Press release
New Study Shows That Playing With Dolls Allows Children to Develop Empathy and Social Processing Skills
Barbie® and neuroscientists from Cardiff University have collaborated on a new study which for the first time uses neuroimaging as evidence to explore the
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[{"type":"text","content":"\nBarbie® and neuroscientists from Cardiff University have collaborated on a new study which for the first time uses neuroimaging as evidence to explore the effects of doll play\n\n\nEvidence shows that doll play activates brain regions which are associated with social information processing and empathy, indicating that doll play enables children to rehearse, use and perform these skills even when playing on their own\n\n\n\nOther findings show that doll play allows children to develop empathy and social processing skills more so than solo tablet play, even when playing by themselves\n\n\n\nTo understand the relevancy of the study, Barbie independently commissioned a global survey in 22 different countries questioning 15,000 parents which showed 91 percent of parents rank empathy as a key social skill they would like their child to develop, but only 26 percent were aware that doll play could help their child develop these skills\n\n\n\nToday Barbie launches an online hub featuring resources for parents, caregivers, and children, to support them in their social processing skills which has been developed alongside leading empathy expert, writer, and educational psychologist, Dr. Michele Borba\n\n\n EL SEGUNDO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--\n(NASDAQ: MAT): Today, Barbie®, and a team of neuroscientists from Cardiff University, announces findings of a new study conducted using neuroscience for the first time to explore the positive impact doll play has on children, bringing to light new evidence that doll play activates brain regions that allow children to develop empathy and social information processing skills, even when playing by themselves.\nThis press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201001005413/en/NEW STUDY SHOWS THAT PLAYING WITH DOLLS ALLOWS CHILDREN TO DEVELOP EMPATHY AND SOCIAL PROCESSING SKILLS (Photo: Business Wire)\nOver the past 18 months, senior lecturer Dr. Sarah Gerson and colleagues at Cardiff University’s Centre for Human Developmental Science have used neuroimaging technology to provide the first indications of the benefits of doll play at a brain level. Through monitoring the brain activity of 33 children* between the ages of 4 and 8, as they played with a range of Barbie dolls, the team found that the posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS), a regi...