Youth's Empathy and Complex Thinking

Psychological science has not yet sufficiently examined the association between empathy and complex thinking among young people. Such a thorough examination would contribute not only to enriching the various conceptualizations both of empathy and complex thinking, but also to providing educators with new scientific tools enabling them to perform their educational role with greater competence. It is self-evident that the conceptualizations of empathy include most of the components of the conceptualizations of complex thinking (e.g., multiple perspective-taking, creativity, self-awareness, the acceptance of uncertainty and incompleteness, the ceaseless involvement in a constructive relationship with diversity). The relation between complex thinking and empathy, especially emotional empathy, is here examined within the context of youth's relationship with cultural diversity and through the analysis of some extracts from anonymous open-ended essays written at school by 79 pupils (41 F and 38 M) aged 14-18, where they expressed their attitudes towards multiculturalism in present Italian society. In particular, this study should contribute to helping educators understand the importance of fostering the development of high levels of youth's complex thinking so as to strengthen their capability of building a non-prejudiced, more autonomous, and complex outlook on their relationship with cultural diversity and diversity tout court.