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Sun B, Luo Z, Zhu X, Shao Y, Zhang W, Qin G, Lin S, Wan S. Lack of Interaction Motivation in Older Adults Automatically Reduces Cognitive Empathy. Exp Aging Res 2024; 50:225-247. [PMID: 38192191 DOI: 10.1080/0361073x.2023.2168990] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2022] [Accepted: 01/11/2023] [Indexed: 02/24/2023]
Abstract
Empathy, the ability to understand and respond to the experiences of others, is an important skill for maintaining good relationships throughout one's life. Previous research indicated that emotional empathy remained stable or even increased in older adults compared to younger adults, while cognitive empathy showed age-related deficits. Based on the selective engagement hypothesis, this deficit was not caused by a decline in cognitive functioning, but by a lack of willingness to judge the target person's emotions more precisely, that is, by a lack of interaction motivation. In order to provide more evidence on the causes of empathic aging in older adults, the current study investigated the influence of interaction motivation on empathy in older adults in an Eastern cultural context (China) based on the selective engagement hypothesis. This study used older adults and younger adults as subjects. Through two experiments, empathy was measured by the multiple empathy test (Experiment 1) and film tasks (Experiment 2); at the same time, use accountability instructions (Experiment 1), the age-related events (Experiment 2) to manipulate interaction motivation. The results showed that emotional empathy was significantly higher in older adults than in younger adults, regardless of whether interaction motivation was elicited. In terms of cognitive empathy, when there is no motivation, the cognitive empathy of older adults is significantly lower than that of younger adults. When the interaction motivation is stimulated, the cognitive empathy of older adults is no less than that of younger adults. This suggested that empathic aging in older adults was not a permanent decline in cognitive empathy, but rather a decline in interaction motivation, supporting the selective engagement hypothesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Binghai Sun
- College of Teacher Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China
- Research Center of Tin Ka Ping Moral Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, Zhejiang, China
| | - Zhenbing Luo
- College of Teacher Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China
| | - Xiaoyu Zhu
- College of Teacher Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China
| | - Yuting Shao
- College of Teacher Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China
- Research Center of Tin Ka Ping Moral Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, Zhejiang, China
| | - Wenhai Zhang
- College of Teacher Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China
- Research Center of Tin Ka Ping Moral Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, Zhejiang, China
| | - Guihua Qin
- College of Teacher Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China
- Research Center of Tin Ka Ping Moral Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, Zhejiang, China
| | - Shuwei Lin
- Key Laboratory of Intelligent Education Technology and Application of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China
| | - Simin Wan
- Key Laboratory of Intelligent Education Technology and Application of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China
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Jin J, Ikeda H. The Role of Empathic Communication in the Relationship between Servant Leadership and Workplace Loneliness: A Serial Mediation Model. Behav Sci (Basel) 2023; 14:4. [PMID: 38275346 PMCID: PMC10812758 DOI: 10.3390/bs14010004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2023] [Revised: 12/10/2023] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Researchers have increasingly concentrated on loneliness in the workplace as a crucial factor influencing the mental health of employees and the viability of telework. In contrast, the current understanding of the strategies mitigating workplace loneliness and how leaders utilize their behaviors to impact followers' loneliness remains limited. Since servant leadership values the emotional needs of followers and displays a high level of empathy, this study investigated the direct and indirect effects of servant leadership on workplace loneliness. In this study, 267 employees (mean age = 31.5 years) from 28 provinces in China were recruited to participate in this survey. We proposed that servant leaders motivate their own empathic communication and other followers' empathic communication to reduce lonely followers' workplace loneliness. This research further examined the relationship between the leader's and colleagues' empathic communication, and the two jointly mediate the connection between servant leadership and followers' workplace loneliness. We constructed a serial mediation model to examine the relationships between servant leadership, leader's empathic communication, colleagues' empathic communication, and workplace loneliness. The results indicate that servant leadership creates a cycle of empathy and provides insights into building a culture of empathy to improve employee well-being.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiaying Jin
- Graduate School of Human-Environment Studies, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 8190382, Japan
| | - Hiroshi Ikeda
- Faculty of Human-Environment Studies, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 8190382, Japan
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Stutesman MG, Frye DA. Affective Theory of Mind in Late Adulthood: The Role of Emotion Complexity and Social Relatedness. Exp Aging Res 2023; 49:472-500. [PMID: 36284488 DOI: 10.1080/0361073x.2022.2137359] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2021] [Accepted: 10/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Age-related declines in adult affective theory of mind (AToM) have been discovered. However, AToM measures have not accounted for emotional state complexity involved in AToM. Measures have also not accounted for different types of relationships - friends versus strangers - for which AToM is employed, which is important considering the limited social networks of aging adults. OBJECTIVE We address these issues and examine the emotion complexity, social-relatedness, and contextual relevance in AToM across adult ages (18-89 years) using a new task and two well-established measures. RESULTS The new task displayed good structural fit and internal construct validity. Overall, an age-related decline in AToM was found along with an interaction between age and emotion complexity. For all ages, AToM performance was best for complex emotions. However, as age increased, there was more rapid decline in AToM for more complex emotions than for less complex ones. Surprisingly, AToM performance for strangers was better than for social companions. CONCLUSION The findings suggest age-related AToM declines are more nuanced than previously understood given that adult age differences are related to emotional state complexity. They indicate that the emotion complexity levels of basic, complex, and self-conscious should be included in AToM assessments. Implications for AToM tasks and development are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan G Stutesman
- Department of Psychology, 3F5, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, 22030, USA
| | - Douglas A Frye
- Department of Psychology, 3F5, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, 22030, USA
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Dziura SL, Hosangadi A, Shariq D, Merchant JS, Redcay E. Partner similarity and social cognitive traits predict social interaction success among strangers. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2023; 18:nsad045. [PMID: 37698369 PMCID: PMC10516339 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsad045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2023] [Revised: 07/02/2023] [Accepted: 09/07/2023] [Indexed: 09/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Social interactions are a ubiquitous part of engaging in the world around us, and determining what makes an interaction successful is necessary for social well-being. This study examined the separate contributions of individual social cognitive ability and partner similarity to social interaction success among strangers, measured by a cooperative communication task and self-reported interaction quality. Sixty participants engaged in a 1-h virtual social interaction with an unfamiliar partner (a laboratory confederate) including a 30-min cooperative 'mind-reading' game and then completed several individual tasks and surveys. They then underwent a separate functional MRI session in which they passively viewed video clips that varied in content. The neural responses to these videos were correlated with those of their confederate interaction partners to yield a measure of pairwise neural similarity. We found that trait empathy (assessed by the interpersonal reactivity index) and neural similarity to partner both predicted communication success in the mind-reading game. In contrast, perceived similarity to partner and (to a much lesser extent) trait mind-reading motivation predicted self-reported interaction quality. These results highlight the importance of sharing perspectives in successful communication as well as differences between neurobiological similarity and perceived similarity in supporting different types of interaction success.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah L Dziura
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - Aditi Hosangadi
- Center for Mind and Brain University of California Davis, Davis, CA 95618, USA
| | - Deena Shariq
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - Junaid S Merchant
- Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - Elizabeth Redcay
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
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Stietz J, Pollerhoff L, Kurtz M, Li SC, Reiter AMF, Kanske P. The ageing of the social mind: replicating the preservation of socio-affective and the decline of socio-cognitive processes in old age. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2021; 8:210641. [PMID: 34457343 PMCID: PMC8386516 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.210641] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2020] [Accepted: 08/04/2021] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Anticipating population ageing to reach a historically unprecedented level in this century and considering the public goal of promoting well-being until old age, research in many fields has started to focus on processes and factors that contribute to healthy ageing. Since human interactions have a tremendous impact on our mental and physical well-being, scientists are increasingly investigating the basic processes that enable successful social interactions such as social affect (empathy, compassion) and social cognition (Theory of Mind). However, regarding the replication crisis in psychological science it is crucial to probe the reproducibility of findings revealed by each specific method. To this end, we aimed to replicate the effect of age on empathy, compassion and Theory of Mind observed in Reiter and colleagues' study (Reiter et al. 2017 Sci. Rep. 7, 11046 (doi:10.1038/s41598-017-10669-4)) by using the same ecologically valid paradigm in an independent sample with similar age ranges. We were able to replicate the previously observed results of a preservation or even enhancement in socio-affective processes, but a decline in socio-cognitive processes for older adults. Our findings add to the understanding of how social affect and cognition change across the adult lifespan and may suggest targets for intervention studies aiming to foster successful social interactions and well-being until advanced old age.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Stietz
- Clinical Psychology and Behavioral Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Lena Pollerhoff
- Lifespan Developmental Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Marcel Kurtz
- Clinical Psychology and Behavioral Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Shu-Chen Li
- Lifespan Developmental Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
- Centre for Tactile Internet with Human-in-the-Loop, Faculty of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Andrea M. F. Reiter
- Lifespan Developmental Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Philipp Kanske
- Clinical Psychology and Behavioral Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
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Barcik W, Chiacchierini G, Bimpisidis Z, Papaleo F. Immunology and microbiology: how do they affect social cognition and emotion recognition? Curr Opin Immunol 2021; 71:46-54. [PMID: 34058687 DOI: 10.1016/j.coi.2021.05.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2021] [Accepted: 05/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Social interactions profoundly influence animals' life. The quality of social interactions and many everyday life decisions are determined by a proper perception, processing and reaction to others' emotions. Notably, alterations in these social processes characterize a number of neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism spectrum disorders and schizophrenia. Increasing evidences support an implication of immune system vulnerability and inflammatory processes in disparate behavioral functions and the aforementioned neurodevelopmental disorders. In this review, we show a possible unifying view on how immune responses, within and outside the brain, and the communication between the immune system and brain responses might influence emotion recognition and related social responses. In particular, we highlight the importance of combining genetics, immunology and microbiology factors in understanding social behaviors. We underline the importance of better disentangling the whole machinery between brain-immune system interactions to better address the complexity of social processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weronika Barcik
- Genetics of Cognition Laboratory, Neuroscience Area, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
| | - Giulia Chiacchierini
- Genetics of Cognition Laboratory, Neuroscience Area, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
| | - Zisis Bimpisidis
- Genetics of Cognition Laboratory, Neuroscience Area, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
| | - Francesco Papaleo
- Genetics of Cognition Laboratory, Neuroscience Area, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy; Fondazione IRCCS Ca'Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milano, Italy.
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Trauernicht M, Oppermann E, Klusmann U, Anders Y. Burnout undermines empathising: do induced burnout symptoms impair cognitive and affective empathy? Cogn Emot 2020; 35:185-192. [PMID: 32787619 DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2020.1806041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Empathy is crucial for the quality of social interactions and thus highly relevant in human service professions. At the same time, people belonging to this occupational group are especially vulnerable to developing burnout symptoms. With this study, we aimed to investigate the causal link between burnout symptoms and empathy by using a novel experimental design. Our participants (N = 355; 44.5% women; Mage = 36.37) filled out an online questionnaire; in an autobiographical memory task, the experimental group retrieved previous burnout experiences, whereas one control group retrieved a neutral memory and another control group received no intervention. After measuring current burnout symptoms as a manipulation check, we measured the cognitive and affective empathy of all participants. Findings indicate that the experimental group reported significantly higher burnout symptoms compared to control groups, validating our intervention method. Furthermore, we found that the experimental group scored lower on one of the cognitive empathy measures, suggesting negative effects on the relational skills of burned-out individuals. Results are discussed with regard to ecological validity and implications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mareike Trauernicht
- Department of Early Childhood Education, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Elisa Oppermann
- Department of Early Childhood Education, Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg, Bamberg, Germany
| | - Uta Klusmann
- Department of Educational Research and Educational Psychology, Leibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics Education, Kiel, Germany
| | - Yvonne Anders
- Department of Early Childhood Education, Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg, Bamberg, Germany
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