Identification and Expression of Emotions: A Review of Interactive Tools for Children With Social Deficits

Abstract

This article is a review of available interactive aids designed to enhance the identification and expression of feelings in children.These skills are part of the overall development of empathy. The development of empathy, in turn, is crucial for social competence, social relatedness, and prosocial behavior. Improving these skills is likely to improve the social functioning of children. Children and adolescents with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, conduct disorder, and autism spectrum disorder demonstrated significant social deficits, which can influence the development of empathy. The goal of this article is to describe five interactive aids to foster empathy by teaching a more accurate identification of emotions and expression of feelings.

Play and Games

“…However, play behavior can be identified throughout adolescence and adulthood. These older ages are often neglected in research (Nicolopoulou, 1993;Van Vleet & Feeney, 2015), with the exception of digital games, which provide a rich and complex research area (e.g., in relation to addiction, violent or prosocial games; Connolly, Boyle, MacArthur, Hainey, & Boyle, 2012;Festl, Scharkow, & Quandt, 2013;Greitemeyer & Mügge, 2014;Maynard, Monk, & Booker, 2011).…”

World Health Organization life‐skills training is efficacious in reducing youth self‐report scores in primary school going children in Kenya

“…Life‐skills training helps children and young adults to develop skills for adaptive and positive behaviours and build the necessary psychosocial competencies for human development which enhance their abilities to effectively face the vagaries of everyday life (Mangrulkar, Whitman, & Posner, ; World Health Organization, ). Life skills such as: critical/creative thinking, effective communication, empathy, decision making, stress management, internal locus of control etc., have been shown to be mediators of positive behaviours in adolescence and adulthood such as positive social functioning, avoidance of drug use and risky sexual behaviours, anger management and improvement in academic performance(Dalgas‐Pelish, ; Lipman, Kenny, Brennan, O'Grady, & Augimeri, ; Mangrulkar et al, ; Maynard, Monk, & Booker, ). Recent review papers on school‐based psychosocial interventions show over 90% of all the studies were conducted in high‐income countries (HICs) (Browne et al, ; Calear et al, ; Coombe et al, ; Durlak et al, ; Elias & Weissberg, ; Greenberg et al, ; Haynes, ; McCraty et al, ; Payton et al, ; Sancassiani et al, ; Webster‐Stratton, Jamila Reid, & Stoolmiller, ) whereas less than 10% was done in LMICs (Baker‐Henningham, ; Barry et al, ; Fazel et al, ; Kieling et al, ; Klasen & Crombag, ; Kutcher & Wei, ; Morris et al, ; Patel et al, ; Weare & Nind, ).…”