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Zhou H, Zhu R, Xia Y, Zhang X, Wang Z, Lorimer GH, Ghiladi RA, Bayram H, Wang J. Neuropeptides affecting social behavior in mammals: Oxytocin. Peptides 2024; 177:171223. [PMID: 38626843 DOI: 10.1016/j.peptides.2024.171223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2024] [Revised: 03/24/2024] [Accepted: 04/13/2024] [Indexed: 04/30/2024]
Abstract
Oxytocin (OXT), a neuropeptide consisting of only nine amino acids, is synthesized in the paraventricular and supraoptic nuclei of the hypothalamus. Although OXT is best known for its role in lactation and parturition, recent research has shown that it also has a significant impact on social behaviors in mammals. However, a comprehensive review of this topic is still lacking. In this paper, we systematically reviewed the effects of OXT on social behavior in mammals. These effects of OXT from the perspective of five key behavioral dimensions were summarized: parental behavior, anxiety, aggression, attachment, and empathy. To date, researchers have agreed that OXT plays a positive regulatory role in a wide range of social behaviors, but there have been controversially reported results. In this review, we have provided a detailed panorama of the role of OXT in social behavior and, for the first time, delved into the underlying regulatory mechanisms, which may help better understand the multifaceted role of OXT. Levels of OXT in previous human studies were also summarized to provide insights for diagnosis of mental disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hong Zhou
- Cooperative Innovation Center of Industrial Fermentation (Ministry of Education & Hubei Province), Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430068, China; International Center for Redox Biology & Precision Medicine of Hubei Province, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430068, China; National "111" Center for Cellular Regulation and Molecular Pharmaceutics, Key Laboratory of Fermentation Engineering (Ministry of Education), Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430068, China
| | - Rui Zhu
- Cooperative Innovation Center of Industrial Fermentation (Ministry of Education & Hubei Province), Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430068, China; International Center for Redox Biology & Precision Medicine of Hubei Province, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430068, China; National "111" Center for Cellular Regulation and Molecular Pharmaceutics, Key Laboratory of Fermentation Engineering (Ministry of Education), Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430068, China
| | - Yuqing Xia
- Cooperative Innovation Center of Industrial Fermentation (Ministry of Education & Hubei Province), Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430068, China; International Center for Redox Biology & Precision Medicine of Hubei Province, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430068, China; National "111" Center for Cellular Regulation and Molecular Pharmaceutics, Key Laboratory of Fermentation Engineering (Ministry of Education), Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430068, China
| | - Xinming Zhang
- Cooperative Innovation Center of Industrial Fermentation (Ministry of Education & Hubei Province), Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430068, China; International Center for Redox Biology & Precision Medicine of Hubei Province, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430068, China; National "111" Center for Cellular Regulation and Molecular Pharmaceutics, Key Laboratory of Fermentation Engineering (Ministry of Education), Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430068, China
| | - Zixu Wang
- National "111" Center for Cellular Regulation and Molecular Pharmaceutics, Key Laboratory of Fermentation Engineering (Ministry of Education), Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430068, China
| | | | - Reza A Ghiladi
- Department of Chemistry, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
| | - Hasan Bayram
- Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Koç University School of Medicine, Istanbul 34450, Turkey
| | - Jun Wang
- Cooperative Innovation Center of Industrial Fermentation (Ministry of Education & Hubei Province), Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430068, China; International Center for Redox Biology & Precision Medicine of Hubei Province, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430068, China; National "111" Center for Cellular Regulation and Molecular Pharmaceutics, Key Laboratory of Fermentation Engineering (Ministry of Education), Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430068, China.
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2
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Wang D, Liu C, Chen W. The role of self-representation in emotional contagion. Front Hum Neurosci 2024; 18:1361368. [PMID: 38784524 PMCID: PMC11111881 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2024.1361368] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/25/2023] [Accepted: 04/16/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Although prior research has implied that emotional contagion occurs automatically and unconsciously, convincing evidence suggests that it is significantly influenced by individuals' perceptions of their relationships with others or with collectives within specific social contexts. This implies a role for self-representation in the process. The present study aimed to offer a novel explanation of the interplay between social contexts and emotional contagion, focusing on the contextualized nature of self-representation and exploring the social factors that shape emotional contagion. It further posits a causal loop among social contexts, self-representation, and emotional contagion. Drawing from the lens of self-representation, this study concludes with a discussion on potential research directions in this field, commencing with an exploration of the antecedents and consequences of emotional contagion and self-representation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dan Wang
- Department of Psychology, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China
| | - Changhong Liu
- Department of Psychology, Bournemouth University, Dorset, United Kingdom
| | - Wenfeng Chen
- Department of Psychology, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China
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3
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Luo X, Yu T, Tan M, Zhong Y. Impact of Empathic Concern on Prosocial Behavior in Gain and Loss Contexts: Evidence from Event-Related Potential. Brain Sci 2024; 14:400. [PMID: 38672049 PMCID: PMC11047841 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci14040400] [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: 03/21/2024] [Revised: 04/15/2024] [Accepted: 04/17/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
This study employs event-related potential (ERP) to examine the impact of empathic concern on prosocial decision-making with costs in both gain and loss contexts. In this experiment, participants can choose between two types of lottery tickets and pay lottery money to help the target person gain more money or lose less money. The behavioral results showed that regardless of the context of the decision (financial loss or gain), participants tended to help individuals who had induced high empathic concern. ERP results show that compared to the low-empathic-concern condition, the high-empathic-concern condition induced greater P3 amplitude in the gain context. However, this change in P3 amplitude caused by empathic concern did not occur in the context of loss. These findings indicate that empathic concern has different psychological mechanisms that moderate prosocial behavior in gain and loss contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xi Luo
- Department of Psychology, School of Education Science, Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410081, China; (X.L.); (M.T.)
- School of Physics and Chemistry, Hunan First Normal University, Changsha 410205, China
- Cognition and Human Behavior Key Laboratory of Hunan Province, Changsha 410081, China
- Hunan Key Laboratory for Children’s Psychological Development and Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Changsha 410205, China
| | - Taowen Yu
- Department of Psychology, Changsha Normal University, Changsha 410100, China;
| | - Min Tan
- Department of Psychology, School of Education Science, Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410081, China; (X.L.); (M.T.)
- Cognition and Human Behavior Key Laboratory of Hunan Province, Changsha 410081, China
| | - Yiping Zhong
- Department of Psychology, School of Education Science, Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410081, China; (X.L.); (M.T.)
- Cognition and Human Behavior Key Laboratory of Hunan Province, Changsha 410081, China
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4
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Simon P, Nader-Grosbois N. How do Children with Intellectual Disabilities Empathize in Comparison to Typically Developing Children? J Autism Dev Disord 2024:10.1007/s10803-024-06340-3. [PMID: 38607472 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-024-06340-3] [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] [Accepted: 03/29/2024] [Indexed: 04/13/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Two studies were conducted to better understand how children with intellectual disabilities (ID) empathize with the feelings of others during social interactions. The first study tested hypotheses of developmental delay or difference regarding empathy in 79 children with ID by comparing them with typically developing (TD) children, matched for developmental age or chronological age. The second study examined specific aspects of empathy in 23 children with Down syndrome (DS), compared with 23 nonspecific ID children, matched for developmental age, and TD children, matched for developmental age or chronological age. METHOD An empathy task was administered to the children while their parents completed the French versions of the Empathy Questionnaire and the Griffith Empathy Measure. RESULTS The first study showed that ID children showed delayed empathy development but were perceived by their parents as deficient in cognitive empathy. The second study showed that DS children were perceived as being more attentive to the feelings of others than TD children and non-specific ID children, matched for developmental age, and as having affective empathy that was similar to that of TD children matched for chronological age. CONCLUSION These studies have drawn attention to delays or differences in different dimensions of empathy in children with ID and DS, which need to be taken into account in interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Poline Simon
- Chair Baron Frère in special education, Psychological Sciences Research Institute, UCLouvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Nathalie Nader-Grosbois
- Chair Baron Frère in special education, Psychological Sciences Research Institute, UCLouvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
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5
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Żuromski D, Pacholik-Żuromska A. Socio-cultural brain reprogramming-The uniqueness of human cognition. Front Hum Neurosci 2024; 18:1331213. [PMID: 38532787 PMCID: PMC10963407 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2024.1331213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2023] [Accepted: 02/23/2024] [Indexed: 03/28/2024] Open
Affiliation(s)
| | - Anita Pacholik-Żuromska
- Department of Cognitive Science, Institute of Information and Communication Research, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Toruń, Poland
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6
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Manzotti A, Panisi C, Pivotto M, Vinciguerra F, Benedet M, Brazzoli F, Zanni S, Comassi A, Caputo S, Cerritelli F, Chiera M. An in-depth analysis of the polyvagal theory in light of current findings in neuroscience and clinical research. Dev Psychobiol 2024; 66:e22450. [PMID: 38388187 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22450] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2023] [Revised: 09/04/2023] [Accepted: 12/01/2023] [Indexed: 02/24/2024]
Abstract
The polyvagal theory has led to the understanding of the functions of the autonomic nervous system in biological development in humans, since the vagal system, a key structure within the polyvagal theory, plays a significant role in addressing challenges of the mother-child dyad. This article aims to summarize the neurobiological aspects of the polyvagal theory, highlighting some of its strengths and limitations through the lens of new evidence emerging in several research fields-including comparative anatomy, embryology, epigenetics, psychology, and neuroscience-in the 25 years since the theory's inception. Rereading and incorporating the polyvagal idea in light of modern scientific findings helps to interpret the role of the vagus nerve through the temporal dimension (beginning with intrauterine life) and spatial dimension (due to the numerous connections of the vagus with various structures and systems) in the achievement and maintenance of biopsychosocial well-being, from the uterus to adulthood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Manzotti
- Division of Neonatology, "V. Buzzi" Children's Hospital, ASST-FBF-Sacco, Milan, Italy
- RAISE Lab, Clinical-Based Human Research Department, Foundation COME Collaboration, Pescara, Italy
- Research Department, SOMA Istituto Osteopatia Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Cristina Panisi
- Scientific Institute, IRCCS Eugenio Medea, Bosisio Parini, Italy
| | - Micol Pivotto
- Research Department, SOMA Istituto Osteopatia Milano, Milan, Italy
| | | | - Matteo Benedet
- Research Department, SOMA Istituto Osteopatia Milano, Milan, Italy
| | | | - Silvia Zanni
- Research Department, SOMA Istituto Osteopatia Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Alberto Comassi
- Research Department, SOMA Istituto Osteopatia Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Sara Caputo
- Research Department, SOMA Istituto Osteopatia Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Francesco Cerritelli
- RAISE Lab, Clinical-Based Human Research Department, Foundation COME Collaboration, Pescara, Italy
| | - Marco Chiera
- RAISE Lab, Clinical-Based Human Research Department, Foundation COME Collaboration, Pescara, Italy
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7
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Hsu CT, Sato W, Yoshikawa S. An investigation of the modulatory effects of empathic and autistic traits on emotional and facial motor responses during live social interactions. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0290765. [PMID: 38194416 PMCID: PMC10775989 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0290765] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2021] [Accepted: 08/15/2023] [Indexed: 01/11/2024] Open
Abstract
A close relationship between emotional contagion and spontaneous facial mimicry has been theoretically proposed and is supported by empirical data. Facial expressions are essential in terms of both emotional and motor synchrony. Previous studies have demonstrated that trait emotional empathy enhanced spontaneous facial mimicry, but the relationship between autistic traits and spontaneous mimicry remained controversial. Moreover, previous studies presented faces that were static or videotaped, which may lack the "liveliness" of real-life social interactions. We addressed this limitation by using an image relay system to present live performances and pre-recorded videos of smiling or frowning dynamic facial expressions to 94 healthy female participants. We assessed their subjective experiential valence and arousal ratings to infer the amplitude of emotional contagion. We measured the electromyographic activities of the zygomaticus major and corrugator supercilii muscles to estimate spontaneous facial mimicry. Individual differences measures included trait emotional empathy (empathic concern) and the autism-spectrum quotient. We did not find that live performances enhanced the modulatory effect of trait differences on emotional contagion or spontaneous facial mimicry. However, we found that a high trait empathic concern was associated with stronger emotional contagion and corrugator mimicry. We found no two-way interaction between the autism spectrum quotient and emotional condition, suggesting that autistic traits did not modulate emotional contagion or spontaneous facial mimicry. Our findings imply that previous findings regarding the relationship between emotional empathy and emotional contagion/spontaneous facial mimicry using videos and photos could be generalized to real-life interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chun-Ting Hsu
- Psychological Process Research Team, Guardian Robot Project, RIKEN, Soraku-gun, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Wataru Sato
- Psychological Process Research Team, Guardian Robot Project, RIKEN, Soraku-gun, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Sakiko Yoshikawa
- Institute of Philosophy and Human Values, Kyoto University of the Arts, Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan
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8
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Abstract
Norms permeate human life. Most of people's activities can be characterized by rules about what is appropriate, allowed, required, or forbidden-rules that are crucial in making people hyper-cooperative animals. In this article, I examine the current cognitive-evolutionary account of "norm psychology" and propose an alternative that is better supported by evidence and better placed to promote interdisciplinary dialogue. The incumbent theory focuses on rules and claims that humans genetically inherit cognitive and motivational mechanisms specialized for processing these rules. The cultural-evolutionary alternative defines normativity in relation to behavior-compliance, enforcement, and commentary-and suggests that it depends on implicit and explicit processes. The implicit processes are genetically inherited and domain-general; rather than being specialized for normativity, they do many jobs in many species. The explicit processes are culturally inherited and domain-specific; they are constructed from mentalizing and reasoning by social interaction in childhood. The cultural-evolutionary, or "cognitive gadget," perspective suggests that people alive today-parents, educators, elders, politicians, lawyers-have more responsibility for sustaining normativity than the nativist view implies. People's actions not only shape and transmit the rules, but they also create in each new generation mental processes that can grasp the rules and put them into action.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cecilia Heyes
- Department of Experimental Psychology & All Souls College, University of Oxford
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9
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Simon P, Nader-Grosbois N. Empathy in Preschoolers: Exploring Profiles and Age- and Gender-Related Differences. CHILDREN (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 10:1869. [PMID: 38136071 PMCID: PMC10741930 DOI: 10.3390/children10121869] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2023] [Revised: 11/27/2023] [Accepted: 11/28/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023]
Abstract
Empathy is a key skill in the daily life of preschoolers, and it is important to understand how it evolves during this crucial period of development. This paper includes two studies. The first study, which had a cross-sectional design, examined affective, cognitive, and behavioral empathy in 354 children (aged from 3 to 6 years) through a performance-based measure and questionnaires completed by their mothers. Although girls tended to have better affective empathy than boys on the performance-based task, no difference was noted in the mothers' perceptions of their children's empathy. Empathy dimensions varied depending on the age of the children. The hierarchical cluster analyses of the cases identified differentiated subgroups of children, according to their empathic skills in the three dimensions. The second study, which was longitudinal, used the same measures and investigated the developmental trajectory of empathy in 69 preschoolers over one year. The results showed that each empathic dimension predicted itself one year later, but did not predict the two others. The implications for potential interventions are emphasized in this study.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Nathalie Nader-Grosbois
- Psychological Sciences Research Institute, UCLouvain, 1348 Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium;
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10
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Chen Y, Chen W, Zhang L, Wei Y, Hu P. The Reward-Related Shift of Emotional Contagion from the Observer's Perspective Correlates to Their Intimacy with the Expresser. Behav Sci (Basel) 2023; 13:934. [PMID: 37998681 PMCID: PMC10669892 DOI: 10.3390/bs13110934] [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: 10/12/2023] [Revised: 11/09/2023] [Accepted: 11/13/2023] [Indexed: 11/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Although previous studies have found a bidirectional relationship between emotional contagion and reward, there is insufficient research to prove the effect of reward on the social function of emotional contagion. To explore this issue, the current study used electroencephalography (EEG) and the interactive way in which the expresser played games to help participants obtain reward outcomes. The results demonstrated a significant correlation between changes in emotional contagion and closeness, indicating that emotional contagion has a social regulatory function. Regarding the impact of reward outcomes, the results showed that compared to the context of a loss, in the context of a win, participants' closeness toward the expresser shifted to a more intimate level, their emotional contagion changed in a more positive direction, and the activity of the late positive component (LPC) of the event-related potentials (ERPs) changed to a greater extent. Significantly, the mediation results demonstrated the effect of reward and indicated that changes in the LPC elicited while experiencing the expressers' emotion predicted the subsequent shifts in closeness through alterations in emotional contagion of the anger emotion in the winning context and the happy emotion in the loss context. This study provides empirical evidence regarding the social function of emotional contagion and proves for the first time that the reward context plays a role in it.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Ping Hu
- Department of Psychology, Renmin University of China, No. 59 of Zhongguancun Street, Haidian District, Beijing 100872, China; (Y.C.); (W.C.); (L.Z.); (Y.W.)
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11
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Dwyer DM, Heyes C. Fearfulness: An important addition to the starter kit for distinctively human minds. Behav Brain Sci 2023; 46:e62. [PMID: 37154362 DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x22001972] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
Grossmann's impressive article indicates that - along with attentional biases, expansion of domain-general processes of learning and memory, and other temperamental tweaks - heightened fearfulness is part of the genetic starter kit for distinctively human minds. The learned matching account of emotional contagion explains how heightened fearfulness could have promoted the development of caring and cooperation in our species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dominic M Dwyer
- School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3AT, UK ; https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/people/view/356849-dwyer-dominic
| | - Cecilia Heyes
- Department of Experimental Psychology, All Souls College, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 4AL, UK ; https://users.ox.ac.uk/~ascch/
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12
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Luis EO, Martínez M, Akrivou K, Scalzo G, Aoiz M, Orón Semper JV. The role of empathy in shared intentionality: Contributions from Inter-Processual Self theory. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1079950. [PMID: 36968699 PMCID: PMC10036387 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1079950] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2022] [Accepted: 02/22/2023] [Indexed: 03/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Research in psychology related to the conceptualization of empathy has been on the rise in the last decades. However, we argue that there is still space for further research to help capture the important notion of empathy and its theoretical and conceptual depth. Following a critical review of the current state of the research that conceptualizes and measures empathy, we focus on works that highlight the importance of a shared vision and its relevance in psychology and neuroscience. Considering the state of the art of current neuroscientific and psychological approaches to empathy, we argue for the relevance of shared intention and shared vision in empathy-related actions. Upon review of different models that emphasize a shared vision for informing research on empathy, we suggest that a newly developed theory of self, human growth and action–the so-called Inter-Processual Self theory (IPS)–can significantly and novelly inform the theorization on empathy beyond what the literature has stated to date. Then, we show how an understanding of integrity as a relational act that requires empathy is an essential mechanism for current key research on empathy and its related concepts and models. Ultimately, we aim to present IPS as a distinctive proposal to expand upon the conceptualization of empathy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elkin O. Luis
- Psychological Processes in Education and Health Group, School of Education and Psychology, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
- Methods and Research in Affective and Cognitive Psychology, School of Education and Psychology, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
| | - Martín Martínez
- Methods and Research in Affective and Cognitive Psychology, School of Education and Psychology, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
| | - Kleio Akrivou
- Henley Business School, University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom
- *Correspondence: Kleio Akrivou,
| | - Germán Scalzo
- School of Business, Universidad Panamericana, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Martín Aoiz
- Institute of Modern Languages, School of Education and Psychology, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
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13
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Guo XD, Zheng H, Ruan D, Wang Y, Wang YY, Chan RCK. Altered empathy correlates with reduced social and non-social reward anticipation in individuals with high social anhedonia. Psych J 2023; 12:92-99. [PMID: 36058882 DOI: 10.1002/pchj.592] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2022] [Accepted: 07/22/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
This study examined the correlations of affective and cognitive components of empathy with reward anticipation toward monetary and social incentives in individuals with social anhedonia (SocAnh). According to the scores on the Revised Social Anhedonia Scale, 109 participants were divided into high (n = 57) and low (n = 52) SocAnh groups. Empathy was assessed with the Questionnaire of Cognitive and Affective Empathy (QCAE) and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) Scale. Social and non-social reward anticipations were assessed by the Social and Monetary Incentive Delay Tasks, respectively. We performed independent-sample t tests and repeated-measures ANOVAs to examine the group differences on empathy and reward anticipation. Correlation analyses between empathy and reward anticipation were conducted. Results showed that the high SocAnh group reported reduced scores on empathy and reward anticipation for monetary and social incentives compared to their low SocAnh counterparts. Correlation analysis further indicated that monetary reward anticipation correlated with cognitive empathy, while social reward anticipation correlated with affective empathy. Our findings suggested that participants with high SocAnh exhibited poorer empathy and reduced reward anticipation than those with low SocAnh level. More importantly, social and non-social reward anticipation may distinctly contribute to affective and cognitive components of empathy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao-Dong Guo
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Hong Zheng
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Dun Ruan
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yi Wang
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yan-Yu Wang
- School of Psychology, Weifang Medical University, Shandong, China
| | - Raymond C K Chan
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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14
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Abstract
Most research has studied self-regulation by presenting experimenter-controlled test stimuli and measuring change between baseline and stimulus. In the real world, however, stressors do not flash on and off in a predetermined sequence, and there is no experimenter controlling things. Rather, the real world is continuous and stressful events can occur through self-sustaining interactive chain reactions. Self-regulation is an active process through which we adaptively select which aspects of the social environment we attend to from one moment to the next. Here, we describe this dynamic interactive process by contrasting two mechanisms that underpin it: the "yin" and "yang" of self-regulation. The first mechanism is allostasis, the dynamical principle underlying self-regulation, through which we compensate for change to maintain homeostasis. This involves upregulating in some situations and downregulating in others. The second mechanism is metastasis, the dynamical principle underling dysregulation. Through metastasis, small initial perturbations can become progressively amplified over time. We contrast these processes at the individual level (i.e., examining moment-to-moment change in one child, considered independently) and also at the inter-personal level (i.e., examining change across a dyad, such as a parent-child dyad). Finally, we discuss practical implications of this approach in improving the self-regulation of emotion and cognition, in typical development and psychopathology.
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15
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Bulgarelli C, Jones EJH. The typical and atypical development of empathy: How big is the gap from lab to field? JCPP ADVANCES 2023. [DOI: 10.1002/jcv2.12136] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Bulgarelli
- Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development Birkbeck University of London London UK
- Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering University College London London UK
| | - Emily J. H. Jones
- Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development Birkbeck University of London London UK
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16
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Cai Z, Qi B. Cognitive flexibility as a protective factor for empathy. Front Psychol 2023; 13:1064494. [PMID: 36733867 PMCID: PMC9887175 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1064494] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2022] [Accepted: 12/15/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Although cognitive flexibility has always been considered essential to empathy, the relevant findings have been inconsistent. Inconsistent results may be because cognitive flexibility is a multi-level structure, while empathy is also a multilayer structure, and there are differences in how researchers define and measure cognitive flexibility. Therefore, the study explores the relationship between cognitive flexibility and empathy from a multi-dimensional perspective. This study involved 105 China students aged between 18 and 22 (M age = 20.26, SD = 2.00) who completed the Cognitive Flexibility Scale (cognitive flexibility trait, cognitive flexibility at the individual level), perspective-switching flexibility task (perspective-switching flexibility, cognitive flexibility at the cognitive level), the Interpersonal Reactivity Index scale (IRI, traits empathy), Multi-dimensional Empathy Test (state empathy), 2-back task (inhibitory control), and Stroop task (working memory). After controlling for additional variables, the results showed that: (1) Cognitive flexibility traits negatively predicted trait cognitive (IRI-PT) and affective empathy (IRI-EC). (2) The Other/Self perspective-switching flexibility negatively predicted the affective component of state empathy. (3) Cognitive flexibility traits and Other/Self perspective-switching flexibility negatively predicted empathy even after controlling for one of these. The study's results suggested that cognitive flexibility negatively predicts empathy and is a protective factor for reducing the cost of empathy and promoting emotion regulation.
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Barrera A, de La Motte de Broöns de Vauvert SJGN. Empathy and the work of clinical psychiatrists: narrative review. BJPSYCH ADVANCES 2023. [DOI: 10.1192/bja.2022.80] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
SUMMARY
Clinical research suggests that empathy is associated with better clinical outcomes in various areas of medical care, raising the question of whether a similar effect occurs in psychiatry. The aim of this review is to explore philosophical, neuroscientific and psychological perspectives on the concept of empathy in the context of the day-to-day work of clinical psychiatrists. The definition of empathy is outlined and sociodemographic factors, working conditions and psychiatrists’ beliefs that can potentially affect empathy in clinical encounters are explored; educational and training aspects are also reviewed. The review concludes suggesting that research on empathy is needed to understand contextual, training and relational factors that could benefit mental healthcare as well as the working conditions of clinical psychiatrists, both inextricably linked.
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Lajante M, Remisch D, Dorofeev N. Can robots recover a service using interactional justice as employees do? A literature review-based assessment. SERVICE BUSINESS 2023; 17:315-357. [PMCID: PMC9924876 DOI: 10.1007/s11628-023-00525-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2022] [Accepted: 01/30/2023] [Indexed: 08/16/2023]
Abstract
Interactional justice (e.g., empathy) plays a crucial role in service recovery. It relies on human social skills that would prevent it from automation. However, several considerations challenge this view. Interactional justice is not always necessary to recover service, and progress in social robotics enables service robots to handle social interactions. This paper reviews service recovery and social robotics literature and addresses whether service robots can use interactional justice as frontline employees do during service recovery. Results show service robots can replicate interactional justice norms, although with some considerations. Accordingly, we propose a research agenda for future studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathieu Lajante
- emoLab, Ted Rogers School of Management, Toronto Metropolitan University, 55 Dundas St W, Toronto, ON M5G 2C3 Canada
| | - David Remisch
- emoLab, Ted Rogers School of Management, Toronto Metropolitan University, 55 Dundas St W, Toronto, ON M5G 2C3 Canada
| | - Nikita Dorofeev
- emoLab, Ted Rogers School of Management, Toronto Metropolitan University, 55 Dundas St W, Toronto, ON M5G 2C3 Canada
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Ge Y, Ashwin C, Li F, Cao W, Zhang Y, Zhao X, Sun B, Li W. The validation of a Mandarin version of the Empathy Components Questionnaire (ECQ-Chinese) in Chinese samples. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0275903. [PMID: 36701341 PMCID: PMC9879452 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0275903] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2022] [Accepted: 09/25/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Empathy involves both empathic ability and empathic motivation. An important topic has been how to measure empathic ability and motivation simultaneously in both clinical and non-clinical samples and across different cultures. The Empathy Components Questionnaire (ECQ) is a self-report questionnaire that measures empathic ability and motivation in a questionnaire. The current study aimed to validate the Mandarin Chinese version of the ECQ (ECQ-Chinese) in three Chinese samples. In study 1, a total of 538 Chinese participants (Sample 1) completed the ECQ-Chinese via an online survey, and existing measures of empathy and related constructs which were used for criterion validity. In study 2, a total of 104 participants (Sample 2) were recruited again from sample 1 and completed the ECQ-Chinese three weeks later to investigate test-retest reliability. In study 3, a further 324 participants (Sample 3) completed the ECQ-Chinese for confirmatory factor analysis. The results showed that the ECQ-Chinese has a good internal consistency reliability, split-half reliability, and criterion validity (Study 1), and a good test-retest reliability (Study 2). Further, Study 3 found that a 22-item ECQ-Chinese consisting of five subscales had a good construct validity, convergence validity and discriminate validity, demonstrating it to be a suitable tool for the measurement of empathic ability and motivation in Chinese samples and to carry out cross-cultural studies of empathy and its components.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yabo Ge
- Department of Psychology, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China
- Institute of Child Development, Jinhua Polytechnic, Jinhua, China
| | - Chris Ashwin
- Centre for Applied Autism Research, Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom
| | - Fengying Li
- Department of Psychology, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China
| | - Wei Cao
- Publicity Department, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China
| | - Yu Zhang
- College of Mathematics and Computer Science, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China
| | - Xuan Zhao
- Department of Psychology, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China
| | - Binghai Sun
- Department of Psychology, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China
- * E-mail: (BS); (WL)
| | - Weijian Li
- Department of Psychology, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China
- * E-mail: (BS); (WL)
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Chin JH, Haring KS, Kim P. Understanding the neural mechanisms of empathy toward robots to shape future applications. Front Neurorobot 2023; 17:1145989. [PMID: 37125225 PMCID: PMC10130423 DOI: 10.3389/fnbot.2023.1145989] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2023] [Accepted: 03/06/2023] [Indexed: 05/02/2023] Open
Abstract
This article provides an overview on how modern neuroscience evaluations link to robot empathy. It evaluates the brain correlates of empathy and caregiving, and how they may be related to the higher functions with an emphasis on women. We discuss that the understanding of the brain correlates can inform the development of social robots with enhanced empathy and caregiving abilities. We propose that the availability of these robots will benefit many aspects of the society including transition to parenthood and parenting, in which women are deeply involved in real life and scientific research. We conclude with some of the barriers for women in the field and how robotics and robot empathy research benefits from a broad representation of researchers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jenna H. Chin
- Family and Child Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychology, Brain, Artificial Intelligence, and Child (BAIC) Center, University of Denver, Denver, CO, United States
| | - Kerstin S. Haring
- Humane Robot Technology (HuRoT) Laboratory, Department of Computer Science, Ritchie School of Engineering and Computer Science, University of Denver, Denver, CO, United States
- *Correspondence: Kerstin S. Haring
| | - Pilyoung Kim
- Family and Child Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychology, Brain, Artificial Intelligence, and Child (BAIC) Center, University of Denver, Denver, CO, United States
- Department of Psychology, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
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Benefit-cost trade-offs-based empathic choices. PERSONALITY AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2022.111875] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
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Lan X. “Parents are gone”: Understanding the unique and interactive impacts of affective and cognitive empathy on left-behind youth’s academic engagement. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s12144-022-03952-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
AbstractAlthough several studies have shown that left-behind adolescents are vulnerable regarding emotional and behavioral functions, much less research has focused on this group’s academic engagement. The relationship between distinct empathy subcomponents and academic engagement in left-behind youth (versus non-left-behind youth) is therefore largely unknown. To fill these knowledge gaps, the current study compared the academic engagement between left-behind and non-left-behind youth. This study subsequently examined the unique and interactive relationships among affective empathy, cognitive empathy, and left-behind status with academic engagement in a combined sample of left-behind and non-left-behind youth. In total, 323 left-behind youth and 737 non-left-behind youth (Mage = 13.05; 49.5% females) participated in this study. Findings, after adjusting for participants’ sociodemographic characteristics, revealed that left-behind youth did not differ significantly in academic engagement compared to non-left-behind youth. A four-step hierarchical regression analysis showed that both empathy components were positively related to academic engagement. Interaction analyses further exhibited a cross-over effect of affective and cognitive empathy for left-behind youth. Specifically, left-behind youth with high cognitive empathy seemed more susceptible to the influence of affective empathy on academic engagement, for better and for worse. In the presence of high affective empathy, left-behind youth with higher cognitive empathy reported the highest academic engagement, whereas the youth with higher cognitive empathy, in the presence of low affective empathy, reported the lowest. The current study highlights the unique and interactive roles of affective and cognitive empathy in left-behind youth’s academic engagement, including important conceptual and practical implications.
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Parra Vargas E, García Delgado A, Torres SC, Carrasco-Ribelles LA, Marín-Morales J, Alcañiz Raya M. Virtual reality stimulation and organizational neuroscience for the assessment of empathy. Front Psychol 2022; 13:993162. [PMID: 36420385 PMCID: PMC9677823 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.993162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2022] [Accepted: 09/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
This study aimed to evaluate the viability of a new procedure based on machine learning (ML), virtual reality (VR), and implicit measures to discriminate empathy. Specifically, eye-tracking and decision-making patterns were used to classify individuals according to their level in each of the empathy dimensions, while they were immersed in virtual environments that represented social workplace situations. The virtual environments were designed using an evidence-centered design approach. Interaction and gaze patterns were recorded for 82 participants, who were classified as having high or low empathy on each of the following empathy dimensions: perspective-taking, emotional understanding, empathetic stress, and empathetic joy. The dimensions were assessed using the Cognitive and Affective Empathy Test. An ML-based model that combined behavioral outputs and eye-gaze patterns was developed to predict the empathy dimension level of the participants (high or low). The analysis indicated that the different dimensions could be differentiated by eye-gaze patterns and behaviors during immersive VR. The eye-tracking measures contributed more significantly to this differentiation than did the behavioral metrics. In summary, this study illustrates the potential of a novel VR organizational environment coupled with ML to discriminate the empathy dimensions. However, the results should be interpreted with caution, as the small sample does not allow general conclusions to be drawn. Further studies with a larger sample are required to support the results obtained in this study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena Parra Vargas
- Institute for Research and Innovation in Bioengineering, Polytechnic University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain
- *Correspondence: Elena Parra Vargas,
| | - Aitana García Delgado
- Institute for Research and Innovation in Bioengineering, Polytechnic University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain
| | - Sergio C. Torres
- Institute for Research and Innovation in Bioengineering, Polytechnic University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain
| | - Lucía A. Carrasco-Ribelles
- Fundació Institut Universitari per a la recerca a l'Atenció Primària de Salut Jordi Gol i Gurina (IDIAPJGol), Cornellà de Llobregat, Spain
| | - Javier Marín-Morales
- Institute for Research and Innovation in Bioengineering, Polytechnic University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain
| | - Mariano Alcañiz Raya
- Institute for Research and Innovation in Bioengineering, Polytechnic University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain
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Schulte M, Trujillo N, Rodríguez-Villagra OA, Salas N, Ibañez A, Carriedo N, Huepe D. The role of executive functions, social cognition and intelligence in predicting social adaptation of vulnerable populations. Sci Rep 2022; 12:18693. [PMID: 36333437 PMCID: PMC9636196 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-21985-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2022] [Accepted: 10/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
This study sought to evaluate the roles of and interactions between cognitive processes that have been shown to exhibit impact from socioeconomic status (SES) and living conditions in predicting social adaptation (SA) in a population of adults living in socially vulnerable conditions. Participants included 226 people between the ages of 18 and 60 who have been living in vulnerable contexts throughout life in Santiago, Chile. Data was collected through a battery of psychological assessments. A structural equation model (SEM) was implemented to examine the interrelationships among cognitive and social variables. Results indicate a significant relationship between executive function (EF) and SA through both social cognition (SC) and intelligence. Theory of Mind (ToM), a component of SC, was shown to exhibit a significant relationship with affective empathy; interestingly, this was negatively related to SA. Moreover, fluid intelligence (FI) was found to exhibit a positive, indirect relationship with SA through crystallized intelligence (CI). Evaluation of these results in the context of research on the impacts of SES and vulnerable living conditions on psychological function may allow for the development of more effective clinical, political, and social interventions to support psychosocial health among socially vulnerable populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Schulte
- Cognitive Neuroscience Center (CNC), Universidad de San Andrés, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - N Trujillo
- Mental Health Group, National Department of Public Health, University of Antioquia, UDEA, calle 62#52-59, 050010, Medellín, Colombia
- Neuroscience Group, Universidad de Antioquia-UDEA, 050010, Medellín, Colombia
| | - O A Rodríguez-Villagra
- Institute for Psychological Research, University of Costa Rica, Sabanilla, San José, Costa Rica
- Neuroscience Research Center, University of Costa Rica, San Pedro, San José, Costa Rica
| | - N Salas
- Universidad Finis Terrae, Santiago de Chile, Chile
| | - A Ibañez
- Center for Social and Cognitive Neuroscience (CSCN), School of Psychology, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago de Chile, Chile
- Latin American Brain Health Institute (BrainLat), Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago de Chile, Chile
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas Y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI) UCSF, San Francisco, USA
- Trinity College Dublin (TCD), Dublin, Ireland
| | - N Carriedo
- National Distance Education University (UNED), Madrid, Spain
| | - D Huepe
- Center for Social and Cognitive Neuroscience (CSCN), School of Psychology, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago de Chile, Chile.
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Li M, Li W, Yang Q, Huang L. Altruistic preferences of pre-service teachers: The mediating role of empathic concern and the moderating role of self-control. Front Psychol 2022; 13:999105. [PMID: 36389580 PMCID: PMC9649679 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.999105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2022] [Accepted: 09/30/2022] [Indexed: 09/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Empathy and altruistic behavior are more crucial abilities for pre-service teachers to possess when compared with other study fields. The relationship between empathy and altruistic behavior in Chinese pre-service teachers and their underlying mechanisms, however, has received relatively little attention in the literature. Therefore, the goal of the current study was to examine the links between study fields (i.e., pre-service teachers whose study field is pedagogy and non-pre-service teachers whose study field is non-pedagogy), self-control, emotional empathy (i.e., empathic concern), and altruistic preferences among undergraduates and graduates in five Chinese universities (the age range of participants is 18-20 years; 58.4% women) with the Interpersonal Reactivity Index-C Questionnaire, the Self-Control Scale, and the Chinese Self-Report Altruism Scale tests. The results showed a significant difference between pre-service and non-pre-service teachers in empathic concern and self-control. Furthermore, empathic concern and altruistic behavior tendency of pre-service teachers were significantly higher than those of non-pre-service teachers. Moreover, mediation analyses indicated that empathic concern partially mediated the relationship between study fields and altruistic tendency. Moderated mediation analysis further revealed that self-control buffered the relation between empathic concern and altruistic behavior tendency. These results demonstrate that altruistic tendency of pre-service teachers is influenced by empathic concern and self-control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maohao Li
- Faculty of Education, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China
| | - Wei Li
- Department of Psychology, School of Education, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China
- Institute of Psychological Science, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Qun Yang
- Department of Psychology, School of Education, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China
- Institute of Psychological Science, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Lihui Huang
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China
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Bharwani A, Ruzycki SM. Closing the empathy gap towards equitable outcomes: gender equity in the medical workforce. BMJ LEADER 2022:leader-2020-000425. [DOI: 10.1136/leader-2020-000425] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2020] [Accepted: 08/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
BackgroundEmpathy failures lead to equity failures. Women and men physicians experience work differently. Men physicians, however, may be unaware how these differences impact their colleagues. This constitutes an empathy gap; empathy gaps are associated with harm to outgroups. In our previous published work, we found that men had divergent views from women about the experiences of women relating to gender equity; senior men differed most from junior women. Since men physicians hold disproportionately more leadership roles than women, this empathy gap warrants exploration and remediation.AnalysisGender, age, motivation and power each seems to influence our empathic tendencies. Empathy, however, is not a static trait. Empathy can be developed and displayed by individuals through their thoughts, words and actions. Leaders can also influence culture by enshrining an empathic disposition in our social and organisation structures.ConclusionsWe outline methods to increase our empathic capacities as individuals and organisations through perspective-taking, perspective-giving and verbal commitments to institutional empathy. In doing so, we challenge all medical leaders to herald an empathic transformation of our medical culture in pursuit of a more equitable and pluralistic workplace for all groups of people.
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Cognitive cost of empathizing with mothers and strangers by Chinese college students. Heliyon 2022; 8:e10306. [PMID: 36091955 PMCID: PMC9450072 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e10306] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2022] [Revised: 06/08/2022] [Accepted: 08/09/2022] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Empathy is a choice and the product of a dynamic decision process based on motivation. The value trade-off in empathy is object-specific and people are more likely to empathize with ingroup, especially empathize with whom we are particularly concerned. The mother is an integral part of the self-concept, but the status of the mother in the self-concept of the eastern and western subjects was different. Previous studies have shown that mother is integrated in self-concept and share the same motivational hierarchy with self in Chinese brain. Objectives The study's purpose is to investigate the empathic choice for mothers in Chinese culture and its regulatory mechanism. Methods Three experiments were conducted to investigate whether Chinese college students would choose to empathize with their mothers. Experiment 1 used the Empathy Selection Task to examine the empathic choices between mother-other and stranger-other conditions with two blocks of 50 trials, and used the NASA Task Load Index to evaluate the cognitive costs for each deck option presented; Experiment 2 induced a disagreeable emotional state and replicate the same conditions of the experiment 1; Experiment 3 induced an agreeable emotional state and replicate the same conditions of the experiment one. Results and conclusions The results showed that: (1) participants tended to avoid empathizing with their mothers and strangers for to the cognitive cost; (2) participants were more likely to choose empathy when the target was their mother rather than when the target was a stranger-other, due to the social reward; and (3) participants were more likely to opt to empathize with their mothers when positive emotions towards their mothers were primed. The results suggested that empathy is a choice and the product of a dynamic decision process based on motivation and the value trade-off in empathy is object-specific.
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Zhou Y, Pang C, Pu Y, Han S. Racial outgroup favoritism in neural responses to others' pain emerges during sociocultural interactions. Neuropsychologia 2022; 174:108321. [PMID: 35835232 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2022.108321] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2021] [Revised: 06/23/2022] [Accepted: 07/06/2022] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
Racial ingroup favoritism in empathic brain activity has been widely observed and is associated with biased behavior toward same-race and other-race individuals. We investigated whether racial outgroup favoritism in neural responses to others' pain - an objective measure of empathy - may emerge during sociocultural interactions in a new social environment. We recorded magnetoencephalography to pain and neutral expressions of Asian and White faces from White students who had stayed in China for 6-36 weeks (Experimental group) or 2-4 weeks (Control group). The experimental group showed better neural decoding of and greater insular/sensorimotor responses to pain vs. neutral expressions of Asian compared to White faces. By contrast, the control group showed better neural decoding of pain vs. neutral expressions of White than Asian faces. In addition, participants of the experimental group who had stayed longer in China showed greater sensorimotor responses to pain (vs. neutral) expressions of Asian faces but weaker sensorimotor responses to pain (vs. neutral) expressions of White faces. Our findings revealed emerging racial outgroup favoritism in brain activities associated with sensorimotor resonance and affective sharing of others' pain during sociocultural interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuqing Zhou
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, China.
| | - Chenyu Pang
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Yue Pu
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Shihui Han
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, China.
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Toffol E, Aliverti E, Idotta C, Capizzi G, Scocco P. Are empathy profiles and perceived social support associated with depressive and grief-related symptoms in suicide survivors? J Clin Psychol 2022; 78:2245-2259. [PMID: 35678034 DOI: 10.1002/jclp.23402] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2021] [Revised: 05/14/2022] [Accepted: 05/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To investigate the link between empathy, perceived social support, and depressive and grieving symptoms in suicide survivors. METHODS Scores on the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Inventory of Complicated Grief (ICG), Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD), Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), and the Social Support section of the Interpersonal Questionnaire were collected from 265 survivors. Relations were tested via multivariate regression models. RESULTS Lower Perspective Taking (PT) was related with higher levels of BDI score, and higher Personal Distress (PD) was associated with higher BDI, ICG, and PGD scores. Higher levels of Social Support were related with higher BDI and ICG (but not PGD) scores. CONCLUSION Empathic PD and PT, and perceived social support are differently associated with depression and grief-related symptoms. Empathy-focused psychotherapies and empowerment of social support may reduce symptoms in suicide survivors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena Toffol
- Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | | | | | - Giovanna Capizzi
- Department of Statistical Sciences, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Paolo Scocco
- SOPROXI Onlus, Padova, Italy.,Department of Mental Health, ULSS 6 Euganea, Padova, Italy
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Serrada-Tejeda S, Martínez-Piedrola RM, Huertas-Hoyas E, Máximo-Bocanegra N, Trugeda-Pedrajo N, Rodríguez-Pérez MP, Sánchez-Herrera Baeza P, Pérez-de-Heredia-Torres M. Empathy in occupational therapy students: a cross-sectional study at a Spanish university. BMJ Open 2022; 12:e058821. [PMID: 35473733 PMCID: PMC9045041 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-058821] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Empathy is an important interpersonal skill and a fundamental component in the professional-patient relationship, being the basis for implementing person-centred practice. In several studies, a decrease in empathy levels throughout training in medicine, nursing or dentistry, among others, has been shown. There are few studies on the occupational therapy branch of healthcare. The aim was to determine the degree of empathy perceived by students of occupational therapy at a Spanish university, as well as to analyse the differences between empathy levels according to the different degree courses and gender. METHODS A descriptive cross-sectional study was designed with a sample of 221 occupational therapy students from a Spanish university. The Davis Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) and the Jefferson Scale of Empathy-Health Profession Student's Spanish version (JSPE-HPS-S) were used as outcome measures. RESULTS According to the results found, high level of empathy was found on all dimension of the IRI (69.84 (9.80)) and the JSPE-HPS-S (122 (94-140)). Although high levels of empathy among occupational therapy students are observed in all degree courses, no significant differences were found between them. Statistically significant differences and a moderate effect size (r) were found between the variables according to the gender of the participants, with females showing greater empathy in the overall scores of the IRI as well as in the JSPE-HPS-S (p=0.002, r=0.212; p=0.001, r=0.327, respectively). CONCLUSIONS Empathy is an essential competence for the development of quality occupational therapy practice. According to the results and although occupational therapy students showed high levels of empathy, it is important to pay attention to the evolution of empathy and to provide students with learning experiences that prevent its possible decline.
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Zhang X, Gatzke-Kopp LM, Chen M, Cole PM, Ram N. Father-child physiological concordance on two timescales is differentially associated with paternal characteristics. Psychophysiology 2022; 59:e14073. [PMID: 35460527 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2021] [Revised: 02/24/2022] [Accepted: 03/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Conceptual work on interpersonal physiology suggests that the dynamic concordance between two person's physiological arousal may transpire on multiple timescales, and the timescale on which it unfolds may determine its psychological significance. The current study tested this hypothesis in the context of parent-child interaction by examining whether the concordance in their cardiac arousal on two timescales was differentially associated with parental characteristics. Using data from 98 fathers and their 3- to 5-year-old children during a task designed to frustrate young children, results indicated that the associations between cardiac concordance and fathers' self-reported parenting hassles emerged for the slower timescale (concordant increasing trends in arousal), whereas concordance on the faster timescale (concordant second-by-second reactivity) was associated with fathers' emotional clarity. Findings suggest that there may be multiple layers of concordant patterns in the dynamic associations between fathers' and children's cardiac arousal, which unfold on different timescales and bear different psychological significance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xutong Zhang
- Department of Human Development and Family Studies, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Lisa M Gatzke-Kopp
- Department of Human Development and Family Studies, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Meng Chen
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, California, USA
| | - Pamela M Cole
- Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Nilam Ram
- Departments of Psychology and Communication, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
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Shoshani A, Nelke S, Girtler I. Tablet applications as socializing platforms: The effects of prosocial touch screen applications on young children's prosocial behavior. COMPUTERS IN HUMAN BEHAVIOR 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2021.107077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
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Shamay-Tsoory SG, Hertz U. Adaptive Empathy: A Model for Learning Empathic Responses in Response to Feedback. PERSPECTIVES ON PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2022; 17:1008-1023. [PMID: 35050819 DOI: 10.1177/17456916211031926] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Empathy is usually deployed in social interactions. Nevertheless, common measures and examinations of empathy study this construct in isolation from the person in distress. In this article we seek to extend the field of examination to include both empathizer and target to determine whether and how empathic responses are affected by feedback and learned through interaction. Building on computational approaches in feedback-based adaptations (e.g., no feedback, model-free and model-based learning), we propose a framework for understanding how empathic responses are learned on the basis of feedback. In this framework, adaptive empathy, defined as the ability to adapt one's empathic responses, is a central aspect of empathic skills and can provide a new dimension to the evaluation and investigation of empathy. By extending existing neural models of empathy, we suggest that adaptive empathy may be mediated by interactions between the neural circuits associated with valuation, shared distress, observation-execution, and mentalizing. Finally, we propose that adaptive empathy should be considered a prominent facet of empathic capabilities with the potential to explain empathic behavior in health and psychopathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simone G Shamay-Tsoory
- Department of Psychology, University of Haifa.,Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center (IBBRC), University of Haifa
| | - Uri Hertz
- Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center (IBBRC), University of Haifa.,Department of Cognitive Sciences, University of Haifa
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Díaz-Narváez VP, Silva-Vetri MG, Calzadilla-Núñez A, García ALL, Lopez ADLP, Reyes-Reyes A. Empathy in Professors and Students of a School of Dentistry in the Caribbean. PESQUISA BRASILEIRA EM ODONTOPEDIATRIA E CLÍNICA INTEGRADA 2022. [DOI: 10.1590/pboci.2022.043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
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Paz LV, Viola TW, Milanesi BB, Sulzbach JH, Mestriner RG, Wieck A, Xavier LL. Contagious Depression: Automatic Mimicry and the Mirror Neuron System - A Review. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 134:104509. [PMID: 34968526 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.12.032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2021] [Revised: 06/19/2021] [Accepted: 12/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Contagious depression is a theory proposing that depression can be induced or triggered by our social environment. This theory is based on emotional contagion, the idea that affective states can be transferred during social interaction, since humans can use emotional contagion to communicate feelings and emotions in conscious and unconscious ways. This review presents behavioral, physiological, and neuroanatomical aspects of two essential contagious depression mechanisms, automatic mimicry and the mirror neuron system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisiê Valéria Paz
- Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, PUCRS, Escola de Ciências da Saúde e da Vida, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Celular e Molecular, Laboratório de Biologia Celular e Tecidual, Av. Ipiranga 6681, Prédio 12C, Sala 104, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul CEP 90619-900, Brazil.
| | - Thiago Wendt Viola
- Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, PUCRS, Escola de Ciências da Saúde e da Vida, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Psicologia, Avenida Ipiranga 6681, prédio 11, sala 926, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul CEP 90619-900, Brazil.
| | - Bruna Bueno Milanesi
- Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, PUCRS, Escola de Ciências da Saúde e da Vida, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Celular e Molecular, Laboratório de Biologia Celular e Tecidual, Av. Ipiranga 6681, Prédio 12C, Sala 104, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul CEP 90619-900, Brazil.
| | - Juliana Henz Sulzbach
- Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, PUCRS, Escola de Ciências da Saúde e da Vida, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Celular e Molecular, Laboratório de Biologia Celular e Tecidual, Av. Ipiranga 6681, Prédio 12C, Sala 104, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul CEP 90619-900, Brazil.
| | - Régis Gemerasca Mestriner
- Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, PUCRS, Escola de Ciências da Saúde e da Vida, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Celular e Molecular, Laboratório de Biologia Celular e Tecidual, Av. Ipiranga 6681, Prédio 12C, Sala 104, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul CEP 90619-900, Brazil.
| | - Andrea Wieck
- Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, PUCRS, Escola de Ciências da Saúde e da Vida, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Celular e Molecular, Laboratório de Biologia Celular e Tecidual, Av. Ipiranga 6681, Prédio 12C, Sala 104, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul CEP 90619-900, Brazil.
| | - Léder Leal Xavier
- Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, PUCRS, Escola de Ciências da Saúde e da Vida, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Celular e Molecular, Laboratório de Biologia Celular e Tecidual, Av. Ipiranga 6681, Prédio 12C, Sala 104, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul CEP 90619-900, Brazil.
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Decety J, Holvoet C. The emergence of empathy: A developmental neuroscience perspective. DEVELOPMENTAL REVIEW 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.dr.2021.100999] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
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Ayache J, Connor A, Marks S, Kuss DJ, Rhodes D, Sumich A, Heym N. Exploring the "Dark Matter" of Social Interaction: Systematic Review of a Decade of Research in Spontaneous Interpersonal Coordination. Front Psychol 2021; 12:718237. [PMID: 34707533 PMCID: PMC8542929 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.718237] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2021] [Accepted: 09/10/2021] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Interpersonal coordination is a research topic that has attracted considerable attention this last decade both due to a theoretical shift from intra-individual to inter-individual processes and due to the development of new methods for recording and analyzing movements in ecological settings. Encompassing spatiotemporal behavioral matching, interpersonal coordination is considered as "social glue" due to its capacity to foster social bonding. However, the mechanisms underlying this effect are still unclear and recent findings suggest a complex picture. Goal-oriented joint action and spontaneous coordination are often conflated, making it difficult to disentangle the role of joint commitment from unconscious mutual attunement. Consequently, the goals of the present article are twofold: (1) to illustrate the rapid expansion of interpersonal coordination as a research topic and (2) to conduct a systematic review of spontaneous interpersonal coordination, summarizing its latest developments and current challenges this last decade. By applying Rapid Automatic Keyword Extraction and Latent Dirichlet Allocation algorithms, keywords were extracted from PubMed and Scopus databases revealing the large diversity of research topics associated with spontaneous interpersonal coordination. Using the same databases and the keywords "behavioral matching," "interactional synchrony," and "interpersonal coordination," 1,213 articles were identified, extracted, and screened following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses protocol. A total of 19 articles were selected using the following inclusion criteria: (1) dynamic and spontaneous interactions between two unacquainted individuals (2) kinematic analyses, and (3) non-clinical and non-expert adult populations. The results of this systematic review stress the proliferation of various definitions and experimental paradigms that study perceptual and/or social influences on the emergence of spontaneous interpersonal coordination. As methods and indices used to quantify interpersonal coordination differ from one study to another, it becomes difficult to establish a coherent picture. This review highlights the need to reconsider interpersonal coordination not as the pinnacle of social interactions but as a complex dynamical process that requires cautious interpretation. An interdisciplinary approach is necessary for building bridges across scattered research fields through opening a dialogue between different theoretical frameworks and consequently provides a more ecological and holistic understanding of human social cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Ayache
- Department of Psychology, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, United Kingdom
| | - Andy Connor
- School of Future Environments, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Stefan Marks
- School of Future Environments, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Daria J. Kuss
- Department of Psychology, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, United Kingdom
| | - Darren Rhodes
- Department of Psychology, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, United Kingdom
| | - Alexander Sumich
- Department of Psychology, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, United Kingdom
- Department of Psychology, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Nadja Heym
- Department of Psychology, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, United Kingdom
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Sommerlad A, Huntley J, Livingston G, Rankin KP, Fancourt D. Empathy and its associations with age and sociodemographic characteristics in a large UK population sample. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0257557. [PMID: 34543334 PMCID: PMC8452078 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0257557] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2021] [Accepted: 09/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Empathy is fundamental to social cognition, driving prosocial behaviour and mental health but associations with aging and other socio-demographic characteristics are unclear. We therefore aimed to characterise associations of these characteristics with two main self-reported components of empathy, namely empathic-concern (feeling compassion) and perspective-taking (understanding others' perspective). METHODS We asked participants in an internet-based survey of UK-dwelling adults aged ≥18 years to complete the Interpersonal Reactivity Index subscales measuring empathic concern and perspective taking, and sociodemographic and personality questionnaires. We weighted the sample to be UK population representative and employed multivariable weighted linear regression models. RESULTS In 30,033 respondents, mean empathic concern score was 3.86 (95% confidence interval 3.85, 3.88) and perspective taking was 3.57 (3.56. 3.59); the correlation between these sub-scores was 0.45 (p < 0.001). Empathic concern and perspective taking followed an inverse-u shape trajectory in women with peak between 40 and 50 years whereas in men, perspective taking declines with age but empathic concern increases. In fully adjusted models, greater empathic concern was associated with female gender, non-white ethnicity, having more education, working in health, social-care, or childcare professions, and having higher neuroticism, extroversion, openness to experience and agreeableness traits. Perspective taking was associated with younger age, female gender, more education, employment in health or social-care, neuroticism, openness, and agreeableness. CONCLUSIONS Empathic compassion and understanding are distinct dimensions of empathy with differential demographic associations. Perspective taking may decline due to cognitive inflexibility with older age whereas empathic concern increases in older men suggesting it is socially-driven.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Sommerlad
- Division of Psychiatry, University College London, London, United Kingdom
- Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom
| | - Jonathan Huntley
- Division of Psychiatry, University College London, London, United Kingdom
- Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom
| | - Gill Livingston
- Division of Psychiatry, University College London, London, United Kingdom
- Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom
| | - Katherine P. Rankin
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Daisy Fancourt
- Department of Behavioural Science and Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom
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Decety J, Holvoet C. Le développement de l’empathie chez le jeune enfant. ANNEE PSYCHOLOGIQUE 2021. [DOI: 10.3917/anpsy1.213.0239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
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40
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Haaker J, Diaz-Mataix L, Guillazo-Blanch G, Stark SA, Kern L, LeDoux JE, Olsson A. Observation of others' threat reactions recovers memories previously shaped by firsthand experiences. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:e2101290118. [PMID: 34301895 PMCID: PMC8325359 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2101290118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Information about dangers can spread effectively by observation of others' threat responses. Yet, it is unclear if such observational threat information interacts with associative memories that are shaped by the individual's direct, firsthand experiences. Here, we show in humans and rats that the mere observation of a conspecific's threat reactions reinstates previously learned and extinguished threat responses in the observer. In two experiments, human participants displayed elevated physiological responses to threat-conditioned cues after observational reinstatement in a context-specific manner. The elevation of physiological responses (arousal) was further specific to the context that was observed as dangerous. An analogous experiment in rats provided converging results by demonstrating reinstatement of defensive behavior after observing another rat's threat reactions. Taken together, our findings provide cross-species evidence that observation of others' threat reactions can recover associations previously shaped by direct, firsthand aversive experiences. Our study offers a perspective on how retrieval of threat memories draws from associative mechanisms that might underlie both observations of others' and firsthand experiences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Haaker
- Department of Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany;
- Division of Psychology, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Lorenzo Diaz-Mataix
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003;
- Emotional Brain Institute, New York University, New York, NY 10003
| | - Gemma Guillazo-Blanch
- Departament de Psicobiologia i Metodologia de les Ciències de la Salut, Institut de Neurociències, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Sara A Stark
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003
| | - Lea Kern
- Division of Psychology, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Joseph E LeDoux
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003
- Emotional Brain Institute, New York University, New York, NY 10003
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY 10003
| | - Andreas Olsson
- Division of Psychology, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden
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Behm DG, Carter TB. Empathetic Factors and Influences on Physical Performance: A Topical Review. Front Psychol 2021; 12:686262. [PMID: 34335399 PMCID: PMC8316856 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.686262] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2021] [Accepted: 06/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Performance is dependent upon both physical and psychological factors. As a social animal, human behaviors are influenced by interactions with others. Empathy is based on social interactions and is defined as the understanding, awareness of, sensitivity to, and ability to vicariously experience the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another. There are few investigations on the influence of empathy in relation to individual and team performance and activity. There is some initial research suggesting that observing sad photos or videos or fatiguing exercise can adversely affect subsequent performance. Possible mechanisms may be attributed to mirror neurons or the affordance competition hypothesis. The relative degree of empathetic influences can be modulated by sex, age, personal familiarity, cultures and other factors. With the limited research in sport and exercise science, there is a need for more research to investigate the role of empathy on individual and team performances. The objective of this topical review was to examine the possible effects of empathy on physical performance, the potential underlying mechanisms and influencing variables moderating the association between empathy and performance?
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Affiliation(s)
- David G Behm
- School of Human Kinetics and Recreation, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John's, NL, Canada
| | - Tori B Carter
- School of Human Kinetics and Recreation, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John's, NL, Canada
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Harrison K. Compassion Fatigue: Understanding Empathy. Vet Clin North Am Small Anim Pract 2021; 51:1041-1051. [PMID: 34218949 DOI: 10.1016/j.cvsm.2021.04.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
In clinical medicine, empathy is considered a central feature of holistic caretaking and successful patient interaction. It is unclear whether characteristics of empathy are innate, learned, or a combination of both. The means to evaluate clinical empathy are ill-defined, but perception of empathy has been shown to influence patient outcomes as well as professional well-being. This article reviews what is known about empathy in a medical setting and how it relates to negative mental health outcomes, such as compassion fatigue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelly Harrison
- University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, 2015 Southwest 16(th)Avenue, Gainesville, FL 32608, USA.
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Babik I, Gardner ES. Factors Affecting the Perception of Disability: A Developmental Perspective. Front Psychol 2021; 12:702166. [PMID: 34234730 PMCID: PMC8255380 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.702166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2021] [Accepted: 05/31/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Perception of disability is an important construct affecting not only the well-being of individuals with disabilities, but also the moral compass of the society. Negative attitudes toward disability disempower individuals with disabilities and lead to their social exclusion and isolation. By contrast, a healthy society encourages positive attitudes toward individuals with disabilities and promotes social inclusion. The current review explored disability perception in the light of the in-group vs. out-group dichotomy, since individuals with disabilities may be perceived as a special case of out-group. We implemented a developmental approach to study perception of disability from early age into adolescence while exploring cognitive, affective, and behavioral components of children’s attitudes. Potential factors influencing perception of disability were considered at the level of society, family and school environment, and the individual. Better understanding of factors influencing the development of disability perception would allow the design of effective interventions to improve children’s attitudes toward peers with disabilities, reduce intergroup biases, and promote social inclusion. Based on previous research in social and developmental psychology, education, and anthropology, we proposed an integrative model that provides a conceptual framework for understanding the development of disability perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iryna Babik
- Department of Psychological Science, Boise State University, Boise, ID, United States
| | - Elena S Gardner
- Department of Psychological Science, Boise State University, Boise, ID, United States
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Schmidt I, Rutanen T, Luciani RS, Jola C. Feeling for the Other With Ease: Prospective Actors Show High Levels of Emotion Recognition and Report Above Average Empathic Concern, but Do Not Experience Strong Distress. Front Psychol 2021; 12:543846. [PMID: 34140906 PMCID: PMC8203906 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.543846] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2020] [Accepted: 05/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Differences in empathic abilities between acting, dance, and psychology students were explored, in addition to the appropriateness of existing empathy measures in the context of these cohorts. Students (N = 176) across Higher Education Institutions in the United Kingdom and Europe were included in the online survey analysis, consisting of the Reading the Mind in the Eyes (RME) test, the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), the Empathy Quotient (EQ), and the E-drawing test (EDT), each measuring particular facets of empathy. Based on existing evidence and our understanding of the discipline practices, we predicted that acting students would perform the best at identifying people’s emotional expressions but might lack other cognitive or affective empathy skills, particularly those related to emotional reactions. This cohort thus provides an opportunity to evaluate different empathy measures. While actors showed significantly higher RME scores than dancers, the difference between actors and psychologists was marginal. Moreover, actors’ scores did not differ significantly on other empathy measures, such as their concern for others’ emotional wellbeing or fantasy, both measured by IRI subscales. Psychology students scored highest in the IRI perspective taking subscale and the data supported anecdotal evidence that psychologists were more concerned for others’ emotional wellbeing than dancers or actors. Dancers seemed the least concerned with others’ perspectives and emotional states, which we explained through a somatosensory ‘inward’ focus required by their art form. Nevertheless, compared to the general population, our groups reported higher empathic abilities on all IRI subscales except for personal distress. Altogether, our study shows that the RME, the IRI, and the EDT vary in their susceptibility to different facets of empathic abilities in acting, dance, and psychology students whereas the EQ does not. Emotions can be expressed and perceived through language, facial expressions, or behavior. As many empathy tests focus on one type of signal they might miss other strategies. Where empathy tests are applied to individuals that have a predominance to read or respond to others in a particular way, as we showed through these three disciplines, they might not capture these empathic strategies. We thus propose that empathy tests must evolve by means of integrating varied forms of communication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabell Schmidt
- Division of Psychology and Forensic Sciences, School of Applied Sciences, Abertay University, Dundee, United Kingdom
| | - Tuomas Rutanen
- Division of Psychology and Forensic Sciences, School of Applied Sciences, Abertay University, Dundee, United Kingdom
| | - Roberto S Luciani
- Division of Psychology and Forensic Sciences, School of Applied Sciences, Abertay University, Dundee, United Kingdom
| | - Corinne Jola
- Division of Psychology and Forensic Sciences, School of Applied Sciences, Abertay University, Dundee, United Kingdom
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Pashevich E. Can communication with social robots influence how children develop empathy? Best-evidence synthesis. AI & SOCIETY 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s00146-021-01214-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
AbstractSocial robots are gradually entering children’s lives in a period when children learn about social relationships and exercise prosocial behaviors with parents, peers, and teachers. Designed for long-term emotional engagement and to take the roles of friends, teachers, and babysitters, such robots have the potential to influence how children develop empathy. This article presents a review of the literature (2010–2020) in the fields of human–robot interaction (HRI), psychology, neuropsychology, and roboethics, discussing the potential impact of communication with social robots on children’s social and emotional development. The critical analysis of evidence behind these discussions shows that, although robots theoretically have high chances of influencing the development of empathy in children, depending on their design, intensity, and context of use, there is no certainty about the kind of effect they might have. Most of the analyzed studies, which showed the ability of robots to improve empathy levels in children, were not longitudinal, while the studies observing and arguing for the negative effect of robots on children’s empathy were either purely theoretical or dependent on the specific design of the robot and the situation. Therefore, there is a need for studies investigating the effects on children’s social and emotional development of long-term regular and consistent communication with robots of various designs and in different situations.
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McHarg G, Hughes C. Prosocial television and prosocial toddlers: A multi-method, longitudinal investigation. Infant Behav Dev 2021; 62:101526. [PMID: 33461079 DOI: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2021.101526] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2020] [Revised: 12/29/2020] [Accepted: 12/31/2020] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
How screen use might affect early childhood outcomes is an important question for parents, but existing research is patchy. In particular, screen time is often examined in relation to sleep and aggression, but much less is known about its links with prosocial behaviour. To address this gap, we conducted semi-structured observations and interviews / questionnaires with both mothers and fathers in a sample of 195 (predominantly affluent and educated) British families tracked across three time-points, when the first-born child was 14-, 24-, and 36-months old. We also applied an objective coding scheme to assess the relative frequency of prosocial behaviour in the programmes and films children were watching at age 24-months. While our results showed no overall associations between prosocial behaviour and either screen time or screen content, there were interaction effects. Specifically, children whose favourite programmes were slow-paced and rich in prosocial content were particularly likely to show developmental gains in sharing. We discuss these findings in terms of their implications for parents, researchers, and policy makers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabrielle McHarg
- Centre for Family Research, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.
| | - Claire Hughes
- Centre for Family Research, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
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47
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Arioli M, Basso G, Poggi P, Canessa N. Fronto-temporal brain activity and connectivity track implicit attention to positive and negative social words in a novel socio-emotional Stroop task. Neuroimage 2020; 226:117580. [PMID: 33221447 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117580] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2019] [Revised: 11/11/2020] [Accepted: 11/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous inconsistencies on the effects of implicitly processing positively - vs. negatively - connotated emotional words might reflect the influence of uncontrolled psycholinguistic dimensions, and/or social facets inherent in putative "emotional" stimuli. Based on the relevance of social features in semantic cognition, we developed a socio-emotional Stroop task to assess the influence of social vs. individual (non-social) emotional content, besides negative vs. positive valence, on implicit word processing. The effect of these variables was evaluated in terms of performance and RTs, alongside associated brain activity/connectivity. We matched conditions for several psycholinguistic variables, and assessed a modulation of brain activity/connectivity by trial-wise RT, to characterize the maximum of condition- and subject-specific variability. RTs were tracked by insular and anterior cingulate activations likely reflecting implicit attention to stimuli, interfering with task-performance based on condition-specific processing of their subjective salience. Slower performance for negative than neutral/positive words was tracked by left-hemispheric structures processing negative stimuli and emotions, such as fronto-insular cortex, while the lack of specific activations for positively-connotated words supported their marginal facilitatory effect. The speeding/slowing effects of processing positive/negative individual emotional stimuli were enhanced by social words, reflecting in specific activations of the right anterior temporal and orbitofrontal cortex, respectively. RTs to social positive and negative words modulated connectivity from these regions to fronto-striatal and sensorimotor structures, respectively, likely promoting approach vs. avoidance dispositions shaping their facilitatory vs. inhibitory effect. These results might help assessing the neural correlates of impaired social cognition and emotional regulation, and the effects of rehabilitative interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Arioli
- NEtS center, Scuola Universitaria Superiore IUSS, Pavia 27100, Italy; Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri IRCCS, Pavia 27100, Italy
| | - Gianpaolo Basso
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri IRCCS, Pavia 27100, Italy; University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan 20126, Italy
| | - Paolo Poggi
- Radiology Unit, Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri IRCCS, Pavia 27100, Italy
| | - Nicola Canessa
- NEtS center, Scuola Universitaria Superiore IUSS, Pavia 27100, Italy; Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri IRCCS, Pavia 27100, Italy.
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Barbot B, Kaufman JC. What makes immersive virtual reality the ultimate empathy machine? Discerning the underlying mechanisms of change. COMPUTERS IN HUMAN BEHAVIOR 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2020.106431] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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Cristofani C, Sesso G, Cristofani P, Fantozzi P, Inguaggiato E, Muratori P, Narzisi A, Pfanner C, Pisano S, Polidori L, Ruglioni L, Valente E, Masi G, Milone A. The Role of Executive Functions in the Development of Empathy and Its Association with Externalizing Behaviors in Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders and Other Psychiatric Comorbidities. Brain Sci 2020; 10:E489. [PMID: 32731515 PMCID: PMC7465618 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci10080489] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2020] [Revised: 07/21/2020] [Accepted: 07/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Executive functions have been previously shown to correlate with empathic attitudes and prosocial behaviors. People with higher levels of executive functions, as a whole, may better regulate their emotions and reduce perceived distress during the empathetic processes. Our goal was to explore the relationship between empathy and executive functioning in a sample of children and adolescents diagnosed with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder alone or associated with comorbid Disruptive Behavior Disorders and/or Autism Spectrum Disorder. We also aimed to examine the role of empathic dimensions and executive skills in regulating externalizing behaviors. The 151 participants with ADHD were assigned to four groups according to their psychiatric comorbidity (either "pure" or with ASD and/or ODD/CD) and assessed by means of either parent- or self-reported questionnaires, namely the BRIEF-2, the BES, and the IRI. No questionnaire was found to discriminate between the four groups. Affective Empathy was found to positively correlate with Emotional and Behavioral Regulation competences. Furthermore, Aggressiveness and Oppositional Defiant Problems were positively associated with Executive Emotional and Behavioral Regulation competences. On the other hand, Rule-Breaking Behaviors and Conduct Problems were negatively associated with Affective Empathy and with Behavioral skills. Our study provides an additional contribution for a better understanding of the complex relationship between empathic competence and executive functions, showing that executive functioning and empathic attitudes interact with each other to regulate aggressive behaviors. This study further corroborates developmental models of empathy and their clinical implications, for which externalizing behaviors could be attenuated by enhancing executive functioning skills.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Cristofani
- IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, 56128 Pisa (Calambrone), Italy; (C.C.); (G.S.); (P.C.); (P.F.); (E.I.); (P.M.); (A.N.); (C.P.); (L.P.); (L.R.); (E.V.); (G.M.)
| | - Gianluca Sesso
- IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, 56128 Pisa (Calambrone), Italy; (C.C.); (G.S.); (P.C.); (P.F.); (E.I.); (P.M.); (A.N.); (C.P.); (L.P.); (L.R.); (E.V.); (G.M.)
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy
| | - Paola Cristofani
- IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, 56128 Pisa (Calambrone), Italy; (C.C.); (G.S.); (P.C.); (P.F.); (E.I.); (P.M.); (A.N.); (C.P.); (L.P.); (L.R.); (E.V.); (G.M.)
| | - Pamela Fantozzi
- IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, 56128 Pisa (Calambrone), Italy; (C.C.); (G.S.); (P.C.); (P.F.); (E.I.); (P.M.); (A.N.); (C.P.); (L.P.); (L.R.); (E.V.); (G.M.)
| | - Emanuela Inguaggiato
- IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, 56128 Pisa (Calambrone), Italy; (C.C.); (G.S.); (P.C.); (P.F.); (E.I.); (P.M.); (A.N.); (C.P.); (L.P.); (L.R.); (E.V.); (G.M.)
| | - Pietro Muratori
- IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, 56128 Pisa (Calambrone), Italy; (C.C.); (G.S.); (P.C.); (P.F.); (E.I.); (P.M.); (A.N.); (C.P.); (L.P.); (L.R.); (E.V.); (G.M.)
| | - Antonio Narzisi
- IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, 56128 Pisa (Calambrone), Italy; (C.C.); (G.S.); (P.C.); (P.F.); (E.I.); (P.M.); (A.N.); (C.P.); (L.P.); (L.R.); (E.V.); (G.M.)
| | - Chiara Pfanner
- IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, 56128 Pisa (Calambrone), Italy; (C.C.); (G.S.); (P.C.); (P.F.); (E.I.); (P.M.); (A.N.); (C.P.); (L.P.); (L.R.); (E.V.); (G.M.)
| | - Simone Pisano
- Department of Neuroscience, AORN Santobono-Pausilipon, 80122 Naples, Italy;
- Department of Translational Medical Sciences, Federico II University, 80138 Naples, Italy
| | - Lisa Polidori
- IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, 56128 Pisa (Calambrone), Italy; (C.C.); (G.S.); (P.C.); (P.F.); (E.I.); (P.M.); (A.N.); (C.P.); (L.P.); (L.R.); (E.V.); (G.M.)
| | - Laura Ruglioni
- IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, 56128 Pisa (Calambrone), Italy; (C.C.); (G.S.); (P.C.); (P.F.); (E.I.); (P.M.); (A.N.); (C.P.); (L.P.); (L.R.); (E.V.); (G.M.)
| | - Elena Valente
- IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, 56128 Pisa (Calambrone), Italy; (C.C.); (G.S.); (P.C.); (P.F.); (E.I.); (P.M.); (A.N.); (C.P.); (L.P.); (L.R.); (E.V.); (G.M.)
| | - Gabriele Masi
- IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, 56128 Pisa (Calambrone), Italy; (C.C.); (G.S.); (P.C.); (P.F.); (E.I.); (P.M.); (A.N.); (C.P.); (L.P.); (L.R.); (E.V.); (G.M.)
| | - Annarita Milone
- IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, 56128 Pisa (Calambrone), Italy; (C.C.); (G.S.); (P.C.); (P.F.); (E.I.); (P.M.); (A.N.); (C.P.); (L.P.); (L.R.); (E.V.); (G.M.)
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Ye X, Guo H, Xu Z, Xiao H. Empathy variation of undergraduate medical students after early clinical contact: a cross-sectional study in China. BMJ Open 2020; 10:e035690. [PMID: 32690511 PMCID: PMC7371130 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-035690] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Empathy education is very important for medical students. There is little research on the influence of early clinical practice on the development of empathy and other aspects of professionalism in medical students. The aim of this study was to compare the self-reported empathy levels of first-year and second-year undergraduate medical students before and after their early clinical contact curriculum. SETTING The study was conducted at the Shanghai University of Medicine & Health Sciences, Shanghai, China. PARTICIPANTS A total of 257 undergraduate medical students participated in the study. The 154 first-year students were studying in 10 community-based teaching hospitals, and the 103 second-year students were studying in 3 university-affiliated hospitals. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES Primary measures: the Jefferson Scale of Empathy-Student version (JSE-S) was compared between students of different sexes and in different academic years before their early clinical contact course. Secondary measures: comparisons were made after they finished the curriculum 3 weeks later. RESULTS A total of 219 of 257 students responded (85.21% response rate), and 214 answers could be analysed (135 first-year and 79 second-year students; 120 female and 94 male individuals). No significant differences in the empathy scores before early clinical contact were observed between students of different sexes and in different academic years. After early clinical contact, the mean JSE-S score of the participants was significantly higher than the mean score at the beginning of the curriculum. CONCLUSIONS Empathy-focused training during early clinical contact can improve the empathetic capacity of undergraduate medical students. Fostering empathetic attitudes among undergraduate medical students is necessary for the early stage of their medical education. Further research is needed on the long-term effects of empathy-focused education in entry-level medical students.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiong Ye
- School of Clinical Medicine, Shanghai University of Medicine & Health Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Haiying Guo
- Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Zhou Xu
- Education Department, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Hui Xiao
- Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
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