‘Putting oneself in someone else's shoes during childhood: How to learn it’ Training for preschool age children

Abstract

BackgroundPerspective taking, defined as the aptitude to understand the cognitive, affective, and visual point of view of others, represents a fundamental social ability for the development of socio‐cognitive and affective skills.AimsThe aim of the present study was to evaluate the possibility of promoting perspective taking in typically developmental preschoolers using an evidence‐based training procedure.Sample and MethodThe research used a pre‐test/post‐test quasi‐experimental design in which 206 typically developmental preschoolers (104 males and 102 females) were categorized into the experimental or the control group. In order to try to improve perspective taking, we proposed an evidence‐based ecological intervention inside the kindergarten in which children, in small groups, were involved in activities such as storytelling, discussion, drawing, and dramatization. We measured the perspective taking ability through several tests and prosocial behaviour through repeated ecological non‐participant observations both before and after the training. The training, which lasted 15 days, was subdivided into nine different sessions, each lasting 45 min, and involved small groups of 6–7 children. Before and after the training, each child completed nine perspective taking tasks (three tasks for each perspective taking dimension) and was observed three times, each one for 45 min, on different days.ResultsResults showed a significant increase in perspective taking scores after training in the experimental condition relative to the control condition, supporting the possibility of promoting perspective taking ability in preschoolers. An increase in prosocial behaviour after training was also observed in the experimental group as compared with the control group.ConclusionIn conclusion, these results suggest it is possible to improve perspective taking in preschoolers, also promoting prosocial abilities.

Perspective Taking Ability in Psychologically Maltreated Children: A Protective Factor in Peer Social Adjustment

“…Two of them are visual-perceptual tasks ( Flavell et al, 1981 ; Mori and Cigala, 2019 ): children were shown two tables featuring the same sketch/image on both sides, but with a different detail; the challenge was to consider both points of view. The third test is represented by a modified and adapted version of the “policeman task” ( Hughes and Donaldson, 1979 ; Mori and Cigala, 2019 ) consisting of a three-dimensional model in which the child’s task is to simulate the game of hide-and-seek, placing a character in such a way that the other character cannot see. The scene is presented so that the child’s point of view does not coincide with the characters’ point of view.…”

“…Prosocial behavior and aggressiveness were investigated through direct non-participant observations by means of an observation grid, created on the basis of prosocial behaviors assessment code systems ( D’Odorico et al, 2000 ; Roche Olivar, 2002 ; Bergin et al, 2003 ; Cigala et al, 2015 ; Mori and Cigala, 2019 ). Observations were conducted in the kindergarten attended by children in three different 45-min sessions on different days during lunch and in moments of free play both before and after lunch.…”

“…To verify whether the enhancement of the visual, affective, and cognitive perspective taking ability in the group of maltreated children following a specific training could improve social adjustment in terms of prosocial and aggressive behaviors among peers in the school context. The hypothesis was that after the training, there would be an increase in perspective taking abilities (visual, cognitive, and affective); moreover, the advancement of perspective taking was associated with an increased frequency of prosocial behavior and a reduction in aggressiveness ( Cigala et al, 2015 ; Mori and Cigala, 2019 ).…”

A proszociális viselkedések egyes altípusainak vizsgálata és fejlesztése intézményes környezetben kiscsoportosok körében

“…Ennek részeként egy mesealapú fejlesztő programot dolgoztam ki, mivel korábbi kutatások (pl. Grazzani et al 2016;Mori & Cigala, 2018) igazolták, hogy a proszociális viselkedés különböző pszichikus elemeinek (pl. nézőpontváltás, érzelemmegértés) fejlesztése mesékkel is megvalósítható, így a módszert alkalmasnak tekintettem a segítő jellegű viselkedési formák fejlesztő kísérletéhez.…”

“…A (1) kognitív nézőpontváltás esetén az egyén képes értelmezni a másik személy gondolatait, motivációját és szándékait (Baron-Cohen, 2001), a (2) vizuális nézőpontváltás a térbeli elhelyezkedés különböző nézőpontjainak értelmezését teszi lehetővé (Moll & Meltzoff, 2011), míg az (3) affektív nézőpontváltás segítségével az egyén a másik érzelmi állapotát tudja értelmezni, ami az empátia egyik legfőbb alapjának tekinthető (Hinnant & O'Brien, 2007). A nézőpontváltás és a proszociális viselkedés között szoros kapcsolat mutatható ki, minél jobb nézőpontváltó valaki, annál gondoskodóbb, segítőkészebb másokkal szemben (Cigala, Mori, & Fangareggi, 2015;Mori & Cigala, 2018). Empátiás törődés esetén arról kapunk információkat, hogy az egyén hogyan képes törődni mások problémáival (Davis, 1980;Gáspár & Kasik, 2015).…”