Playing with dolls develops empathy. Free Technical Library News

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Playing with dolls develops empathy

03.12.2020

Psychologists at Cardiff University (UK) conducted a study that confirmed that playing with dolls contributes to the development of empathy in children. Even if the child plays alone, he masters the skills of processing social information.

Empathy is a complex concept that includes the ability to determine the needs and desires of other people, to build one's own behavior accordingly, to interact, taking into account the interests of others, to take other points of view and resolve conflicts.

The problem of developing social skills in children came to the fore in 2020 due to forced quarantine. Since the spring of 2020, the population of most countries has been in a situation of isolation, children have lost the usual opportunity to communicate with their peers, go to kindergarten and school. In the survey already mentioned, more than 70% of parents admitted that they were concerned about how the lockdown and life "locked down" could affect younger family members and their ability to socialize. 74% of those surveyed said they were willing to encourage children to play with toys if they realized that these activities will help the child develop social and emotional skills.

Psychologists at Cardiff University have found out how the development of emotional intelligence is related to the nature of the games children play. A total of 42 children (20 boys and 22 girls) took part in the study. They were divided into four groups, and each had a different activity: playing with dolls on their own, playing with dolls with another person (research worker), playing on a tablet alone, and playing on a tablet with another person (research worker).

All the time that the children played, they were wearing special "hats" with sensors using fNIRS technology. The sensors trigger light signals that determine the level of hemoglobin flow in different parts of the brain. If the level of hemoglobin in any of the areas rises, then the area is currently working more actively. The children were offered various sets to play under the conditional names "Family", "Animals" and "Dream House".

Using this technique, it was possible to establish that playing with dolls - both in boys and girls to the same extent - activates exactly the area of the brain that is responsible for the perception and processing of social information, empathy and, consequently, emotional intelligence.

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