Objective.

The study of social cognition provides neuroscientific evidence showing that the theory of mind (ToM) fosters empathy through the attribution of emotions and the understanding of the emotional state of others. This work aims to characterize empathy and ToM in children and adolescents, analyzing whether there is a differential interaction between both processes, according to the stage of development.

Method.

A correlational study with transversal-correlational design was employed. A non-probabilistic sample of 168 participants (61 children and 107 adolescents) were used in the study. The Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) and the Reading the Mind in the Eyes's Test were used.

Results.

According to the stage of development, statistically significant differences were found in the subscale Empathic Concern (t = -3,53, p = 0.001) and in Reading the Mind in the Eye's (t = -2.94, p = 0.004) in favor of adolescents, no differences between groups with respect to the IRI's cognitive scales (t = 1.07, p = 0.82; t = -0.04, p = 0.96) were found. Regarding the relation between social cognitive processes, a positive correlation between empathy and ToM in children (r = 0.24, p = 0.54), and a negative correlation in adolescents (r = -0.19, p = 0.49) was found.

Conclusion.

The results provide evidence in favor of the functional complementarity of cognitive empathy and ToM in childhood, but not in adolescence, a stage in which these processes seem to begin to function with greater independence.

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