Examining links between affective empathy,cognitive empathy,and peer relationships at the transition to school

The current study aimed to (i) examine associations across features of affective and cognitive empathy, and (ii) explore their independent role for children's peer relationships at the transition to school. Affective empathy was measured using both observations of children's facial affect during an empathy-eliciting event and dispositional affective empathy to peer distress via teacher report. Cognitive empathy was measured using an index of children's proclivity to engage in perspective taking when witnessing the distress of another. Children's theory of mind was also assessed given close links with cognitive empathy. Participants were 114 Australian children (M_age = 67 months, SD = 5 months) assessed across two sessions during their first year of formal schooling. Findings showed that features of children's affective and cognitive empathy were unrelated, but both showed independent associations with children's positive peer relationships (assessed via peer-reported social preference and teacher-rated peer social maturity). The current study provides support for the delineation between features of affective and cognitive empathy in early school-age children, and the importance of understanding both affective and cognitive empathy for children's peer relationships at the transition to school. These findings have implications how we understand both the nature of empathy in childhood and the role it plays in supporting children's positive peer relationships.     

修身、成圣与革命：五四时期道德主义者的激进化

五四运动后“救亡”与“启蒙”、“政治”与“文化”的交织与竞逐是我们理解中国近代史的一条线索。既有研究多将恽代英呈现为一个具有道德主义色彩和儒家伦理底蕴的五四知识分子，然而顺着这一思路，我们却难以理解他为何从温和的道德结社转向革命。本文认为，恽代英精神世界中的心学底色，以及他对青年会社会服务经验的借鉴，使他形成了与共产主义者相通的道德认知；道德结社的困境则促使他走向政党运动，以群众运动实践自己的道德理想。恽代英的早期经历为我们呈现了过渡时代具有儒学底蕴的知识分子面对现代政治秩序时的道德困惑，这有助于我们理解中国共产主义革命对德性的强调以及儒家中国的现代转化。