The purpose of the study was to examine associations between mothers' socialization practices in childhood and adolescence and offsprings' (N = 32, 16 female) sympathy/concern in early adulthood. Mothers reported on their socialization practices and beliefs a total of 6 times using a Q-sort during their offsprings' childhood…

Discusses research on the role of individual differences in emotionality and regulation in empathy-related responding (sympathy and personal distress). Links sympathy to intense emotionality and high regulation. Empathy-related responding is better predicted by a combination of emotionality and regulation than by either separately. Examples are…

The relation of prosocial behavior of 53 preschoolers to different modes of vicarious emotional responses was examined. Videotapes were used to elicit empathy, whereas vicarious emotional responses and defensive behaviors were assessed by means of self-report, facial, and heart-rate indexes. (SH)

Third and sixth graders were induced to experience sympathy and distress with procedures to examine: possibility that facial and heart-rate markers and self-report indices could differentiate sympathetic and distress reactions; age and sex differences in markers of response modes; relations of empathy, parental attitudes toward expression of…

Examines change in prosocial moral judgment over a seven-year period; determines whether there are gender differences in the development of prosocial moral judgment; and examines the interrelations of moral judgment, affect (sympathy), and behavior in middle childhood. (Author/RWB)