Preschoolers' peer preferences for observable empathy-related responses to others' emotions

Empathy supports early peer relationships, yet whether preschoolers use unfamiliar peers' observable empathy-related responses when making initial peer choices remains unclear. Guided by a functionalist perspective, the present research examined whether preschoolers' peer preferences are shaped by outward behavioural cues associated with empathy-related responding to others' emotional states. Across three primary (N = 64 each) and two follow-up experiments (N = 60 each), children watched puppet vignettes where peer characters displayed different empathy-related responses to another's emotional event. In Study 1, children chose a character who expressed concern and offered comfort after injury over a nonresponsive one. In Studies 2a and 2b, children preferred a distress-responsive character over joy-sharing and nonresponsive characters; this pattern held after removing the touch-based comforting cue. In Studies 3a and 3b, children chose an inquiry-based responder over either a distress-matching responder or a nonresponsive character; this pattern remained when the distress-matching display was less emotionally intense. Exploratory covariate checks revealed no statistically detectable associations with age, gender or individual empathy measures, though statistical precision was limited. Together, findings suggest that preschoolers use observable empathy-related response profiles when making initial peer choices, distinguishing both emotional context and response form within constrained forced-choice tasks.