Kids’ Brains

I found a recent study that suggests that children’s brains are programmed to elicit empathy upon seeing someone get hurt, accidentally or intentionally.  The researchers performed MRI scans on 17 children while showing them an animation of people getting hurt.  They found the same areas of the brain that light up in the adult brain were also activated in the children studied, including the area responsible for moral reasoning.

It is an interesting finding, but perhaps not that surprising.  I think anyone who’s worked with a large number of children believes not only that children are capable of empathy, but also most kids, regardless of their upbringing, are inherently good and decent people.   At least in the age range of the children of this study, who were between 7 and 12 years old.

However, therein lies the problem with this study’s main conclusion, in my view.  The researchers are suggesting empathy is hardwired, not taught, but they didn’t study any children of the age when you would be teaching them about empathy.  In a daycare, the three-year-old who hits their playmate is made aware of the fact that they’ve hurt their friend and asked how they would feel if their friend hit them.   Is that not teaching empathy?

It’s a good question as to whether the child is capable of responding to such reasoning because their brain is programmed to do so, or whether scolding the child in this manner is actually creating the wiring that will allow the child to respond empathetically later in life.  A question this study, unfortunately, does not address.