Culture of Empathy Builder: 
Video and Links:
Carolyn Zahn-Waxler
url
http://bit.ly/mY8trd
"Throughout her
career Carolyn has studied the origins and development of empathy
and caring behaviors beginning in the first years of life. These
longitudinal studies have focused on the role of genes,
temperament, family life and socialization experiences that foster
or impede compassion and altruism in children. She has also
conducted longitudinal studies on (a) the role of emotion in the
development of psychopathology in adolescents and (b) risk and
protective factors in the development of conduct problems."
Center for Investigating Healthy Minds
2011-06-11 -
TEDxGoldenGateED - Carolyn Zahn-Waxler
VIDEO
0:00 Origins of Compassion
Slide 1 Definition of Compassion:
Definition of Compassion: A deep
Awareness of others' suffering and desire to alleviate it.
Concern for others is already present in
the first years of life.
This is the time to teach and nurture
it.
great time of brain plasticity
1:40 Slide 2 Concern for Others
Empathic Emotions
Prosocial Actions
helping,
caring
comforting
defending
Cognitive Understanding
2:00 Concern for Others: Central Issues
3:20 - Empathy and how it developed
we share empathy with other animals
developed in response to the infants
mothers needed to learn to take care of
infants. (they need empathy to read the emotions of the infants.)
4:20 contagious crying
a new born cries, other infants that
hear it will start crying
they cry not just because the hear a
aversive sound, but because of the contagion effect.
there's a build in social quality in us,
that we pick up on the distress of others
this changes in the first year
5:15 Infants Concern for Others
6:30 Spontaneous helping behavior in 1-2
year olds.
story of parents in distress - child
helping
18 month old Child helps infant
Child contorts distressed mother
10:26 this is a time a lot can be learned
for empathy
11:15 Development of Empathy: Feelings and
Cognitions
3rd year life
Cognitive develops
Concern levels off
12:30 Concern for Others: Parenting and
Family Climate
There are things parents can do to heighten empathy in children/
Model the actions
Reward - not sure if it's so helpful
Teach
Discuss Feelings
Sensitivity and Warmth with Child
Family Affect and Low conflict
Depression and hostility parents
experience
Most important may be self compassion
Preschool Curriculum - Teaching
loving-kindness at University of Wisconsin