Exploring Empathy Assessment in a Role-Play Format within Indian Context

This paper proposes replacing static empathy assessment instruments with open-ended role-play activities, arguing that games can make the assessment of children's empathy more engaging and reliable than traditional self-report questionnaires and behavioral observation tools. The authors ground their rationale in the established developmental value of empathy for reducing aggression, supporting problem-solving, and aiding emotional regulation, while noting that conventional measures can be difficult for young respondents and often require specialized training to administer well. The work is positioned at the intersection of game studies, childhood development, and social-emotional learning, and it is framed as exploratory rather than conclusive.

The methodological core adapts the KEDS Empathy Scale, which uses a picture of children playing with one child excluded, by substituting a role-play activity in which participants have agency over the scenario and their actions, followed by the scale's seven standard questions. A pilot study involved two groups of eight college students at an Indian university in Kerala, one playing collaboratively through a charades-style emotion exercise and one playing competitively in split teams. The authors report enthusiasm and engagement among participants, along with some confusion about the competitive activity's outcome, but they do not present quantitative findings and state that pilot data analysis is ongoing. The sample is small, drawn from adults rather than children, and confined to a single cultural setting.

The paper's contribution is largely a set of open research questions for the games community, including whether collaborative or competitive formats yield better insight, which behavioral signals should complement verbal responses, how group dynamics can reveal empathy without facilitator interruption, and how scenarios should be adapted across age, gender, and cultural contexts. It also highlights the gap in empathy instruments developed in Western countries and their limited transferability to regions such as India, Nigeria, and China. The authors plan a full follow-up study and further cross-national game design work with children.