This review brings together some general findings on empathy that have emerged during the last decade of research with children. From a recent review of the research on social cognitive development (Schantz, in press), this paper responds to three specific questions: (1) What is empathy? (2) Under what conditions is empathy likely to occur? and (3) What types of judgements appear to be involved in an empathic response? The difficulty in conceptualizing empathy as something different from sympathy and projection, and the issue of empathy as a process or product, suggests that a more systematic "nomological network" is needed for the construct. That such a model has not evolved may be related to the fact that very little is known about the relationship of empathy to the ability to infer another's thoughts, capabilities, intentions, and perceptions. Given the importance in our society of prosocial behavioral development, it is particularly critical that more systematic investigation occur on the interrelationship between cognitive development and social behavior. (Author/PC)