Empathic Communication in Cooperative Play of 2 and 3 Year Olds

Abstract

Although empathy is the key to interpersonal relationships, it has been little investigated in children and partners. Empathy is considered a multidimensional construct with affective, cognitive and social components. The present study aimed to understand the construction of cooperative play through empathy in 2-3 year olds. The empathic phenomenon was inferred through behaviors that denote satisfaction, threat, dispute, reconciliation, comfort, among others, emphasizing its communicative role. Twenty children were videotaped in free interaction in a municipal public day care center. Data were qualitatively analyzed -microgenetic analysis of video recordings -and showed that although empathic communication is constitutive of cooperative coordinated play, it does not guarantee its accomplishment. Imitation is the most used strategy for a child to fit into an already structured play. The study empirically reveals the social dimension of empathy and highlights the relevance of investigating children in interaction with peers. Resumo:A empatia é fundamental para as relações interpessoais, mas pouco investigada entre crianças e parceiros. É considerada um construto multidimensional com componentes afetivos, cognitivos e sociais. O presente estudo objetivou compreender a construção de brincadeiras cooperativas por meio da empatia em crianças de 2-3 anos. O fenômeno empático foi inferido por meio de comportamentos que denotam satisfação, ameaça, disputa, reconciliação, conforto, entre outros, enfatizando-se seu papel comunicativo. Vinte crianças foram videogravadas em situação de interação livre em uma creche pública municipal. Os dados foram analisados qualitativamente -análise microgenética de videogravações -e evidenciam que apesar de a comunicação empática ser constitutiva de brincadeiras coordenadas cooperativas, ela não assegura a efetivação destas. A imitação é a estratégia mais utilizada para uma criança se inserir em uma brincadeira já estruturada. O estudo revela empiricamente a dimensão social da empatia e realça a pertinência de se investigar crianças em interação com pares de idade. Palavras-chave: empatia, interação social, intencionalidade, desenvolvimento do brincar Comunicación Empática en el Juego Cooperativo entre Niños de 2 y 3 añosResumen: La empatía es esencial en las relaciones interpersonales, pero poco se estudia entre niños y sus pares. Se considera un constructo multidimensional con componentes afectivos, cognitivos y sociales. El presente estudio tuvo como objetivo comprender la construcción de juegos cooperativos mediante la empatía entre niños de 2 a 3 años de edad. Se infirió el fenómeno empático mediante comportamientos que denotan satisfacción, amenaza, disputa, reconciliación, comodidad, entre otros, enfatizando su papel comunicativo. Se grabaron a veinte niños en interacción libre en una guardería pública municipal. Se realizó un análisis de datos cualitativo -análisis microgenético de las imágenes de video -, que apunta que los juegos cooperativos coordinados de los niños se basan en ...

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“…The way of socializing during play makes the child create bonds of relationship with the adult who accompanies him in that task and the environment that the child lives with and the resources used there can be considered useful tools to offer various stimuli for their development. 28,29 Figure 9 MicroNews -Exercise Tab. Within speech therapy, play is an effective and natural way to stimulate language development; it is possible to observe positive impacts after stimulation through playful games, in which the child can respond in the form of imitation, imitation of speech and even show communicative intent.…”

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“…The way of socializing during play makes the child create bonds of relationship with the adult who accompanies him in that task and the environment that the child lives with and the resources used there can be considered useful tools to offer various stimuli for their development. 28,29 Figure 9 MicroNews -Exercise Tab. Within speech therapy, play is an effective and natural way to stimulate language development; it is possible to observe positive impacts after stimulation through playful games, in which the child can respond in the form of imitation, imitation of speech and even show communicative intent.…”