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Research suggests that development of empathy and resultant altruistic behavior in young children relies more on the cognitive component than the emotional or biological (instinctual) components. While some studies have identified the emotional and biological components of empathy in children as young as one to two-and-a-half years old, other research suggests that the extent of empathetic feelings, its continued development, and its transference into altruistic action is highly dependent upon the individual child’s learned behavior. Indeed, testing conducted on one to two-and-a-half-year-old children determined that all of the children showed an early capacity for concern for the welfare of other beings, but the level of concern seemed to distinctly correlate with how the parents taught and displayed empathetic behavior. The findings of this study were further supported by other research showing that young children are prone to emulating how their parents express nurturing care for or—inversely—discipline the family pet(s).

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