Attachment Theory: In search of a relationship between attachment security and preschool children's level of empathy

Authors

Rebecca Knight, University of Plymouth

Document Type

Project Article

Abstract

The ability to empathise has frequently been advocated as the driving force behind pro-social behaviour. The tender and nurturing environment inherently provided by mothers of securely attached children, constructs an ambience which promotes the development of empathy and implicates the role of attachment theory in explaining individual differences in empathy. Investigated in 58 preschool children, using 8 pictorial scenes portraying four emotions – happiness, sadness, anger and fear, children were invited to rate emotions elicited for both the character and self. Results supported the main prediction that securely attached children would be more empathic than insecurely attached children (p < .001), thus indicating that the route for increasing pro-social behaviour may lie within the realms of attachment theory.

Publication Date

2011-07-01

Publication Title

The Plymouth Student Scientist

Volume

4

Issue

1

First Page

240

Last Page

258

ISSN

1754-2383

Deposit Date

May 2019

Embargo Period

2024-07-03

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/10026.1/13933

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

Knight, Rebecca (2011) "Attachment Theory: In search of a relationship between attachment security and preschool children's level of empathy," The Plymouth Student Scientist: Vol. 4: Iss. 1, Article 14.
Available at: https://pearl.plymouth.ac.uk/tpss/vol4/iss1/14