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Tang H, Zhu R, Liang Z, Zhang S, Su S, Liu C. Enhancing and weakening conformity in third‐party punishment: The role of empathic concern. JOURNAL OF BEHAVIORAL DECISION MAKING 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/bdm.2315] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Honghong Tang
- Business School Beijing Normal University Beijing China
| | - Ruida Zhu
- Business School Beijing Normal University Beijing China
| | - Zilu Liang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research Beijing Normal University Beijing China
- Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences Beijing Normal University Beijing China
| | - Sihui Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research Beijing Normal University Beijing China
- Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences Beijing Normal University Beijing China
| | - Song Su
- Business School Beijing Normal University Beijing China
| | - Chao Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research Beijing Normal University Beijing China
- Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences Beijing Normal University Beijing China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics Beijing Normal University Beijing China
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2
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Pourmohammad P, Imani M, Goodarzi MA. Personal distress mediates the relationship between childhood trauma and interpersonal vulnerabilities in individuals with borderline personality disorder. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s12144-022-04063-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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3
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The effects of embodying wildlife in virtual reality on conservation behaviors. Sci Rep 2022; 12:6439. [PMID: 35440749 PMCID: PMC9019095 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-10268-y] [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: 10/06/2021] [Accepted: 04/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Efforts to mitigate environmental threats are often inversely related to the magnitude of casualty, human or otherwise. This “compassion fade” can be explained, in part, by differential processing of large- versus small-scale threats: it is difficult to form empathic connections with unfamiliar masses versus singular victims. Despite robust findings, little is known about how non-human casualty is processed, and what strategies override this bias. Across four experiments, we show how embodying threatened megafauna-Loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta Caretta)-using virtual reality can offset and reverse compassion fade. After observing compassion fade during exposure to non-human casualty in virtual reality (Study 1; N = 60), we then tested a custom virtual reality simulation designed to facilitate body transfer with a threatened Loggerhead sea turtle (Study 2; N = 98). Afterwards, a field experiment (Study 3; N = 90) testing the simulation with varied number of victims showed body transfer offset compassion fade. Lastly, a fourth study (N = 25) found that charitable giving among users embodying threatened wildlife was highest when exposed to one versus several victims, though this effect was reversed if victims were of a different species. The findings demonstrate how animal embodiment in virtual reality alters processing of environmental threats and non-human casualty, thereby influencing conservation outcomes.
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Yao L, Dai Q, Wu Q, Liu Y, Yu Y, Guo T, Zhou M, Yang J, Takahashi S, Ejima Y, Wu J. Eye Size Affects Cuteness in Different Facial Expressions and Ages. Front Psychol 2022; 12:674456. [PMID: 35087437 PMCID: PMC8786738 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.674456] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2021] [Accepted: 12/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Researchers have suggested that infants exhibiting baby schema are considered cute. These similar studies have mainly focused on changes in overall baby schema facial features. However, whether a change in only eye size affects the perception of cuteness across different facial expressions and ages has not been explicitly evaluated until now. In the present study, a paired comparison method and 7-point scale were used to investigate the effects of eye size on perceived cuteness across facial expressions (positive, neutral, and negative) and ages (adults and infants). The results show that stimuli with large eyes were perceived to be cuter than both unmanipulated eyes and small eyes across all facial expressions and age groups. This suggests not only that the effect of baby schema on cuteness is based on changes in a set of features but also that eye size as an individual feature can affect the perception of cuteness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lichang Yao
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering in Health Systems, Okayama University, Okayama, Japan
| | - Qi Dai
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering in Health Systems, Okayama University, Okayama, Japan
| | - Qiong Wu
- School of Education, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou, China
| | - Yang Liu
- School of Education, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou, China
| | - Yiyang Yu
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University, Okayama, Japan
| | - Ting Guo
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University, Okayama, Japan
| | - Mengni Zhou
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering in Health Systems, Okayama University, Okayama, Japan
| | - Jiajia Yang
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering in Health Systems, Okayama University, Okayama, Japan
| | - Satoshi Takahashi
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering in Health Systems, Okayama University, Okayama, Japan
| | - Yoshimichi Ejima
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering in Health Systems, Okayama University, Okayama, Japan
| | - Jinglong Wu
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering in Health Systems, Okayama University, Okayama, Japan.,Research Center for Medical Artificial Intelligence, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Science, Shenzhen, China.,School of Mechatronical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China
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5
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Zheng S, Masuda T, Matsunaga M, Noguchi Y, Ohtsubo Y, Yamasue H, Ishii K. Cultural differences in social support seeking: The mediating role of empathic concern. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0262001. [PMID: 34969056 PMCID: PMC8718000 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0262001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2020] [Accepted: 12/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Prior research has found that East Asians are less willing than Westerners to seek social support in times of need. What factors account for this cultural difference? Whereas previous research has examined the mediating effect of relational concern, we predicted that empathic concern, which refers to feeling sympathy and concern for people in need and varies by individuals from different cultures, would promote support seeking. We tested the prediction in two studies. In Study 1, European Canadians reported higher empathic concern and a higher frequency of support seeking, compared to the Japanese participants. As predicted, cultural differences in social support seeking were influenced by empathic concern. In Study 2, both empathic concern and relational concern mediated cultural differences in support seeking. Japanese with lower empathic concern but higher relational concern were more reluctant than European Americans to seek social support during stressful times. Finally, loneliness, which was more prevalent among the Japanese than among the European Americans, was partially explained by social support seeking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shaofeng Zheng
- Department of Cognitive and Psychological Sciences, Graduate School of Informatics, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan
- * E-mail:
| | - Takahiko Masuda
- Department of Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Masahiro Matsunaga
- Department of Health and Psychosocial Medicine, Aichi Medical University, Nagakute, Aichi, Japan
| | - Yasuki Noguchi
- Department of Psychology, Graduate School of Humanities, Kobe University, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan
| | - Yohsuke Ohtsubo
- Department of Social Psychology, Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Hidenori Yamasue
- Department of Psychiatry, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan
| | - Keiko Ishii
- Department of Cognitive and Psychological Sciences, Graduate School of Informatics, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan
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6
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Czerniawska M, Szydło J. Do Values Relate to Personality Traits and if so, in What Way? - Analysis of Relationships. Psychol Res Behav Manag 2021; 14:511-527. [PMID: 33976575 PMCID: PMC8104970 DOI: 10.2147/prbm.s299720] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2021] [Accepted: 03/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction The research presents empirical data concerning the relations between personal traits and value system. The study focuses on empathy, agreeableness, directiveness, Machiavellism as personality traits. Theoretical assumptions and empirical findings are analyzed and interpreted in the context of cognitive framework, including the idea of regulative function self-concept. A content compatibility hypothesis between personality traits and one’s system of value was accepted as preliminary assumption for this research: empathy and agreeableness positively correlate with allocentric values, whereas directiveness and Machiavellism positively correlate with idiocentric values. The study group consisted of 325 students. Methods The Empathic Understanding of Others Questionnaire (Węgliński), Personality Inventory NEO-FFI (Costa and McCrae) Directiveness Scale (Ray) and Mach V Scale (Christie and Geis) were used. Results The value system of empathic and agreeable people reveals an allocentric orientation (tendency to abandon one’s own perspective), while the value system of directive and Machiavellian people reveals an idiocentric orientation (focused on oneself). Discussion The data analysis revealed that subjects tend to organize their self-knowledge in such a way that there is a content consistency between the information included in the appropriate schemas of personality traits and value preference.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mirosława Czerniawska
- Faculty of Engineering Management, Bialystok University of Technology, Bialystok, Poland
| | - Joanna Szydło
- Faculty of Engineering Management, Bialystok University of Technology, Bialystok, Poland
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Jauniaux J, Tessier MH, Regueiro S, Chouchou F, Fortin-Côté A, Jackson PL. Emotion regulation of others' positive and negative emotions is related to distinct patterns of heart rate variability and situational empathy. PLoS One 2021; 15:e0244427. [PMID: 33382784 PMCID: PMC7774949 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0244427] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2019] [Accepted: 12/09/2020] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Although emotion regulation has been proposed to be crucial for empathy, investigations on emotion regulation have been primarily limited to intrapersonal processes, leaving the interpersonal processes of self-regulation rather unexplored. Moreover, studies showed that emotion regulation and empathy are related with increased autonomic activation. How emotion regulation and empathy are related at the autonomic level, and more specifically during differently valenced social situations remains an open question. Healthy adults viewed a series of short videos illustrating a target who was expressing positive, negative, or no emotions during a social situation (Positive, Negative, or Neutral Social Scenes). Prior to each video, participants were instructed to reappraise their own emotions (Up-regulation, Down-regulation, or No-regulation). To assess autonomic activation, RR intervals (RRI), high frequency (HF) components of heart rate variability (HRV), and electrodermal activity phasic responses (EDRs) were calculated. Situational empathy was measured through a visual analogue scale. Participants rated how empathic they felt for a specific target. Up- and Down-regulation were related to an increase and a decrease in situational empathy and an increase in RRI and HF, respectively, compared to the control condition (No-regulation). This suggests increased activity of the parasympathetic branch during emotion regulation of situational empathic responses. Positive compared to Negative Social Scenes were associated with decreased situational empathy, in addition to a slightly but non-significantly increased HF. Altogether, this study demonstrates that emotion regulation may be associated with changes in situational empathy and autonomic responses, preferentially dominated by the parasympathetic branch and possibly reflecting an increase of regulatory processes. Furthermore, the current study provides evidence that empathy for different emotional valences is associated with distinct changes in situational empathy and autonomic responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josiane Jauniaux
- École de Psychologie, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
- Centre Interdisciplinaire de Recherche en Réadaptation et Intégration Sociale (CIRRIS), Québec, Québec, Canada
- Centre de recherche CERVO, Québec, Québec, Canada
| | - Marie-Hélène Tessier
- École de Psychologie, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
- Centre Interdisciplinaire de Recherche en Réadaptation et Intégration Sociale (CIRRIS), Québec, Québec, Canada
- Centre de recherche CERVO, Québec, Québec, Canada
| | - Sophie Regueiro
- Département de Psychologie, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | - Florian Chouchou
- IRISSE Laboratory (EA4075), UFR SHE, Université de La Réunion, Le Tampon, France
| | - Alexis Fortin-Côté
- École de Psychologie, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
- Centre Interdisciplinaire de Recherche en Réadaptation et Intégration Sociale (CIRRIS), Québec, Québec, Canada
- Centre de recherche CERVO, Québec, Québec, Canada
| | - Philip L. Jackson
- École de Psychologie, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
- Centre Interdisciplinaire de Recherche en Réadaptation et Intégration Sociale (CIRRIS), Québec, Québec, Canada
- Centre de recherche CERVO, Québec, Québec, Canada
- * E-mail:
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Otamendi FJ, Sutil Martín DL. The Emotional Effectiveness of Advertisement. Front Psychol 2020; 11:2088. [PMID: 33013532 PMCID: PMC7498694 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.02088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2020] [Accepted: 07/28/2020] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Based on cognitive–emotional neuroscience, the effectiveness of advertisement is measured in terms of individuals’ unconscious emotional responses. Using AFFDEX to record and analyze facial expressions, a combination of indicators that track both basic emotions and individual involvement is used to quantitatively determine if a spot causes high levels of ad liking in terms of attention, engagement, valence, and joy. We use as a test case a real campaign, in which a spot composed of 31 scenes (images, text, and the brand logo) is shown to subjects divided into five groups in terms of age and gender. The target group of mature women shows statistically more positive emotions and involvement than the rest of the groups, demonstrating the emotional effectiveness of the spot. Each other experimental groups show specific negative emotions as a function of their age and for certain blocks of scenes.
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Cudo A, Kopiś N, Zabielska-Mendyk E. Personal distress as a mediator between self-esteem, self-efficacy, loneliness and problematic video gaming in female and male emerging adult gamers. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0226213. [PMID: 31821356 PMCID: PMC6903753 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0226213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2019] [Accepted: 11/21/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The aim of our research was to investigate the predictors of Problematic Video Gaming (PVG) in emerging adulthood. From among the factors which were considered significant in previous studies, we decided to include the following in our research: empathy, self-esteem, self-efficacy and loneliness. Additionally, we wanted to examine which predictors have a direct or indirect effect on PVG in female and male emerging adult gamers group. Including a sample of 370 video game players (201 female gamers) aged 18-30 years (M = 21.66 years, SD = 2.83) participated in this study and were asked to complete self-report measures. The questionnaires included: Problem Videogame Playing Questionnaire, The Interpersonal Reactivity Index, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale, General Self-Efficacy Scale. Our results indicate that empathy dimension associated with personal distress, the time spent playing computer games per week is directly associated with PVG. Also, there were found full mediation between self-esteem, loneliness, self-efficacy and PVG via personal distress in emerging adult male gamers group. In emerging adult female gamers group personal distress fully mediated relation between self-esteem, self-efficacy and PVG. Our findings indicate that the time spent playing video games, as well as personal distress as a function of self-esteem, loneliness and self-efficacy, are predictors of problematic video gaming. Additionally, our results may lead to a better understanding of PVG among emerging adults. In particular, they may point to the importance of personal distress in relation to PVG during emerging adulthood, which is a developmental stage of many changes in social and professional life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrzej Cudo
- Department of Experimental Psychology, The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland
| | - Natalia Kopiś
- Department of Experimental Psychology, The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland
| | - Emilia Zabielska-Mendyk
- Department of Experimental Psychology, The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland
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10
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Fabi S, Weber LA, Leuthold H. Empathic concern and personal distress depend on situational but not dispositional factors. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0225102. [PMID: 31725812 PMCID: PMC6855434 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0225102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2019] [Accepted: 10/29/2019] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Empathic concern and personal distress are empathic responses that may result when observing someone in discomfort. Even though these empathic responses have received much attention in past research, it is still unclear which conditions contribute to their respective experience. Hence, the main goal of this study was to examine if dispositional empathic traits or rather situational variables are more likely to evoke empathic concern and personal distress and how the two empathic responses influence motor responses. We presented pictures of persons in psychological, physical, or no pain with matched descriptions of situations that promoted an other-focused state. Approach-avoidance movements were demanded by a subsequently presented tone. While psychological pain led to more empathic concern, physical pain led to higher ratings of personal distress. Linear mixed-effects modelling analysis further revealed that situational factors, such as the type of pain but also the affect experienced by the participants before the experiment predicted the two empathic responses, whereas dispositional empathic traits had no significant influence. In addition, the more intensely the empathic responses were experienced, the faster were movements initiated, presumably reflecting an effect of arousal. Overall, the present study advances our understanding of empathic responses to people in need and provides novel methodological tools to effectively manipulate and analyze empathic concern and personal distress in future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Fabi
- Department of Psychology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- * E-mail:
| | - Lydia Anna Weber
- Universitätsklinikum Tübingen, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Hartmut Leuthold
- Department of Psychology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
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11
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Sapolsky RM. Doubled-Edged Swords in the Biology of Conflict. Front Psychol 2018; 9:2625. [PMID: 30619017 PMCID: PMC6306482 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02625] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2018] [Accepted: 12/05/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Considerable advances have been made in understanding the biological roots of conflict, and such understanding requires a multidisciplinary approach, recognizing the relevance of neurobiological, endocrine, genetic, developmental, and evolutionary perspectives. With these insights comes the first hints of biological interventions that may mitigate violence. However, such interventions are typically double-edged swords, with the potential to foster conflict rather than lessen it. This review constitutes a cautionary note of being careful of what one wishes for.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert M. Sapolsky
- Gilbert Laboratory MC 5020, Departments of Biology, Neurology and Neurological Sciences, and Neurosurgery, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States
- Institute of Primate Research, National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya
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12
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Shaw DJ, Czekóová K, Pennington CR, Qureshi AW, Špiláková B, Salazar M, Brázdil M, Urbánek T. You ≠ me: individual differences in the structure of social cognition. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2018; 84:1139-1156. [PMID: 30324265 PMCID: PMC7239802 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-018-1107-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2018] [Accepted: 10/04/2018] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
This study investigated the structure of social cognition, and how it is influenced by personality; specifically, how various socio-cognitive capabilities, and the pattern of inter-relationships and co-dependencies among them differ between divergent personality styles. To measure social cognition, a large non-clinical sample (n = 290) undertook an extensive battery of self-report and performance-based measures of visual perspective taking, imitative tendencies, affective empathy, interoceptive accuracy, emotion regulation, and state affectivity. These same individuals then completed the Personality Styles and Disorders Inventory. Latent Profile Analysis revealed two dissociable personality profiles that exhibited contrasting cognitive and affective dispositions, and multivariate analyses indicated further that these profiles differed on measures of social cognition; individuals characterised by a flexible and adaptive personality profile expressed higher action orientation (emotion regulation) compared to those showing more inflexible tendencies, along with better visual perspective taking, superior interoceptive accuracy, less imitative tendencies, and lower personal distress and negativity. These characteristics point towards more efficient self-other distinction, and to higher cognitive control more generally. Moreover, low-level cognitive mechanisms served to mediate other higher level socio-emotional capabilities. Together, these findings elucidate the cognitive and affective underpinnings of individual differences in social behaviour, providing a data-driven model that should guide future research in this area.
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Affiliation(s)
- D J Shaw
- Behavioural and Social Neuroscience Research Group, CEITEC - Central European Institute of Technology, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 62500, Brno, Czech Republic. .,Department of Psychology, School of Life and Health Sciences, Aston University, Birmingham, B4 7ET, UK.
| | - K Czekóová
- Behavioural and Social Neuroscience Research Group, CEITEC - Central European Institute of Technology, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 62500, Brno, Czech Republic.,Institute of Psychology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Veveří 97, 60200, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - C R Pennington
- Department of Health and Social Sciences, Faculty of Health and Applied Sciences, University of the West of England, Coldharbour Lane, Bristol, BS16 1QY, UK
| | - A W Qureshi
- Department of Psychology, Edge Hill University, St Helens Road, Ormskirk, Lancashire, L39 4QP, UK
| | - B Špiláková
- Behavioural and Social Neuroscience Research Group, CEITEC - Central European Institute of Technology, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 62500, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - M Salazar
- Behavioural and Social Neuroscience Research Group, CEITEC - Central European Institute of Technology, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 62500, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - M Brázdil
- Behavioural and Social Neuroscience Research Group, CEITEC - Central European Institute of Technology, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 62500, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - T Urbánek
- Institute of Psychology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Veveří 97, 60200, Brno, Czech Republic
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13
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Holt R, Upadhyay J, Smith P, Allison C, Baron-Cohen S, Chakrabarti B. The Cambridge Sympathy Test: Self-reported sympathy and distress in autism. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0198273. [PMID: 30052646 PMCID: PMC6063395 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0198273] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2017] [Accepted: 05/16/2018] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Difficulties with aspects of social interaction, including empathy, comprise a core symptom of autism spectrum conditions (autism). Sympathy is a specific form of empathy and involves both cognitive and affective empathy. Data are presented from a new task of self-reported sympathy and personal distress. METHODS Participants with autism (93 males; 161 females) and controls (40 males, 93 females) took part in an online survey via the Autism Research Centre or Cambridge Psychology websites. Participants completed a task where they were asked to rate photographic images that were either of distressing, neutral or happy scenes, according to the amount of sympathy they had for the individual in the photo and the degree of personal distress they felt. All participants also completed the Empathy Quotient (EQ). RESULTS Significant differences were found between the autism and control groups for both self-reported sympathy and personal distress, with participants with autism giving lower ratings than controls. Control females scored significantly higher than control males in both sympathy and distress. Sympathy and distress ratings in the autism group did not differ significantly by sex. EQ showed positive correlations with sympathy and distress scores. CONCLUSIONS Using a new measure of self-reported sympathy, we found that both males and females with autism gave lower ratings of sympathy when viewing people in distressing scenarios, compared to controls.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosemary Holt
- Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | | | - Paula Smith
- Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Carrie Allison
- Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Simon Baron-Cohen
- Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Bhismadev Chakrabarti
- Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Centre for Autism, School of Psychology & Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom
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14
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Hernández MM, Eisenberg N, Valiente C, Thompson MS, Spinrad TL, Grimm KJ, VanSchyndel SK, Berger RH, Silva KM, Pina AA, Southworth J, Gal DE. Trajectories of the Expression of Negative Emotion from Kindergarten to First Grade: Associations with Academic Outcomes. JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 2018; 110:324-337. [PMID: 29861505 PMCID: PMC5976455 DOI: 10.1037/edu0000213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
We examined individual trajectories, across four time points, of children's (N = 301) expression of negative emotion in classroom settings and whether these trajectories predicted their observed school engagement, teacher-reported academic skills, and passage comprehension assessed with a standardized measure in first grade. In latent growth curve analyses, negative expressivity declined from kindergarten to first grade with significant individual differences in trajectories. Negative expressivity in kindergarten inversely predicted first grade school engagement and teacher-reported academic skills, and the slope of negative expressivity from kindergarten to first grade inversely predicted school engagement (e.g., increasing negative expressivity was associated with lower school engagement). In addition, we examined if prior academic functioning in kindergarten moderated the association between negative expressivity (level in kindergarten and change over time) and academic functioning in first grade. The slope of negative expressivity was negatively associated with first grade school engagement and passage comprehension for children who had lower kindergarten school engagement and passage comprehension, respectively, but was unrelated for those with higher academic functioning in kindergarten. That is, for children who had lower kindergarten school engagement and passage comprehension, greater declines in negative expressivity were associated with higher first grade school engagement and passage comprehension, respectively. The findings suggest that negative emotional expressivity in school is associated with academic outcomes in first grade and, in some cases, this association is more pronounced for children who had lower kindergarten academic functioning.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Carlos Valiente
- T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics, Arizona State University
| | - Marilyn S. Thompson
- T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics, Arizona State University
| | - Tracy L. Spinrad
- T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics, Arizona State University
| | | | | | - Rebecca H. Berger
- T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics, Arizona State University
| | - Kassondra M. Silva
- T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics, Arizona State University
| | | | - Jody Southworth
- T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics, Arizona State University
| | - Diana E. Gal
- T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics, Arizona State University
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Grynberg D, López-Pérez B. Facing others' misfortune: Personal distress mediates the association between maladaptive emotion regulation and social avoidance. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0194248. [PMID: 29561893 PMCID: PMC5862469 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0194248] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2017] [Accepted: 02/27/2018] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous research has linked the use of certain emotion regulation strategies to the vicarious experience of personal distress (PD) and empathic concern (EC). However, it has not yet been tested whether (1) vicarious PD is positively associated with maladaptive emotion regulation strategies, (2) vicarious EC is positively associated with adaptive emotion regulation strategies or whether (3) PD and EC mediate the link between emotion regulation and reports of approach/avoidance in response to a person in distress. To that end, we assessed people’s reports of PD (i.e., anxious, troubled and upset) and EC (i.e., concerned, sympathetic and soft-hearted) in response to a video depicting a person in a threatening situation (n = 78). Afterwards, we assessed participants’ reports of avoidance and approach with regard to the character and their disposition to use maladaptive and adaptive emotion regulation strategies. Results showed that both PD and EC were positively related to maladaptive strategies and negatively related to adaptive strategies, and that the association between maladaptive regulation strategies (i.e., rumination) and the willingness to avoid the person in distress was mediated by reports of greater PD. This study thus expands previous evidence on the relationship between maladaptive regulation strategies and affective empathy and provides novel insights into the main role that PD plays in the association between maladaptive strategies and social avoidance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Delphine Grynberg
- Univ. Lille, UMR 9193, SCALab, Sciences Cognitives et Sciences Affectives, Lille, France
- * E-mail:
| | - Belén López-Pérez
- Department of Psychology, Hope Park, Liverpool, Liverpool Hope University, Liverpool, United Kingdom
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Romosan RS, Dehelean L, Enatescu VR, Bredicean AC, Papava I, Giurgi-Oncu C, Romosan AM. Profiling undergraduate students from a Romanian medical university. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat 2018; 14:1891-1899. [PMID: 30100724 PMCID: PMC6063451 DOI: 10.2147/ndt.s165797] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE Medical students' personality traits, emotion regulation strategies, and empathic behavior are considered powerful predictors for their future achievements, professional adjustment, and mental strength. Coping strategies such as "self-blame," "rumination," "catastrophizing," "blaming others," lack of empathy, decreased emotion recognition abilities, and neuroticism are maladaptive and, thus, less desirable traits in medical professionals. The purpose of the study was to comparatively assess and find potential correlations between personality traits, empathy levels, emotion recognition abilities, and cognitive emotion regulation strategies of three medical student samples: general medicine (GM), dental medicine (DM), and general nursing (GN) students. PATIENTS AND METHODS This cross-sectional comparative study was conducted throughout the second semester of 2017, during Psychiatry class, on 306 medical undergraduates of the "Victor Babes" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timisoara, Romania. Personality was assessed by using Neuroticism-Extraversion-Openness to Experience Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI). Cognitive emotion regulation strategies were identified using the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ). Empathy quotient (EQ) was used to measure empathy levels. Emotion recognition abilities were evaluated with the Reading the Mind in the Eyes test (RMET). RESULTS GM students scored significantly higher than both DM and GN students in blaming others (CERQ) and significantly higher than GN students in "neuroticism" (NEO-FFI). GM and DM students obtained significantly lower scores than their GN colleagues in "agreeableness" (NEO-FFI) and empathy (EQ). Compared to DM students, GN students gave significantly more correct answers in RMET. Neuroticism was associated with less efficient coping mechanisms (self-blame, rumination, catastrophizing, blaming others) and lower empathy scores. Empathy correlated negatively with blaming others and was positively associated with agreeableness and emotion recognition abilities. CONCLUSION The differences found between the student samples can be consequences of several overlapping factors. Certain personality traits may predispose individuals to maladaptive coping responses, increased vulnerability to stress, and lower empathy levels. The results of this study can be viewed as baseline data for future, more comprehensive, longitudinal analyses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Radu-Stefan Romosan
- Department of Neurosciences, "Victor Babes" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timisoara, Romania,
| | - Liana Dehelean
- Department of Neurosciences, "Victor Babes" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timisoara, Romania,
| | - Virgil-Radu Enatescu
- Department of Neurosciences, "Victor Babes" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timisoara, Romania,
| | - Ana Cristina Bredicean
- Department of Neurosciences, "Victor Babes" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timisoara, Romania,
| | - Ion Papava
- Department of Neurosciences, "Victor Babes" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timisoara, Romania,
| | - Catalina Giurgi-Oncu
- Department of Neurosciences, "Victor Babes" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timisoara, Romania,
| | - Ana-Maria Romosan
- Department of Neurosciences, "Victor Babes" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timisoara, Romania,
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Mannarini S, Reikher A, Shani S, Shani-Zinovich I. The role of secure attachment, empathic self-efficacy, and stress perception in causal beliefs related to mental illness - a cross-cultural study: Italy versus Israel. Psychol Res Behav Manag 2017; 10:313-321. [PMID: 29070956 PMCID: PMC5640418 DOI: 10.2147/prbm.s138683] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Research suggests that “mental illness etiological beliefs” and attitudes toward mentally ill people are significantly related; it has also been demonstrated that adult attachment style and empathic self-efficacy affect such attitudes. Moreover, community or regional culture has a significant impact on etiology beliefs and attitudes toward the mentally sick. Materials and methods We carried out this study in Italy and Israel among psychology students to compare two cultures in regards to causal beliefs of mental disorders and the roles that specific variables, such as secure attachment, empathic self-efficacy, and stress, play in etiological beliefs. The participants (N=305) were students who belonged to two universities: Padua (N=183) and Haifa (N=122). The Many Facet Rasch Model (MFRM) was applied in a cross-cultural perspective to analyze the differential functioning of specific etiological beliefs in relation to the above mentioned variables; the effect of gender and religious beliefs was also entered in the MFRM. Results The two cultures reacted differently to the biogenetic and psychosocial causal explanations of mental disorders: Israeli students endorsed the biogenetic causal beliefs model more frequently than the Italians. Among other findings, concerning the biogenetic model, the Italian students were predominantly males, who declared to be religious and reported lower levels of secure attachment than Israelis. On the other hand, the Israeli students who manifested a preference toward the biogenetic explanation were mostly females, who declared not to be religious and who manifested higher levels of secure attachment than the Italians. Conclusion This article is expected to contribute to the improvement of the understanding of general public’s etiological beliefs of mental illness. Similarities and differences between the two cultures, Israel and Italy, have been highlighted on the basis of the MFRM analysis. The effect that interpersonal relations, such as attachment style, perceived empathy, and stress, have on etiological beliefs was also investigated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefania Mannarini
- Department of Philosophy, Sociology, Education and Applied Psychology, Interdepartmental Center for Family Research, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Alisa Reikher
- Department of Philosophy, Sociology, Education and Applied Psychology, Interdepartmental Center for Family Research, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Sharon Shani
- Department of Philosophy, Sociology, Education and Applied Psychology, Interdepartmental Center for Family Research, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Inbal Shani-Zinovich
- Department of Counseling and Human Development, Faculty of Education, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, Haifa, Israel
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Ferri P, Rovesti S, Panzera N, Marcheselli L, Bari A, Di Lorenzo R. Empathic attitudes among nursing students: a preliminary study. ACTA BIO-MEDICA : ATENEI PARMENSIS 2017; 88:22-30. [PMID: 28752829 DOI: 10.23750/abm.v88i3 -s.6610] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2017] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIM An empathic approach is fundamental for therapeutic relationship between nurse and patient. According to some researchers, female nursing students show higher empathic attitude in comparison with males, but both show a decline in empathy level as their studies progress. This preliminary study evaluated the self-reported emotional empathy level among undergraduate students at first and second year of nursing 3-year course. METHOD To assess empathy level, the Balanced Emotional Empathy Scale (BEES) was administered to all students enrolled in the 2015/16 academic year (N=142), at the beginning of first year (T0) and at mid-point of second year (T1) of nursing course. Data were statistically analyzed. RESULTS 118 nursing students participated in the first and 99 in the second survey. The BEES global mean score for the longitudinal group (n=99) slightly decreased from T0 (mean=37.1±19.5 SD) to T1 (mean=33.5±22.6 SD) (t=1.20, p=0.23; t-test for paired data). Female students reported a statistically significant higher mean BEES score compared to male students in both surveys. CONCLUSIONS Our preliminary data suggest a slight decline in empathy level among nursing students with the progress of study course, in accordance with previous studies. In particular, our study shows higher levels of empathy in female students and lower levels in male students, compared to other studies. Further surveys aimed at investigating the empathy attitude at the end of nursing course could confirm the decline tendency reported by this preliminary study. Other research focusing on the causes of empathy decline are necessary to explain this phenomenon.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paola Ferri
- Department of Diagnostic, Clinical and Public Health Medicine, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia.
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Eerola T, Vuoskoski JK, Kautiainen H. Being Moved by Unfamiliar Sad Music Is Associated with High Empathy. Front Psychol 2016; 7:1176. [PMID: 27695424 PMCID: PMC5025521 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2016] [Accepted: 07/25/2016] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The paradox of enjoying listening to music that evokes sadness is yet to be fully understood. Unlike prior studies that have explored potential explanations related to lyrics, memories, and mood regulation, we investigated the types of emotions induced by unfamiliar, instrumental sad music, and whether these responses are consistently associated with certain individual difference variables. One hundred and two participants were drawn from a representative sample to minimize self-selection bias. The results suggest that the emotional responses induced by unfamiliar sad music could be characterized in terms of three underlying factors: Relaxing sadness, Moving sadness, and Nervous sadness. Relaxing sadness was characterized by felt and perceived peacefulness and positive valence. Moving sadness captured an intense experience that involved feelings of sadness and being moved. Nervous sadness was associated with felt anxiety, perceived scariness and negative valence. These interpretations were supported by indirect measures of felt emotion. Experiences of Moving sadness were strongly associated with high trait empathy and emotional contagion, but not with other previously suggested traits such as absorption or nostalgia-proneness. Relaxing sadness and Nervous sadness were not significantly predicted by any of the individual difference variables. The findings are interpreted within a theoretical framework of embodied emotions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tuomas Eerola
- Department of Music, Durham UniversityDurham, UK; Department of Music, University of JyväskyläJyväskylä, Finland
| | - Jonna K Vuoskoski
- Department of Music, University of JyväskyläJyväskylä, Finland; Faculty of Music, University of OxfordOxford, UK
| | - Hannu Kautiainen
- Department of General Practice and Primary Health Care, University of Helsinki Helsinki, Finland
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Hortensius R, Schutter DJLG, de Gelder B. Personal distress and the influence of bystanders on responding to an emergency. COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2016; 16:672-88. [PMID: 27126708 PMCID: PMC4949296 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-016-0423-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Spontaneous helping behavior during an emergency is influenced by the personality of the onlooker and by social situational factors such as the presence of bystanders. Here, we sought to determine the influences of sympathy, an other-oriented response, and personal distress, a self-oriented response, on the effect of bystanders during an emergency. In four experiments, we investigated whether trait levels of sympathy and personal distress predicted responses to an emergency in the presence of bystanders by using behavioral measures and single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation. Sympathy and personal distress were expected to be associated with faster responses to an emergency without bystanders present, but only personal distress would predict slower responses to an emergency with bystanders present. The results of a cued reaction time task showed that people who reported higher levels of personal distress and sympathy responded faster to an emergency without bystanders (Exp. 1). In contrast to our predictions, perspective taking but not personal distress was associated with slower reaction times as the number of bystanders increased during an emergency (Exp. 2). However, the decrease in motor corticospinal excitability, a direct physiological measure of action preparation, with the increase in the number of bystanders was solely predicted by personal distress (Exp. 3). Incorporating cognitive load manipulations during the observation of an emergency suggested that personal distress is linked to an effect of bystanders on reflexive responding to an emergency (Exp. 4). Taken together, these results indicate that the presence of bystanders during an emergency reduces action preparation in people with a disposition to experience personal distress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruud Hortensius
- Brain and Emotion Laboratory, Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
- Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Tilburg School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands
- Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Dennis J L G Schutter
- Donders Institute of Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Beatrice de Gelder
- Brain and Emotion Laboratory, Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
- Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
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Contardi A, Imperatori C, Penzo I, Del Gatto C, Farina B. The Association among Difficulties in Emotion Regulation, Hostility, and Empathy in a Sample of Young Italian Adults. Front Psychol 2016; 7:1068. [PMID: 27486417 PMCID: PMC4948006 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2016] [Accepted: 06/30/2016] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The aim of the present study was to assess the role of empathy in mediating the association between difficulties in emotion regulation and hostility. Three hundred and sixty young Italian adults (220 women and 140 men) were enrolled in the study. Psychopathological assessments included the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), the Interpersonal Reactivity Index and the Buss–Durkee Hostility Inventory (BDHI). Perspective taking (PT) and Personal distress (PD) are significantly associated with both DERS total score and BDHI total score. A mediational model analyzing the direct and indirect effects of DERS on BDHI through the mediating role of PT and PD showed that the relation between DERS and BDHI was partially mediated by PT total score (b = 0.16; se = 0.01; p = 0.02). Taken together our findings support the possibility that PT skills could play a crucial role in inhibiting hostility behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Contardi
- Department of Human Science, European University of Rome, Rome Italy
| | | | - Ilaria Penzo
- Department of Human Science, European University of Rome, Rome Italy
| | - Claudia Del Gatto
- Department of Human Science, European University of Rome, Rome Italy
| | - Benedetto Farina
- Department of Human Science, European University of Rome, Rome Italy
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22
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Choi E, Chentsova-Dutton Y, Parrott WG. The Effectiveness of Somatization in Communicating Distress in Korean and American Cultural Contexts. Front Psychol 2016; 7:383. [PMID: 27047414 PMCID: PMC4803738 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00383] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2015] [Accepted: 03/03/2016] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous research has documented that Asians tend to somatize negative experiences to a greater degree than Westerners. It is posited that somatization may be a more functional communication strategy in Korean than American context. We examined the effects of somatization in communications of distress among participants from the US and Korea. We predicted that the communicative benefits of somatic words used in distress narratives would depend on the cultural contexts. In Study 1, we found that Korean participants used more somatic words to communicate distress than US participants. Among Korean participants, but not US participants, use of somatic words predicted perceived effectiveness of the communication and expectations of positive reactions (e.g., empathy) from others. In Study 2, we found that when presented with distress narratives of others, Koreans (but not Americans) showed more sympathy in response to narratives using somatic words than narratives using emotional words. These findings suggest that cultural differences in use of somatization may reflect differential effectiveness of somatization in communicating distress across cultural contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eunsoo Choi
- Japanese Society for the Promotion Fellowship, Kokoro Research Center, Kyoto University Kyoto, Japan
| | | | - W Gerrod Parrott
- Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA
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23
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Scrimgeour MB, Davis EL, Buss KA. You get what you get and you don't throw a fit!: Emotion socialization and child physiology jointly predict early prosocial development. Dev Psychol 2016; 52:102-16. [PMID: 26569566 PMCID: PMC4695310 DOI: 10.1037/dev0000071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Prosocial behavior in early childhood is a precursor to later adaptive social functioning. This investigation leveraged mother-reported, physiological, and observational data to examine children's prosocial development from age 2 to age 4 (N = 125). Maternal emotion socialization (ES) strategies and children's parasympathetic regulation have each been implicated in prosocial behavior, but are rarely examined together or prospectively. Given the transactional nature of parent-child relationships, the effects of maternal ES strategies on children's prosocial behavior are likely moderated by children's individual differences in parasympathetic regulation. As expected, mothers' reported use of problem-focused ES strategies predicted prosocial behavior at age 4. Additionally, children who showed parasympathetic reactivity consistent with more effective emotion regulation during a lab-based disappointment task were rated as more prosocial at age 4. Several interactions with maternal ES strategies emerged. Children's parasympathetic regulation moderated the relations between observed physical comfort or cognitive reframing and prosocial behavior. Observed distraction (either behavioral or cognitive) moderated the link between mothers' reported use of problem-focused ES strategies and children's prosocial behavior. Findings suggest that children's emerging prosocial behavior is shaped by the interactive contributions of interpersonal maternal ES as well as intrapersonal intrinsic physiological regulation. (PsycINFO Database Record
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Motomura Y, Takeshita A, Egashira Y, Nishimura T, Kim YK, Watanuki S. Inter-individual relationships in empathic traits and feedback-related fronto-central brain activity: an event-related potential study. J Physiol Anthropol 2015; 34:14. [PMID: 25857235 PMCID: PMC4457989 DOI: 10.1186/s40101-015-0053-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2014] [Accepted: 03/04/2015] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Neuroimaging studies continue to indicate the major role the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) plays in processing empathic responses. Error-related negativity (ERN), an event-related potential (ERP) thought to arise from the ACC, has been found to correlate with scores for individual empathic personality. This study investigated the relationship between empathic personality traits and the amplitude of feedback-related negativity (FRN), an ERP sourced from the ACC and similar to the ERN, using a task involving feedback of monetary gains or losses. METHODS Sixteen healthy participants answered an empathy trait questionnaire and performed a gambling task to elicit FRN. Because FRN amplitude is thought to be associated with attention, motivation, emotional state, and anxiety trait, we performed a partial correlation analysis between the empathic trait score and FRN amplitude while controlling for variables. RESULTS In partial correlation analysis, FRN amplitude was significantly inversely correlated with scores for personal distress and marginally correlated with scores for empathic concern and with total average score. DISCUSSION The study revealed for the first time an association between FRN and emotional empathic traits, after controlling for variables that can affect FRN amplitude. However, we also found a reversed directional correlation contrary to our expectations. This fronto-central brain activity may be associated with empathic properties via dopaminergic neuronal function. Future study using these electric potentials as experimental tools is expected to help elucidate the neurological mechanism of empathy.
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Iacono V, Ellenbogen MA, Wilson AL, Desormeau P, Nijjar R. Inhibition of personally-relevant angry faces moderates the effect of empathy on interpersonal functioning. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0112990. [PMID: 25695426 PMCID: PMC4334999 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0112990] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2014] [Accepted: 10/17/2014] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
While empathy is typically assumed to promote effective social interactions, it can sometimes be detrimental when it is unrestrained and overgeneralized. The present study explored whether cognitive inhibition would moderate the effect of empathy on social functioning. Eighty healthy young adults underwent two assessments six months apart. Participants’ ability to suppress interference from distracting emotional stimuli was assessed using a Negative Affective Priming Task that included both generic and personally-relevant (i.e., participants’ intimate partners) facial expressions of emotion. The UCLA Life Stress Interview and Empathy Quotient were administered to measure interpersonal functioning and empathy respectively. Multilevel modeling demonstrated that higher empathy was associated with worse concurrent interpersonal outcomes for individuals who showed weak inhibition of the personally-relevant depictions of anger. The effect of empathy on social functioning might be dependent on individuals’ ability to suppress interference from meaningful emotional distractors in their environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vanessa Iacono
- Centre for Research in Human Development, Concordia University, Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | - Mark A. Ellenbogen
- Centre for Research in Human Development, Concordia University, Montréal, Québec, Canada
- * E-mail:
| | - Alexa L. Wilson
- Centre for Research in Human Development, Concordia University, Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | - Philip Desormeau
- Centre for Research in Human Development, Concordia University, Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | - Rami Nijjar
- Centre for Research in Human Development, Concordia University, Montréal, Québec, Canada
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Edwards A, Eisenberg N, Spinrad TL, Reiser M, Eggum-Wilkens ND, Liew J. Predicting Sympathy and Prosocial Behavior from Young Children's Dispositional Sadness. SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT 2015; 24:76-94. [PMID: 25663753 PMCID: PMC4314956 DOI: 10.1111/sode.12084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine whether dispositional sadness predicted children's prosocial behavior and if sympathy mediated this relation. Constructs were measured when children (N = 256 at Time 1) were 18-, 30-, and 42-months old. Mothers and non-parental caregivers rated children's sadness; mothers, caregivers, and fathers rated children's prosocial behavior; sympathy (concern and hypothesis testing) and prosocial behavior (indirect and direct, as well as verbal at older ages) were assessed with a task in which the experimenter feigned injury. In a panel path analysis, 30-month dispositional sadness predicted marginally higher 42-month sympathy; in addition, 30-month sympathy predicted 42-month sadness. Moreover, when controlling for prior levels of prosocial behavior, 30-month sympathy significantly predicted reported and observed prosocial behavior at 42 months. Sympathy did not mediate the relation between sadness and prosocial behavior (either reported or observed).
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Tracy L. Spinrad
- T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics, Arizona
State University
| | - Mark Reiser
- School of Mathematical and Statistical Science, Arizona State
University
| | | | - Jeffrey Liew
- Department of Educational Psychology, Texas A&M
University
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Colasante T, Zuffianò A, Bae NY, Malti T. Inhibitory Control and Moral Emotions: Relations to Reparation in Early and Middle Childhood. The Journal of Genetic Psychology 2014; 175:511-27. [DOI: 10.1080/00221325.2014.976535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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Devlin HC, Zaki J, Ong DC, Gruber J. Not as good as you think? Trait positive emotion is associated with increased self-reported empathy but decreased empathic performance. PLoS One 2014; 9:e110470. [PMID: 25353635 PMCID: PMC4212943 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0110470] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2014] [Accepted: 08/08/2014] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
How is positive emotion associated with our ability to empathize with others? Extant research provides support for two competing predictions about this question. An empathy amplification hypothesis suggests positive emotion would be associated with greater empathy, as it often enhances other prosocial processes. A contrasting empathy attenuation hypothesis suggests positive emotion would be associated with lower empathy, because positive emotion promotes self-focused or antisocial behaviors. The present investigation tested these competing perspectives by examining associations between dispositional positive emotion and both subjective (i.e., self-report) and objective (i.e., task performance) measures of empathy. Findings revealed that although trait positive emotion was associated with increased subjective beliefs about empathic tendencies, it was associated with both increases and decreases in task-based empathic performance depending on the target’s emotional state. More specifically, trait positive emotion was linked to lower overall empathic accuracy toward a high-intensity negative target, but also a higher sensitivity to emotion upshifts (i.e., shifts in emotion from negative to positive) toward positive targets. This suggests that trait positive affect may be associated with decreased objective empathy in the context of mood incongruent (i.e., negative) emotional stimuli, but may increase some aspects of empathic performance in the context of mood congruent (i.e., positive) stimuli. Taken together, these findings suggest that trait positive emotion engenders a compelling subjective-objective gap regarding its association with empathy, in being related to a heightened perception of empathic tendencies, despite being linked to mixed abilities in regards to empathic performance. (Word count: 242).
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Affiliation(s)
- Hillary C. Devlin
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Jamil Zaki
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America
| | - Desmond C. Ong
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America
| | - June Gruber
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Koopmann-Holm B, Tsai JL. Focusing on the negative: cultural differences in expressions of sympathy. J Pers Soc Psychol 2014; 107:1092-115. [PMID: 25243416 DOI: 10.1037/a0037684] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Feeling concern about the suffering of others is considered a basic human response, and yet we know surprisingly little about the cultural factors that shape how people respond to the suffering of another person. To this end, we conducted 4 studies that tested the hypothesis that American expressions of sympathy focus on the negative less and positive more than German expressions of sympathy, in part because Americans want to avoid negative states more than Germans do. In Study 1, we demonstrate that American sympathy cards contain less negative and more positive content than German sympathy cards. In Study 2, we show that European Americans want to avoid negative states more than Germans do. In Study 3, we demonstrate that these cultural differences in "avoided negative affect" mediate cultural differences in how comfortable Americans and Germans feel focusing on the negative (vs. positive) when expressing sympathy for the hypothetical death of an acquaintance's father. To examine whether greater avoided negative affect results in lesser focus on the negative and greater focus on the positive when responding to another person's suffering, in Study 4, American and German participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 conditions: (a) to "push negative images away" (i.e., increasing desire to avoid negative affect) from or (b) to "pull negative images closer" (i.e., decreasing desire to avoid negative affect) to themselves. Participants were then asked to pick a card to send to an acquaintance whose father had hypothetically just died. Across cultures, participants in the "push negative away" condition were less likely to choose sympathy cards with negative (vs. positive) content than were those in the "pull negative closer" condition. Together, these studies suggest that cultures differ in their desire to avoid negative affect and that these differences influence the degree to which expressions of sympathy focus on the negative (vs. positive). We discuss the implications of these findings for current models of sympathy, compassion, and helping.
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Missana M, Grigutsch M, Grossmann T. Developmental and individual differences in the neural processing of dynamic expressions of pain and anger. PLoS One 2014; 9:e93728. [PMID: 24705497 PMCID: PMC3976316 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0093728] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2013] [Accepted: 03/10/2014] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
We examined the processing of facial expressions of pain and anger in 8-month-old infants and adults by measuring event-related brain potentials (ERPs) and frontal EEG alpha asymmetry. The ERP results revealed that while adults showed a late positive potential (LPP) to emotional expressions that was enhanced to pain expressions, reflecting increased evaluation and emotional arousal to pain expressions, infants showed a negative component (Nc) to emotional expressions that was enhanced to angry expressions, reflecting increased allocation of attention to angry faces. Moreover, infants and adults showed opposite patterns in their frontal asymmetry responses to pain and anger, suggesting developmental differences in the motivational processes engendered by these facial expressions. These findings are discussed in the light of associated individual differences in infant temperament and adult dispositional empathy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manuela Missana
- Early Social Development Group, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
- * E-mail:
| | - Maren Grigutsch
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Tobias Grossmann
- Early Social Development Group, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
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Schuetze P, Eiden RD, Molnar DS, Colder CD. Empathic responsivity at 3 years of age in a sample of cocaine-exposed children. Neurotoxicol Teratol 2014; 42:1-8. [PMID: 24444666 PMCID: PMC3968185 DOI: 10.1016/j.ntt.2014.01.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2013] [Revised: 01/02/2014] [Accepted: 01/08/2014] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
This study examined the association between prenatal exposure to cocaine and behavioral and physiological responsivity. Participants were 216 mother-infant dyads (116 cocaine exposed-CE, 100 nonexposed-NCE) recruited at birth. Measures of heart rate (HR) and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) were obtained during baseline and during a task designed to elicit empathy (exposure to infant crying). When the effects of prenatal cocaine use were examined in the context of polydrug use, results of model testing indicated that lower gestational age, prenatal exposure to cocaine and postnatal exposure to alcohol were each associated with a reduced suppression of RSA during the empathy task. These findings provide additional support for an association between prenatal cocaine exposure and dysregulation during early childhood during affect-eliciting environmental challenges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pamela Schuetze
- Department of Psychology, State University of New York College at Buffalo, 1300 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14222-1095, United States; Research Institute on Addictions, SUNY University at Buffalo, 1021 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14203, United States; Department of Pediatrics, SUNY University at Buffalo School of Medicine, Buffalo, NY, United States.
| | - Rina D Eiden
- Research Institute on Addictions, SUNY University at Buffalo, 1021 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14203, United States; Department of Pediatrics, SUNY University at Buffalo School of Medicine, Buffalo, NY, United States.
| | - Danielle S Molnar
- Research Institute on Addictions, SUNY University at Buffalo, 1021 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14203, United States.
| | - Craig D Colder
- Department of Psychology, SUNY University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, United States.
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Preston SD, Hofelich AJ, Stansfield RB. The ethology of empathy: a taxonomy of real-world targets of need and their effect on observers. Front Hum Neurosci 2013; 7:488. [PMID: 23986680 PMCID: PMC3749372 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2013.00488] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2013] [Accepted: 08/01/2013] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Empathy is inherently interpersonal, but the majority of research has only examined observers. Targets of need have been largely held constant through hypothetical and fictionalized depictions of sympathetic distress and need. In the real world, people's response to life stressors varies widely-from stoicism to resilience to complete breakdown-variations that should profoundly influence the prosocial exchange. The current study examined naturally-varying affect in real hospital patients with serious chronic or terminal illness during videotaped interviews about quality of life. Participants viewed each video while psychophysiological data were recorded and then rated each patient's and their own emotion. Patients displayed three major emotion factors (disturbed, softhearted, and amused) that were used to classify them into five basic types (distraught, resilient, sanguine, reticent, wistful). These types elicited four major emotions in observers [personal distress (PD), empathic concern (EC), horror, pleasure], two of which were never discovered previously with fictionalized targets. Across studies and measures, distraught targets usually received the greatest aid, but approximately as many observers preferred the positive and likeable resilient patients or the quietly sad wistful targets, with multiple observers even giving their greatest aid to sanguine or reticent targets who did not display distress or need. Trait empathy motivated aid toward more emotive targets while perspective taking (PT) motivated aid for those who did not overtly display distress. A second study replicated key results without even providing the content of patients' speech. Through an ecological examination of real need we discovered variation and commonality in the emotional response to need that interacts strongly with the preferences of observers. Social interactions need to be studied in ethological contexts that retain the complex interplay between senders and receivers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie D. Preston
- Ecological Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Psychology, University of MichiganAnn Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Alicia J. Hofelich
- Ecological Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Psychology, University of MichiganAnn Arbor, MI, USA
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Handford C, Lemon J, Grimm MC, Vollmer-Conna U. Empathy as a function of clinical exposure--reading emotion in the eyes. PLoS One 2013; 8:e65159. [PMID: 23755185 PMCID: PMC3673998 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0065159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2012] [Accepted: 04/22/2013] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Evidence based largely on self-report data suggests that factors associated with medical education erode the critical human quality of empathy. These reports have caused serious concern among medical educators and clinicians and have led to changes in medical curricula around the world. This study aims to provide a more objective index of possible changes in empathy across the spectrum of clinical exposure, by using a behavioural test of empathic accuracy in addition to self-report questionnaires. Moreover, non-medical groups were used to control for maturation effects. Methods Three medical groups (N = 3×20) representing a spectrum of clinical exposure, and two non-medical groups (N = 2×20) matched for age, sex and educational achievements completed self-report measures of empathy, and tests of empathic accuracy and interoceptive sensitivity. Results Between-group differences in reported empathy related to maturation rather than clinical training/exposure. Conversely, analyses of the “eyes” test results specifically identified clinical practice, but not medical education, as the key influence on performance. The data from the interoception task did not support a link between visceral feedback and empathic processes. Conclusions Clinical practice, but not medical education, impacts on empathy development and seems instrumental in maintaining empathetic skills against the general trend of declining empathic accuracy with age.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cameron Handford
- School of Psychiatry, University of NSW, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Jim Lemon
- School of Psychiatry, University of NSW, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Michael C. Grimm
- St George Clinical School, University of NSW, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Ute Vollmer-Conna
- School of Psychiatry, University of NSW, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- * E-mail:
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Beadle JN, Tranel D, Cohen NJ, Duff MC. Empathy in hippocampal amnesia. Front Psychol 2013; 4:69. [PMID: 23526601 PMCID: PMC3605505 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2012] [Accepted: 02/01/2013] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Empathy is critical to the quality of our relationships with others and plays an important role in life satisfaction and well-being. The scientific investigation of empathy has focused on characterizing its cognitive and neural substrates, and has pointed to the importance of a network of brain regions involved in emotional experience and perspective taking (e.g., ventromedial prefrontal cortex, amygdala, anterior insula, cingulate). While the hippocampus has rarely been the focus of empathy research, the hallmark properties of the hippocampal declarative memory system (e.g., representational flexibility, relational binding, on-line processing capacity) make it well-suited to meet some of the crucial demands of empathy, and a careful investigation of this possibility could make a significant contribution to the neuroscientific understanding of empathy. The present study is a preliminary investigation of the role of the hippocampal declarative memory system in empathy. Participants were three patients (1 female) with focal, bilateral hippocampal (HC) damage and severe declarative memory impairments and three healthy demographically matched comparison participants. Empathy was measured as a trait through a battery of gold standard questionnaires and through on-line ratings and prosocial behavior in response to a series of empathy inductions. Patients with hippocampal amnesia reported lower cognitive and emotional trait empathy than healthy comparison participants. Unlike healthy comparison participants, in response to the empathy inductions hippocampal patients reported no increase in empathy ratings or prosocial behavior. The results provide preliminary evidence for a role for hippocampal declarative memory in empathy.
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Affiliation(s)
- J. N. Beadle
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa College of MedicineIowa City, IA, USA
| | - D. Tranel
- Department of Neurology, Division of Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Iowa College of MedicineIowa City, IA, USA
| | - N. J. Cohen
- Beckman Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignIL, USA
| | - M. C. Duff
- Department of Neurology, Division of Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Iowa College of MedicineIowa City, IA, USA
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of IowaIowa City, IA, USA
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Carlo G, Crockett LJ, Wolff JM, Beal SJ. The Role of Emotional Reactivity, Self-regulation, and Puberty in Adolescents' Prosocial Behaviors. SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT 2012; 21:667-685. [PMID: 28316370 DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9507.2012.00660.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
This study was designed to examine the roles of emotional reactivity, self-regulation, and pubertal timing in prosocial behaviors during adolescence. Participants were 850 sixth graders (50% female, Mean age = 11.03, SD = .17) who were followed up at age 15. In hierarchical regression models, measures of emotional reactivity, self-regulation, pubertal timing and their interactions were used to predict (concurrently and over time) adolescents' prosocial behaviors in the home and with peers. Overall, the findings provide evidence for pubertal and temperament based predictors of prosocial behaviors expressed in different contexts. Self-regulation was positively related to both forms of prosocial behavior, concurrently and longitudinally. Emotional reactivity showed moderately consistent effects, showing negative concurrent relations to prosocial behavior with peers and negative longitudinal relations (four years later) to prosocial behavior at home. Some curvilinear effects of temperament on prosocial behaviors were also found. Effects of pubertal timing were found to interact with gender, such that boys who were early maturers showed the highest levels of prosocial behavior at home concurrently. Discussion focuses on the role of temperament-based mechanisms in the expression of prosocial behaviors in different contexts in adolescence.
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Abstract
Preston and Hofelich (2012) suggested that researchers disagree on the role of self-other overlap in empathy due to a failure to differentiate among neural overlap, subjective resonance, and personal distress; they also developed a framework for tying neural and subjective overlap to various aspects of functioning they include in the construct of empathy. Although we found their discussion of different processes that have been labeled empathy interesting and helpful, we found their discussion of self-other overlap to be somewhat less useful for conceptualizing differences among empathy-related processes. In addition, we provide an alternative perspective to their reasoning regarding the role of experience and neural overlap in an aspect of empathy-related responding (e.g., concern or compassion).
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Light SN, Coan JA, Zahn-Waxler C, Frye C, Goldsmith HH, Davidson RJ. Empathy is associated with dynamic change in prefrontal brain electrical activity during positive emotion in children. Child Dev 2009; 80:1210-31. [PMID: 19630903 DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2009.01326.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 118] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Empathy is the combined ability to interpret the emotional states of others and experience resultant, related emotions. The relation between prefrontal electroencephalographic asymmetry and emotion in children is well known. The association between positive emotion (assessed via parent report), empathy (measured via observation), and second-by-second brain electrical activity (recorded during a pleasurable task) was investigated using a sample of one hundred twenty-eight 6- to 10-year-old children. Contentment related to increasing left frontopolar activation (p < .05). Empathic concern and positive empathy related to increasing right frontopolar activation (ps < .05). A second form of positive empathy related to increasing left dorsolateral activation (p < .05). This suggests that positive affect and (negative and positive) empathy both relate to changes in prefrontal activity during a pleasurable task.
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Cheetham M, Pedroni AF, Antley A, Slater M, Jäncke L. Virtual milgram: empathic concern or personal distress? Evidence from functional MRI and dispositional measures. Front Hum Neurosci 2009; 3:29. [PMID: 19876407 PMCID: PMC2769551 DOI: 10.3389/neuro.09.029.2009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2009] [Accepted: 09/17/2009] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
One motive for behaving as the agent of another's aggression appears to be anchored in as yet unelucidated mechanisms of obedience to authority. In a recent partial replication of Milgram's obedience paradigm within an immersive virtual environment, participants administered pain to a female virtual human and observed her suffering. Whether the participants’ response to the latter was more akin to other-oriented empathic concern for her well-being or to a self-oriented aversive state of personal distress in response to her distress is unclear. Using the stimuli from that study, this event-related fMRI-based study analysed brain activity during observation of the victim in pain versus not in pain. This contrast revealed activation in pre-defined brain areas known to be involved in affective processing but not in those commonly associated with affect sharing (e.g., ACC and insula). We then examined whether different dimensions of dispositional empathy predict activity within the same pre-defined brain regions: While personal distress and fantasy (i.e., tendency to transpose oneself into fictional situations and characters) predicted brain activity, empathic concern and perspective taking predicted no change in neuronal response associated with pain observation. These exploratory findings suggest that there is a distinct pattern of brain activity associated with observing the pain-related behaviour of the victim within the context of this social dilemma, that this observation evoked a self-oriented aversive state of personal distress, and that the objective “reality” of pain is of secondary importance for this response. These findings provide a starting point for experimentally more rigorous investigation of obedience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcus Cheetham
- Department of Neuropsychology, Psychological Institute, University of Zurich Switzerland.
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Alessandri G, Caprara GV, Eisenberg N, Steca P. Reciprocal relations among self-efficacy beliefs and prosociality across time. J Pers 2009; 77:1229-59. [PMID: 19558437 DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-6494.2009.00580.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The present study examined the longitudinal relations between individuals' prosociality and their self-efficacy beliefs in regard to emotional regulation and responding empathically to others' needs. The participants were 244 females and 222 males with a mean age of 17 years (SD=1.5) at T1, 19 years (SD=1.4) at T2, and 21 years (SD=1.6) at T3. The findings corroborated the posited paths of relations assigning empathic self-efficacy a major role in predicting the level of individuals' prosociality. Empathic self-efficacy beliefs mediated the relations of regulative emotional self-efficacy beliefs to prosocial tendencies such as caring, sharing, helping, and empathic concern toward others. The posited conceptual model accounted for a significant portion of variance in prosociality and has implications for interventions designed to promote and sustain prosociality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guido Alessandri
- Psychology Department, Sapienza, University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy.
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Sallquist JV, Eisenberg N, Spinrad TL, Reiser M, Hofer C, Zhou Q, Liew J, Eggum N. Positive and negative emotionality: trajectories across six years and relations with social competence. Emotion 2009; 9:15-28. [PMID: 19186913 PMCID: PMC2753671 DOI: 10.1037/a0013970] [Citation(s) in RCA: 82] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The goals of the present study were to examine (1) the mean-level stability and differential stability of children's positive emotional intensity, negative emotional intensity, expressivity, and social competence from early elementary school-aged to early adolescence, and (2) the associations between the trajectories of children's emotionality and social functioning. Using four waves of longitudinal data (with assessments 2 years apart), parents and teachers of children (199 kindergarten through third grade children at the first assessment) rated children's emotion-related responding and social competence. For all constructs, there was evidence of mean-level decline with age and stability in individual differences in rank ordering. Based on age-centered growth-to-growth curve analyses, the results indicated that children who had a higher initial status on positive emotional intensity, negative emotional intensity, and expressivity had a steeper decline in their social skills across time. These findings provide insight into the stability and association of emotion-related constructs to social competence across the elementary and middle school years.
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Padilla-Walker LM. ‘My Mom Makes Me So Angry!’ Adolescent Perceptions of Mother–Child Interactions as Correlates of Adolescent Emotions. SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT 2008. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9507.2007.00426.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Decety J, Moriguchi Y. The empathic brain and its dysfunction in psychiatric populations: implications for intervention across different clinical conditions. Biopsychosoc Med 2007; 1:22. [PMID: 18021398 PMCID: PMC2206036 DOI: 10.1186/1751-0759-1-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 294] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2007] [Accepted: 11/16/2007] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Empathy is a concept central to psychiatry, psychotherapy and clinical psychology. The construct of empathy involves not only the affective experience of the other person's actual or inferred emotional state but also some minimal recognition and understanding of another's emotional state. It is proposed, in the light of multiple levels of analysis including social psychology, cognitive neuroscience and clinical neuropsychology, a model of empathy that involves both bottom-up and top-down information processing underpinned by parallel and distributed computational mechanisms. The predictive validity of this model is explored with reference to clinical conditions. As many psychiatric conditions are associated with deficits or even lack of empathy, we discuss a limited number of these disorders including psychopathy/antisocial personality disorders, borderline and narcissistic personality disorders, autistic spectrum disorders, and alexithymia. We argue that future clinical investigations of empathy disorders can only be informative if behavioral, dispositional and biological factors are combined.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean Decety
- Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry, The University of Chicago, 5848 S. University Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Yoshiya Moriguchi
- Department of Psychosomatic Research, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Ogawa-Higashi Cho, Kodaira City, Tokyo, 187-8551, Japan
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Eisenberg N, Michalik N, Spinrad TL, Hofer C, Kupfer A, Valiente C, Liew J, Cumberland A, Reiser M. The Relations of Effortful Control and Impulsivity to Children's Sympathy: A Longitudinal Study. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT 2007; 22:544-567. [PMID: 18836516 PMCID: PMC2151749 DOI: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2007.08.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 85] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
The relations of children's (n = 214 at Time 1; M age = 6 years at Time 1) dispositional sympathy to adult-reported and behavioral measures of effortful control (EC) and impulsivity were examined in a longitudinal study including five assessments, each two years apart. Especially for boys, relatively high levels of EC and growth in EC were related to high sympathy. Teacher-reported impulsivity was generally modestly negatively related to measures of teacher-reported sympathy for boys, and a decline in impulsivity was linked to boys' sympathy. Some findings suggested a positive association between impulsivity and children's self-reported sympathy. EC, especially when reported by teachers, was more often a unique predictor of sympathy than was impulsivity. Results generally support the argument that sympathetic individuals, especially boys, are high in EC and that EC is a more consistent predictor of sympathy than impulsivity.
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Padilla-Walker LM, Carlo G. “It's not Fair!” Adolescents' Constructions of Appropriateness of Parental Reactions. J Youth Adolesc 2004. [DOI: 10.1023/b:joyo.0000037632.46633.bd] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
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Cumberland-Li A, Eisenberg N, Reiser M. Relations of Young Children's Agreeableness and Resiliency to Effortful Control and Impulsivity. SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT 2004. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9507.2004.000263.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Valiente C, Eisenberg N, Shepard SA, Fabes RA, Cumberland AJ, Losoya SH, Spinrad TL. The relations of mothers' negative expressivity to children's experience and expression of negative emotion. JOURNAL OF APPLIED DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 2004; 25:215-235. [PMID: 20617103 DOI: 10.1016/j.appdev.2004.02.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Guided by the heuristic model proposed by Eisenberg et al. [Psychol. Inq. 9 (1998) 241], we examined the relations of mothers' reported and observed negative expressivity to children's (N = 159; 74 girls; M age = 7.67 years) experience and expression of emotion. Children's experience and/or expression of emotion in response to a distressing film were measured with facial, heart rate, and self-report measures. Children's heart rate and facial distress were modestly positively related. Children's facial distress was significantly positively related to mothers' reports of negative (dominant and submissive) expressivity; the positive relation between children's facial distress and mothers' observed negative expressivity approached the conventional level of significance. Moreover, mothers' observed negative expressivity was significantly negatively related to children's heart rate reactivity during the conflict film. The positive relation between children's reported distress and mothers' observed negative expressivity approached the conventional level of significance. Several possible explanations for the pattern of findings are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos Valiente
- Department of Family and Human Development, Arizona State University, Tempe AZ 85287 2502, USA
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Eisenberg N, Fabes RA, Shepard SA, Murphy BC, Guthrie IK, Jones S, Friedman J, Poulin R, Maszk P. Contemporaneous and Longitudinal Prediction of Children's Social Functioning from Regulation and Emotionality. Child Dev 1997. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.1997.tb04227.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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48
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Shortt JW, Gottman JM. Closeness in Young Adult Sibling Relationships: Affective and Physiological Processes. SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT 1997. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9507.1997.tb00099.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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49
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Eiesnberg N, Guthrie IK, Fabes RA, Reiser M, Murphy B, Holgren R, Maszk P, Losoya S. The Relations of Regualation and Emotionality to Resiliency and Competent Social Functioning in Elementary School Children. Child Dev 1997. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.1997.tb01941.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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50
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Eisenberg N, Fabes RA, Karbon M, Murphy BC, Carlo G, Wosinski M. Relations of School Children's Comforting Behavior to Empathy-Related Reactions and Shyness. SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT 1996. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9507.1996.tb00089.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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