AI-Driven Social–Emotional Learning: Enhancing Perspective-Taking Skills Through Scenario-Based Chatbot Dialogues in Early Childhood

Perspective-taking, a core component of early social-cognitive development, enables children to understand and coordinate their own viewpoints with the thoughts and emotions of others. As digital technologies increasingly shape early learning environments, interest has grown in their potential to support social–emotional learning (SEL). This study examined whether structured, scenario-based artificial intelligence (AI)–mediated chatbot dialogues were associated with changes in preschool children’s cognitive and emotional perspective-taking. An embedded mixed-methods design integrated a single-group pretest–posttest quantitative model with qualitative process analysis. Fifteen five-year-old children in Türkiye participated in twelve classroom-embedded chatbot sessions over six weeks. Sessions incorporated narrative prompts, emotion inference tasks, role-based reasoning, and guided prosocial problem-solving. Cognitive and emotional perspective-taking were assessed using the Early Childhood Cognitive Perspective-Taking Test (EBAT) and the Early Childhood Emotional Perspective-Taking Test (EDAT). Within-sample analyses indicated significant pre–post increases in both cognitive and emotional perspective-taking, with substantial standardized mean changes. Posttest emotional scores showed some clustering near the upper scale limit, suggesting reduced variability at follow-up. Qualitative findings highlighted children’s meaning-making and anthropomorphic interpretations of the chatbot, the mediating role of adult scaffolding, emotionally engaged narrative participation, and interactional constraints related to technological limitations. Findings provide preliminary evidence that structured, adult-supported AI-mediated dialogue may offer a context for rehearsing perspective-taking in early childhood. Results should be interpreted cautiously given the single-group design and modest sample size.