Stability and change in longitudinal patterns of antisocial behaviors: The role of social and emotional competencies, empathy, and morality

Empathy's Crucial Role: Unraveling Impact on Students Bullying Behavior - A Scoping Review

Bullying behavior among students is a serious problem in the educational context and has an impact on victims and perpetrators. Bullying has serious impacts, both emotionally and psychologically, especially for victims who are vulnerable to stress, depression, and even in extreme cases, can lead to suicidal tendencies. Empathy is a key factor in responding to bullying situations. So empathy is an important aspect in reducing bullying behavior. The aim of this research is to explore the role of empathy in bullying behavior in students. The scoping review method was used in this research. The keywords used are empathy, bullying, and students. Search for articles in three databases, namely CINAHL, PubMed, and Scopus. The inclusion criteria in the article search were samples are students (elementary schools students until high schools students) English language, discussion of empathy, publication of articles in the last 10 years (2014-2023), and original research. Grey literature excluded in this scoping review. Data analysis using thematic analysis. The authors found 13 articles that discussed the influence of empathy on bullying behavior in students. Findings from the articles analyzed highlight the complexity of the interactions between affective and cognitive empathy and students behavior in the context of bullying. Students with high levels of empathy tend to be more active in defending victims of bullying, while low levels of empathy tend to reinforce bullying behavior or passive bystander attitudes. Intervention programs that include social and emotional skills training, awareness campaigns, and learning approaches that promote tolerance and respect for diversity can have the potential to reduce the incidence of bullying in students. Increasing understanding and empathetic responses can be an effective strategy in addressing bullying problems in schools and communities.

Moral disengagement and empathy in cyberbullying: how they are related in reflection activities about a serious game

Cyberbullying is a complex phenomenon with multiple factors involved, both contextual and individual factors, such as moral disengagement and empathy. This study investigated how moral disengagement and empathy could be related, longitudinally in cyberbullying events. Specifically, two gamified tasks (one for empathy and other for moral disengagement) were analyzed. These tasks were developed attending to the specificities of the cyberbullying scenarios presented in a serious game. To accomplish this goal, data from gamified tasks (N = 208), from 4 different moments, were analyzed through multilevel linear modeling. Results suggested that there was a change in adolescents' moral disengagement over time. Participants with greater empathy revealed lower moral disengagement overall. Over time, adolescents with greater empathy revealed lower moral disengagement within their own growth rate. Overall, our results provide important information about the dynamic relationship between moral disengagement, empathy and cyberbullying, which informs future studies and interventions.

Effects of Workplace Ostracism on Pro-Job Unethical Behavior: The Role of Moral Disengagement, Interpersonal Sensitivity and Self-Serving Political Will

Drawing on social cognition theory, this study aims to investigate the impact of workplace ostracism on pro-job unethical behavior by studying the mediating function of moral disengagement and the moderating function of interpersonal sensitivity and self-serving political will. Data were congregated from 527 Chinese employees. A positive effect of workplace ostracism on pro-job unethical behavior was found, which was partially mediated by moral disengagement. In addition, interpersonal sensitivity strengthened the connection between workplace ostracism and moral disengagement, and self-serving political will strengthened the connection between moral disengagement and pro-job unethical behavior. Both theoretical and practical value are discussed in the study.

The indirect effect of compassion on katagelasticism: the mediatiang role of moral disengagement and the moderating effect of intolerance of uncertainty

The junction between moral psychology, humor, and some specific personality variables (i.e., uncertainty intolerance and compassion toward others) has been a neglected field of study. The present research explored the role of moral disengagement and intolerance of uncertainty in the relationship between compassion and katagelasticism. The sample was formed by 763 adults aged 18 to 70 (M = 24.62, SD = 8.29, 73.9% women). The findings suggested significant negative associations between compassion and moral disengagement and positive correlations between katagelasticism, moral disengagement, and intolerance of uncertainty. Furthermore, moral disengagement mediated the link between compassion and katagelasticism, while intolerance of uncertainty moderated the link between compassion and moral disengagement. Significant gender differences were also suggested concerning all our study's primary variables, with women scoring higher in the compassion and intolerance of uncertainty and significantly lower than men in the moral disengagement and katagelasticism dimensions. The results are discussed regarding their theoretical and practical implications related to moral disengagement and the underlying personal factors.