UNAIR NEWS聽鈥 Recently, Indonesian people were shocked by the murder of an 11-year-old child in Makassar City, South Sulawesi.聽Sadly, the perpetrators of the murder were two teenagers aged 17 and 18.聽The two perpetrators admitted that they killed the victim because they were tempted by offers of selling organs via the internet at fantastic prices.
In this regard, a lecturer at the Department of Psychology, , Dr. Primatia Yogi Wulandari SPsi MSi Psychologist, reviewed the case from a developmental psychology perspective.聽In a live broadcast on Instagram account @ppdk.psikologi.unair entitled聽Discussing Child Murder Case and Organs Trade: Overview of Parenting and Empathy Development聽on Sunday, January 15, 2023, she explained the importance of instilling empathy in children as聽self-control聽from deviant behavior like the case in Makassar City.
“From the perspective of empathy, there is cognitive and affective empathy,” explained Primatia.聽Cognitive empathy, she continued, relates to the ability to understand the feelings of others.聽Meanwhile, affective empathy is closely related to聽guilt, guilt control, and聽conscience.
“But then the key, whether an immoral behavior is committed or not, it is more on affective empathy,” she said. Nevertheless, Primatia emphasizes the importance of balancing the abilities of the two types of empathy.
Primatia believes that the family has the most significant role in fostering empathy in children.聽鈥淚 think that family is the main key because after all, the child grows and develops in a family,” she explained.
Instilling this empathy cannot be done instantly.聽Therefore, parents must actively teach empathy to their children from an early age.聽鈥淭eaching empathy cannot be instantaneous.聽There聽is nothing instant in a child’s growth and development,” Primatia emphasized.
The cultivation of empathy is closely related to the stages of development, so the approach taken to children and adolescents will also be different.聽According to Primatia, children have innate empathy聽since they are babies, so it becomes a big enough capital to foster empathy in children.
鈥淭he way to hone it is by interacting within the family. Or, for example, we read fairy tales with pictures,鈥 said Primatia. Education through this reading material can also be accompanied by discussions regarding empathy using language appropriate to their age.
For children who have entered elementary school (SD), Primatia recommends that empathy be cultivated through dialogue between parents and children. “When there are social service activities, we can have a dialogue with the children. In my opinion, dialogues like this need to be emphasized so the child understands why they need to feel other people’s conditions and eventually be able to feel what other people are feeling, “she concluded. (*)
Author: Agnes Ikandani
Editor: Binti Q. Masruroh
