Behavioral and physiological correlates of children's reactions to others in distress.

This study examined the behavioral and physiological correlates of children's reactions to others in distress and the relation of these to dispositional helpfulness. Thirty-seven 3rd graders and 29 6th graders watched a film about a distressed child. Facial expressions, heart rate variability (HRV), and skin conductance (SC) were recorded during the film. An index of dispositional helpfulness was obtained from children's mothers. High HRV was predictive of children's sympathetic rather than distressed reactions. For boys, sympathetic responsiveness positively predicted dispositional helpfulness; for girls, SC was inversely related to dispositional helpfulness. It was concluded that children who are able to regulate their vicariously induced emotional responsiveness are relatively likely to experience sympathy and relatively unlikely to experience personal distress. How children react to others' negative moods and conditions has recently received increased attention from developmental and social psychological researchers (see Eisenberg, 1989, for recent reviews). One reason for this increased interest is that children's empathic responses to others in distress are assumed to be important mediators of their prosocial behaviors (Barnett, 1987; Batson Eisenberg Hoffman, 1982). The assumption generally is that a child who empathizes (e.g., experiences an emotional response that stems from and is congruent with another's emotional state or condition) or sympathizes (i.e., experiences feelings of sorrow or concern for another) with a needy or distressed other will be motivated to attempt to reduce the other's need or distress. In contrast, personal distress (defined as a vicariously induced aversive emotional reaction such as anxiety or discomfort) is viewed as inducing the self-oriented, egoistic goal of alleviating one's own distress. If this goal can be reached readily by avoiding further contact with the distressing stimulus person, the child experiencing personal distress will likely leave rather than help the needy other. In tests of these assumptions, supporting evidence has been found (see Batson & Oleson, 1991, for a recent review). The