JO URNAL O F APPLIED DEVELO PMENTAL PSYC HO LO G Y 7,219-224 (1986) zyxwvutsrqponmlk The Re la tio n Be twe e n No nve rb a l Ind ic e s o f Em p a thy a nd Pre sc ho o le rs’ Pro so c ia l Be ha vio r RANDY LENNON University of Northern Colorado NANCY EISENBERG AND JAMES CARROLL Arizona State Universiry In m o st o f the re se a rc h c o nc e rning e m p a thy a nd its re la tio n to p ro so c ia l b e ha vio r in c hild re n, p ic ture / sto ry ind ic e s o f e m p a thy ha ve b e e n use d . The re is re a so n, ho w e ve r, to q ue stio n b o th the ir va lid ity a nd the re sults o f re se a rc h find ing s b a se d o n the ir use . Thus, the p urp o se s of the present study were (a) to examine the re la tio n b e tw e e n p ro so c ia l b e ha vio r a nd p re sc ho o le rs’ sta te a nd tra it e m p a thy (O S m e a sure d w ith ind ic e s o f the c hild re n’ s fa c ia l a nd a e stura l re sp o nsive ne ss to a no the r’ s d istre ss), a nd (b ) to d e te rmine the a sso c ia tio n b e kve e n the c o m m o nly use d p ic ture / sto ry m e a sure of emoathv (Fe shb a c h and Roe’s 119681 Affe c tive Situa tio ns Test fo r Em o a thv [FASTi]) a nd b o th p ro so c ia l behavio; and ihe nonverbal ind ic e s o f e m p a thy. Thir$- five p re sc ho o l c hild re n’ s fa c ia l a nd g e stura l empathy was measured on two occa- sio ns; p ro so c ia l b e ha vio r w a s a sse sse d o n thre e o c c a sio ns; a nd the FASTE was a d m iniste re d to a ll c hild re n. The thre e ind ic e s o f fa c ia l/ g e stura l empathy tended to b e inte rre la te d and stable over a week’s time (with the exception o f g e stura l re - sp o nse s). Fo r b o ys, fa c ia l re a c tivity w o s re la te d to he lp ing o f tho se w ith w ho m the y had empathized. Fa c ia l a nd a e stura l e m p a thy, b ut no t FASTE sc o re s, were sia nifi- c a ntiy p o sitive ly related to a composite measure of anonymous p ro so c ia l b e ha vio r. Pe rfo rm a nc e o n the FASTE w a s unre la te d to fa c ia l/ g e sturo l e m p a thy, b ut w a s a sso - c ia te d w ith g irls’ p riva te d o na tio ns. Psychologists frequently have hypothesized that empathy (defined as an emo- tional response elicited by and congruent with the perceived welfare of another) (Batson & Coke, 1981) is an important mediator of prosocial behavior (Batson & Coke, 1981; Staub, 1978), especially in situations in which the other person is in need (Hoffman, 1982). However, in a recent meta-analysis, Underwood and Moore (1982) found that empathy is inconsistently associated with prosocial behavior in childhood. The authors wish to thank the teachers, parents, and children at the Child Study Laboratory for their assistance. Thanks are also due to Sarah Peterson and Cathy Knight for their help in the data collection and analyses. Correspondence and requests for reprints should be addressed to Randy Lennon, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, CO 80639. 219