Empathy & Emotional Responsiveness

Recognizing, understanding, and appropriately responding to the emotional states of others.

Examples & Achievements

• Shows concern when a peer is hurt or upset ("Are you okay?")
• Offers comfort to a sad friend (pat on back, sharing a toy)
• Identifies how a character in a story might feel
• Adjusts own behavior in response to others' emotions (speaks softly when someone is sad)
• Begins to understand that actions can hurt others' feelings

How to Measure

• Spontaneously offers comfort/help to a distressed peer (observed 1+ times per week)
• Correctly predicts how a story character feels in 3 out of 4 scenarios
• Griffith Empathy Measure (parent report)
• Teacher observation of prosocial responses to peer distress