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Empathy and social‐emotional learning: Pitfalls and touchstones for school‐based programs
Author(s) -
Maxwell Bruce,
DesRoches Sarah
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
new directions for child and adolescent development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.628
H-Index - 59
eISSN - 1534-8687
pISSN - 1520-3247
DOI - 10.1002/cd.274
Subject(s) - empathy , fallacy , psychology , equivocation , cognition , psychological intervention , simulation theory of empathy , emotional development , independence (probability theory) , cognitive psychology , social psychology , social change , epistemology , philosophy , statistics , mathematics , neuroscience , psychiatry , economics , economic growth
Abstract This chapter identifies three common pitfalls in the use of the concept of empathy in formal social‐emotional learning interventions: (1) not distinguishing between affective and cognitive empathy (“equivocation”); (2) overestimating the role of the imagination in empathizing (“Piaget's fallacy”); and (3) not accommodating the developmental and psychological independence of affective and cognitive empathizing (“the fallacy of the Golden Rule”). Using case studies of existing programs, the chapter offers guidance on how to avoid these errors in program design. © Wiley Periodicals, Inc.