Empathy Across Borders: Elucidating the Nature of, and Potential Contributing Factors to, Cultural Empathy in Early Childhood

• Project/Area Number: 24K16788
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 10010:Social psychology-related
• Research Institution: Hitotsubashi University
• Principal Investigator: 須藤 美織子 一橋大学, 社会科学高等研究院, 講師 (90990458)
• Project Period (FY): 2024-04-01 – 2027-03-31
• Project Status: Granted (Fiscal Year 2024)
• Budget Amount: ¥4,680,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,080,000); Fiscal Year 2026: ¥1,430,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥330,000); Fiscal Year 2025: ¥2,210,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,700,000、Indirect Cost: ¥510,000); Fiscal Year 2024: ¥1,040,000 (Direct Cost: ¥800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥240,000)
• Keywords: cultural empathy / early childhood / intercultural contact / social biases / egocentrism

Outline of Research at the Start

Given the rapid rise in intercultural contact, it is imperative to elucidate the nature of early cultural empathy, namely the ability to empathize with individuals from divergent cultures, as well as how this ability can be fostered from early in childhood. The proposed research will consist of experimental studies with young children to investigate (a) children's understanding that what is "normal" in their own socio-cultural context may not be generalizable to individuals from a divergent culture, and (b) potential contributing factors associated with greater cultural empathy in children.