  This paper describes an experimental evaluation aimed at detecting the users'
perception of the robot's empathic abilities during a conversation. The results
have been then analyzed to search for a possible relationship between the
perceived empathy and the attribution of mental states to the robot, namely the
user's perception of the robot's mental qualities as compared to humans. The
involved sample consisted of 68 subjects, including 34 adults and 34 between
teenagers and children. By conducting the experiment with both adult and child
participants, make possible to compare the results obtained from each group and
identify any differences in perception between the various age groups.
