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Heart rate, perceived stress and prosocial behaviour: real-time psychophysiological correlates of prosocial behaviour. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s12144-022-03881-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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2
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Doan SN, Venkatesh S, Predroza M, Tarullo A, Meyer JS. Maternal expressive suppression moderates the relations between maternal and child hair cortisol. Dev Psychobiol 2020; 62:1150-1157. [DOI: 10.1002/dev.21983] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2019] [Revised: 03/12/2020] [Accepted: 03/19/2020] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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3
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Lee HW, Kim S, Liew J. Spectator Sports as Context for Examining Observers' Agreeableness, Social Identification, and Empathy in a High-Stakes Conflict Situation. Psychol Rep 2020; 124:1788-1806. [PMID: 32811292 DOI: 10.1177/0033294120948228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
In a high-stakes conflict or dilemma situation, observers often feel empathy for one side versus the other. Using a high-profile conflict situation in a world-renowned spectator sport (the US Open) as context, the authors of this study examined the roles of personality and social-cognitive factors, specifically agreeableness and social identification, on empathic concern towards three individuals (a focal actor or instigator, a target, and an "innocent" bystander) involved in an emotionally charged conflict situation. Results showed direct and indirect effects of agreeableness on identification with the focal actor and empathic concern towards the individuals involved in the conflict situation. Participants' social-cognitive processes of identification with the focal actor or instigator fully mediated the effect of personality trait of agreeableness on empathic concern towards the focal actor, whereas agreeableness was directly related to empathic concern towards the target and the bystander without (full) mediation by social identification. Gender differences were found with women reporting higher empathic concern and identification towards the female focal actor and lower empathic concern towards the male target in the conflict situation, suggesting potential automatic or implicit in-group bias. Study results highlight the complex integration of personality and social-cognitive processes, including intersectionality of social identities, in the dynamics of empathic reactions during high-stakes and emotionally charged conflict situations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyun-Woo Lee
- Department of Educational Psychology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
| | - Sanghoon Kim
- Department of Health and Kinesiology, Division of Sport Management, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.,Department of Educational Psychology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
| | - Jeffrey Liew
- Department of Educational Psychology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
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4
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Henschel S, Nandrino JL, Pezard L, Ott L, Vulliez-Coady L, Doba K. The influence of attachment styles on autonomic correlates of perspective-taking. Biol Psychol 2020; 154:107908. [PMID: 32454080 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2020.107908] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2019] [Revised: 03/25/2020] [Accepted: 05/19/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
This study examined the effects of attachment styles on physiological responses during a perspective-taking task. Sixty-eight participants were selected according to attachment styles. Physiological responses were assessed using skin conductance responses (SCRs) in the three attachment groups (secure, insecure-anxious and insecure-avoidant) during the presentation of attachment-based pictures (distress, comfort or neutral) in two different perspective-taking conditions: self perspective-taking (i.e. imagine how you would feel in the given situation) or other perspective-taking (i.e. imagine how that person could feel in this situation). In the self perspective-taking condition, insecure-anxious individuals displayed higher SCRs than secure individuals for distress pictures. In the other perspective-taking condition, insecure-anxious individuals showed higher SCRs than secure individuals for comfort pictures. The results also showed a strong negative association between self-reported perspective-taking tendencies and SCRs in secure individuals. The findings suggest that perspective-taking plays an important role in the modulation of physiological responses in reaction to attachment-related pictures, which varies according to attachment styles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sébastien Henschel
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 9193 - SCALab, Sciences Cognitives et Sciences Affectives, F-59000, Lille, France.
| | - Jean-Louis Nandrino
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 9193 - SCALab, Sciences Cognitives et Sciences Affectives, F-59000, Lille, France; Fondation Santé des Étudiants de France, Clinique Médico-psychologique, F-59653, Villeneuve d'Ascq, France
| | - Laurent Pezard
- Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS UMR 7260, LNSC, Marseille, France
| | - Laurent Ott
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 9193 - SCALab, Sciences Cognitives et Sciences Affectives, F-59000, Lille, France
| | - Lauriane Vulliez-Coady
- EA 481 Laboratoire de Neurosciences intégratives et cliniques, Université de Franche-Comté Besançon, France
| | - Karyn Doba
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 9193 - SCALab, Sciences Cognitives et Sciences Affectives, F-59000, Lille, France; Fondation Santé des Étudiants de France, Clinique Médico-psychologique, F-59653, Villeneuve d'Ascq, France.
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5
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Noten MMPG, van der Heijden KB, Huijbregts SCJ, van Goozen SHM, Swaab H. Infant emotional responses to challenge predict empathic behavior in toddlerhood. Dev Psychobiol 2020; 62:454-470. [PMID: 31489632 PMCID: PMC7217152 DOI: 10.1002/dev.21903] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2018] [Revised: 06/28/2019] [Accepted: 07/07/2019] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Although emotional responses are theorized to be important in the development of empathy, findings regarding the prediction of early empathic behavior by infant behavioral and physiological responses are mixed. This study examined whether behavioral and physiological responses to mild emotional challenge (still face paradigm and car seat task) in 118 infants at age 6 months predicted empathic distress and empathic concern in response to an empathy-evoking task (i.e, experimenter's distress simulation) at age 20 months. Correlation analyses, corrected for sex and baseline levels of physiological arousal, showed that stronger physiological and behavioral responses to emotional challenge at age 6 months were positively related to observed empathic distress, but not empathic concern, at age 20 months. Linear regression analyses indicated that physiological and behavioral responses to challenge at 6 months independently predicted empathic distress at 20 months, which suggests an important role for both physiological and behavioral emotional responses in empathy development. In addition, curvilinear regression analyses showed quadratic associations between behavioral responses at 6 months, and empathic distress and empathic concern at 20 months, which indicates that moderate levels of behavioral responsivity predict the highest levels of empathic distress and empathic concern.
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Affiliation(s)
- Malou M. P. G. Noten
- Department of Clinical Neurodevelopmental SciencesLeiden UniversityLeidenThe Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and CognitionLeiden UniversityLeidenThe Netherlands
| | - Kristiaan B. van der Heijden
- Department of Clinical Neurodevelopmental SciencesLeiden UniversityLeidenThe Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and CognitionLeiden UniversityLeidenThe Netherlands
| | - Stephan C. J. Huijbregts
- Department of Clinical Neurodevelopmental SciencesLeiden UniversityLeidenThe Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and CognitionLeiden UniversityLeidenThe Netherlands
| | - Stephanie H. M. van Goozen
- Department of Clinical Neurodevelopmental SciencesLeiden UniversityLeidenThe Netherlands
- School of PsychologyCardiff UniversityCardiffUnited Kingdom
| | - Hanna Swaab
- Department of Clinical Neurodevelopmental SciencesLeiden UniversityLeidenThe Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and CognitionLeiden UniversityLeidenThe Netherlands
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6
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Noten MMPG, Van der Heijden KB, Huijbregts SCJ, Van Goozen SHM, Swaab H. Associations between empathy, inhibitory control, and physical aggression in toddlerhood. Dev Psychobiol 2020; 62:871-881. [PMID: 31998974 PMCID: PMC7496157 DOI: 10.1002/dev.21951] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2019] [Revised: 12/20/2019] [Accepted: 12/30/2019] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Impaired empathy has been associated with aggression in children, adolescents and adults, but results have been contradictory for the preschool period. Impaired inhibitory control also increases the risk of aggression, and possibly moderates empathy‐aggression associations. The current study investigated whether empathy and inhibitory control are associated with aggression in toddlerhood. Furthermore, we aimed to clarify the role of inhibitory control in empathy and aggression, specifically, whether inhibitory control moderates the association between empathy and aggression. During a laboratory visit at age 30 months (N = 103), maternal reports of physical aggression were obtained and child inhibitory control was examined using a gift delay task. Empathy was examined by obtaining behavioral observations and recording physiological responses (heart rate response and respiratory sinus arrhythmia response) to an empathy‐eliciting event (i.e., simulated distress). Reduced inhibitory control was associated with more aggression. Behavioral and physiological indicators of empathy were not associated with aggression. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed an interaction effect of heart rate response to distress simulation with inhibitory control in the prediction of aggression. Post hoc analyses indicated a negative association between heart rate response and aggression when inhibitory control was high, but a positive association was found in toddlers who demonstrated low inhibitory control. These results suggest that children are less aggressive when they have both high levels of empathy and inhibitory control. Therefore, both empathy and inhibition are important targets for interventions aiming to reduce or prevent aggression at a young age.
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Affiliation(s)
- Malou M P G Noten
- Department of Clinical Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.,Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Kristiaan B Van der Heijden
- Department of Clinical Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.,Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Stephan C J Huijbregts
- Department of Clinical Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.,Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Stephanie H M Van Goozen
- Department of Clinical Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.,School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - Hanna Swaab
- Department of Clinical Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.,Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, The Netherlands
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7
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Embodied stress: The physiological resonance of psychosocial stress. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2019; 105:138-146. [PMID: 30594324 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.12.221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2018] [Revised: 11/12/2018] [Accepted: 12/16/2018] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Psychosocial stress is a ubiquitous phenomenon in our society. While acute stress responses are necessary and adaptive, excessive activation of neurobiological stress systems can predispose an individual to far-reaching adverse health outcomes. Living in a complex social environment, experiencing stress is not limited to challenges humans face individually. Possibly linked with our capacity for empathy, we also display the tendency to physiologically resonate with others' stress responses. This recently identified source of stress raises many interesting questions. In comparison to the wealth of studies that have advanced our understanding of sharing others' affective states, the physiological resonance of stress has only recently begun to be more closely investigated. The aim of the current paper is to review the existing literature surrounding the emerging area of "stress contagion", "empathic stress" or "stress resonance", as it has been variably called. After a brief introduction of the concepts of stress and empathy, we discuss several key studies that paved the way for the merging of empathy with the concept of physiological resonance. We then delineate recent empirical studies specifically focusing on the physiological resonance of stress. In the final section of this review, we highlight differences between these studies and discuss the variability in terminology used for what seems to be the same phenomenon. Lastly, potential health implications of chronic empathic stress are presented and possible mechanisms of physiological stress transmission are discussed.
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8
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Emotion socialization and child conduct problems: A comprehensive review and meta-analysis. Clin Psychol Rev 2017; 54:65-80. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cpr.2017.04.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2016] [Revised: 04/05/2017] [Accepted: 04/06/2017] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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9
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Babkirk S, Luehring-Jones P, Dennis-Tiwary TA. Computer-mediated communication preferences predict biobehavioral measures of social-emotional functioning. Soc Neurosci 2015; 11:637-51. [PMID: 26613269 DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2015.1123181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
The use of computer-mediated communication (CMC) as a form of social interaction has become increasingly prevalent, yet few studies examine individual differences that may shed light on implications of CMC for adjustment. The current study examined neurocognitive individual differences associated with preferences to use technology in relation to social-emotional outcomes. In Study 1 (N = 91), a self-report measure, the Social Media Communication Questionnaire (SMCQ), was evaluated as an assessment of preferences for communicating positive and negative emotions on a scale ranging from purely via CMC to purely face-to-face. In Study 2, SMCQ preferences were examined in relation to event-related potentials (ERPs) associated with early emotional attention capture and reactivity (the frontal N1) and later sustained emotional processing and regulation (the late positive potential (LPP)). Electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded while 22 participants passively viewed emotional and neutral pictures and completed an emotion regulation task with instructions to increase, decrease, or maintain their emotional responses. A greater preference for CMC was associated with reduced size of and satisfaction with social support, greater early (N1) attention capture by emotional stimuli, and reduced LPP amplitudes to unpleasant stimuli in the increase emotion regulatory task. These findings are discussed in the context of possible emotion- and social-regulatory functions of CMC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Babkirk
- a Department of Psychology , The Graduate Center, The City University of New York , New York , NY , USA.,b Department of Psychology , Hunter College, The City University of New York , New York , NY , USA
| | - Peter Luehring-Jones
- c Department of Psychology , The City College of New York, The City University of New York , New York , NY , USA
| | - Tracy A Dennis-Tiwary
- a Department of Psychology , The Graduate Center, The City University of New York , New York , NY , USA.,b Department of Psychology , Hunter College, The City University of New York , New York , NY , USA
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10
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Carnes-Holt K, Bratton SC. The Efficacy of Child Parent Relationship Therapy for Adopted Children With Attachment Disruptions. JOURNAL OF COUNSELING AND DEVELOPMENT 2014. [DOI: 10.1002/j.1556-6676.2014.00160.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Sue C. Bratton
- Department of Counseling and Higher Education, University of North Texas
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11
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Conway A, Mcdonough SC, Mackenzie M, Miller A, Dayton C, Rosenblum K, Muzik M, Sameroff A. MATERNAL SENSITIVITY AND LATENCY TO POSITIVE EMOTION FOLLOWING CHALLENGE: PATHWAYS THROUGH EFFORTFUL CONTROL. Infant Ment Health J 2014; 35:274-84. [DOI: 10.1002/imhj.21445] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
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Abstract
This study investigated children's empathic responses to their mother's distress to provide insight about child factors that contribute to parental socialisation of emotions. Four- to six-year-old children (N = 82) observed their mother's sadness and anger during a simulated emotional phone conversation. Children's facial negative affect was rated and their heart rate variability (HRV) was recorded during the conversation, and their emotion understanding of the conversation was measured through their use of negative emotion words and perspective-taking themes (i.e., discussing the causes or resolution of mother's emotions) in narrative accounts of the conversation. There were positive quadratic relationships between HRV and ratings of facial affect, narrative references to mother's negative emotions and perspective-taking themes. High and low HRV was associated with high facial negative affect, suggesting well-regulated sympathy and poorly regulated personal distress empathic responses, respectively. Moderate HRV was associated with low facial negative affect, suggesting minimal empathic engagement. High and low HRV were associated with the highest probabilities of both emotion understanding indicators, suggesting both sympathy and personal distress responses to mother's distress facilitate understanding of mother's emotions. Personal distress may motivate attempts to understand mother's emotions as a self-soothing strategy, whereas sympathy-related attempts to understand may be motivated by altruism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erin C Tully
- a Department of Psychology , Georgia State University , Atlanta , GA , USA
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13
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Van Hulle C, Zahn-Waxler C, Robinson JL, Rhee SH, Hastings PD, Knafo A. Autonomic correlates of children's concern and disregard for others. Soc Neurosci 2013; 8:275-90. [PMID: 23802120 DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2013.791342] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Psychophysiological research on empathy and prosociality in children has focused most often on cardiac activity, heart rate (HR), and HR deceleration in particular. We examined these processes in 7-year-old children during two empathy mood inductions. We independently assessed children's responses to others' distress in two different contexts: structured probes (simulated pain) and maternal interviews. We identified three groups of children who showed either (1) concern for others in distress (i.e., empathy and prosocial behaviors), (2) active disregard (i.e., anger/hostility and antisocial behavior), or (3) passive disregard (i.e., little or no concern). We compared groups on HR and HR deceleration. The active disregard group consistently showed the lowest HR both when groups were based on structured probes and on mothers' reports. Children who showed passive disregard displayed little self-distress during other's distress and different patterns of association of self-distress and HR than the other two groups. Active and passive disregard thus may reflect two different aspects of lack of concern for others. HR deceleration was seen for all three groups, suggesting it is not necessarily a cardiac index of concern for others. Interdisciplinary approaches and multiple-systems analysis are needed to better understand psychobiological substrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carol Van Hulle
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53705, USA
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Macevoy JP, Leff SS. Children's sympathy for peers who are the targets of peer aggression. JOURNAL OF ABNORMAL CHILD PSYCHOLOGY 2012; 40:1137-48. [PMID: 22556114 DOI: 10.1007/s10802-012-9636-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Although a goal of many aggression intervention programs is to increase children's concern (often termed sympathy or empathy) for their peers as a means of ultimately reducing aggressive behavior, there are no measures specifically of children's concern for peers who are the targets of peer aggression. A participatory action research (PAR) model was used to create a culturally-sensitive measure of urban African American children's sympathy for peers who are the targets of physical aggression, relational or social aggression, verbal aggression, and property damage. In Study 1, 40 children (M (age) = 9.71 years; 47.5 % female) were interviewed about the types of incidents that lead them to feel sympathy for a peer. Based upon these findings, the 15-item Peer Sympathy Scale (PSS) was developed. In Study 2, the PSS was administered to 517 children (M (age) = 9.82 years; 47.4 % female) to examine the psychometric properties of the measure and to explore the association between children's sympathy for their peers and their social behavior. Greater sympathy was associated with less overt and relational aggression according to both peer and teacher reports as well as with less oppositional-defiant behavior according to teacher reports. The clinical utility of the PSS as an outcome assessment tool for social skills intervention programs is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie Paquette Macevoy
- Department of Counseling, Developmental, and Educational Psychology, Boston College, 140 Commonwealth Avenue, Campion 320, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, USA.
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Bons D, van den Broek E, Scheepers F, Herpers P, Rommelse N, Buitelaaar JK. Motor, Emotional, and Cognitive Empathy in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Conduct Disorder. JOURNAL OF ABNORMAL CHILD PSYCHOLOGY 2012; 41:425-43. [DOI: 10.1007/s10802-012-9689-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
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16
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Maibom HL. The many faces of empathy and their relation to prosocial action and aggression inhibition. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS. COGNITIVE SCIENCE 2012; 3:253-263. [PMID: 26301398 DOI: 10.1002/wcs.1165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
This article discusses the emotional reactions most commonly associated with empathy and their relation to prosocial or altruistic action, aggression inhibition, and understanding others. In What is Empathy?, I characterize the distinct emotional reactions most commonly associated with empathy: empathy, sympathy, personal distress, and emotional contagion. In Measures of Empathy, I discuss the most common measures of dispositional and situational empathy. In Empathy, Prosocial Action, and Altruism, I consider the evidence that empathy, sympathy, and personal distress induce prosocial motivation. I conclude that sympathy is most strongly associated with prosocial, even altruistic, motivation. In Empathy and Aggression Inhibition, I examine the evidence that empathy inhibits aggression. The evidence is inconclusive. In Empathy and Mindreading, I briefly discuss empathy and mindreading, with an eye toward recent evidence concerning mirror neurons. I conclude by linking our current understanding of empathy to the philosophical tradition, and by offering some speculative remarks. WIREs Cogn Sci 2012, 3:253-263. doi: 10.1002/wcs.1165 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heidi L Maibom
- Department of Philosophy, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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Schwenck C, Schmitt D, Sievers S, Romanos M, Warnke A, Schneider W. [Cognitive and emotional empathy in children with ADHD and conduct disorder]. ZEITSCHRIFT FUR KINDER-UND JUGENDPSYCHIATRIE UND PSYCHOTHERAPIE 2011; 39:265-76. [PMID: 21667451 DOI: 10.1024/1422-4917/a000118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES This study assesses the cognitive and emotional empathic competence in groups of children and adolescents with psychiatric disorders compared to a nonclinical control group. Subjective and objective diagnostic measures were employed. METHODS A total of 96 boys were tested: 20 with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) predominantly inattentive subtype (ADHD-I); 20 with ADHD combined subtype (ADHD-C); 20 with conduct disorder (CD); 36 healthy boys (control group; CG). Mean age was 12.0 years (SD = 2.36). As aspects of cognitive and emotional empathy emotional reactivity, we tested emotion recognition and perspective taking with subjective questionnaires and objective tasks, using as subjective questionnaires the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI; Davis, 1983) and the Index of Empathy for Children and Adolescents (IECA; Bryant, 1982). As objective tasks, we adopted the Empathy Response Task (ERT; Ricard & Kamberk-Kilicci, 1995) and a task measuring emotion recognition according to Buitelaar et al. (1999). RESULTS The CG outperformed participants with ADHD-C and CD in objective tasks assessing perspective taking, particularly when complex tasks were applied as stimuli. Children with ADHD-I showed significantly more emotional empathy than boys with ADHD-C when presented with simple tasks. No group differences were found for emotion recognition and subjective questionnaires. DISCUSSION Deficits in perspective taking and emotional empathy were found for children with ADHD-C and CD, largely in accordance with the literature. Similar to the processing of cognitive information, the processing of emotional information seems to differ in ADHD subtypes. Objective tasks and tasks with a high ecological validity seem suitable for the measurement of empathy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina Schwenck
- Klinik für Psychiatrie, Psychosomatik und Psychotherapie des Kindes- und Jugendalters, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt a. Main.
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Moreno AJ, Klute MM, Robinson JL. Relational and Individual Resources as Predictors of Empathy in Early Childhood. SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT 2008. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9507.2007.00441.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Pratt HD, Pratt BM, Sackett M. Youth survival: addressing the role of promoting the acquisition of the prosocial triad and other survival skills in youth. Prim Care 2007; 34:219-25; abstract vi. [PMID: 17666223 DOI: 10.1016/j.pop.2007.04.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
This article addresses the issue of teaching youth skills that will help them to maximize opportunities and positive consequences and minimize exposure to negative consequences in their lives. These skills will allow them to mature into mentally healthy, productive members of society. Essential skills that are critical to allow this maturational process include developing prosocial skills; the ability to recognize, discriminate the level of threat, and use strategies to avoid danger; and the ability to adapt to the changing demands of his or her environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helen D Pratt
- Behavioral and Developmental Pediatrics Division, Michigan State University/Kalamazoo Center for Medical Studies, Kalamazoo, MI 49048, USA.
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20
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Biological systems and the development of self-regulation: integrating behavior, genetics, and psychophysiology. J Dev Behav Pediatr 2007; 28:409-20. [PMID: 18049327 DOI: 10.1097/dbp.0b013e3181131fc7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 86] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Self-regulation is the ability to control inner states or responses with respect to thoughts, emotions, attention, and performance. As such, it is a critical aspect of development and fundamental to personality and behavioral adjustment. In this review, we focus on attentional, cognitive, and emotional control as we discuss the genetic mechanisms and brain mechanisms that contribute to individual differences in self-regulation. We conclude with a discussion of the implications for deviations in the development of this complex construct and suggestions for future research.
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21
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Marsh P, Beauchaine TP, Williams B. Dissociation of sad facial expressions and autonomic nervous system responding in boys with disruptive behavior disorders. Psychophysiology 2007; 45:100-10. [PMID: 17868261 PMCID: PMC2745989 DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-8986.2007.00603.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Although deficiencies in emotional responding have been linked to externalizing behaviors in children, little is known about how discrete response systems (e.g., expressive, physiological) are coordinated during emotional challenge among these youth. We examined time-linked correspondence of sad facial expressions and autonomic reactivity during an empathy-eliciting task among boys with disruptive behavior disorders (n=31) and controls (n=23). For controls, sad facial expressions were associated with reduced sympathetic (lower skin conductance level, lengthened cardiac preejection period [PEP]) and increased parasympathetic (higher respiratory sinus arrhythmia [RSA]) activity. In contrast, no correspondence between facial expressions and autonomic reactivity was observed among boys with conduct problems. Furthermore, low correspondence between facial expressions and PEP predicted externalizing symptom severity, whereas low correspondence between facial expressions and RSA predicted internalizing symptom severity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Penny Marsh
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195-1525, USA
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Zhou Q, Hofer C, Eisenberg N, Reiser M, Spinrad TL, Fabes RA. The developmental trajectories of attention focusing, attentional and behavioral persistence, and externalizing problems during school-age years. Dev Psychol 2007; 43:369-85. [PMID: 17352545 PMCID: PMC1832154 DOI: 10.1037/0012-1649.43.2.369] [Citation(s) in RCA: 100] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The developmental trajectories of attention focusing (by parents' and teachers' reports) and attentional and behavioral persistence (observed during a laboratory task)--2 indexes of effortful control--and externalizing problems from ages 5 to 10 years were examined for 356 children combined from a pair of 3-wave (2 years apart) longitudinal studies. The authors identified clusters of children with distinct trajectories for these variables and examined the links between the effortful control trajectories and the externalizing problem trajectories. Although attention focusing remained relatively stable, attentional and behavioral persistence continued to show mean-level changes (especially among the children with lower levels of persistence). Children with high and stable trajectories of effortful control tended to exhibit low and stable trajectories of externalizing problems, whereas those with lower and/or less stable trajectories of effortful control showed more elevated and/or fluctuating trajectories of externalizing problems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qing Zhou
- Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.
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Whisman MA, McClelland GH. Designing, testing, and interpreting interactions and moderator effects in family research. JOURNAL OF FAMILY PSYCHOLOGY : JFP : JOURNAL OF THE DIVISION OF FAMILY PSYCHOLOGY OF THE AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION (DIVISION 43) 2005; 19:111-20. [PMID: 15796657 DOI: 10.1037/0893-3200.19.1.111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 175] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
This article is a primer on issues in designing, testing, and interpreting interaction or moderator effects in research on family psychology. The first section focuses on procedures for testing and interpreting simple effects and interactions, as well as common errors in testing moderators (e.g., testing differences among subgroup correlations, omitting components of products, and using median splits). The second section, devoted to difficulties in detecting interactions, covers such topics as statistical power, measurement error, distribution of variables, and mathematical constraints of ordinal interactions. The third section, devoted to design issues, focuses on recommendations such as including reliable measures, enhancing statistical power, and oversampling extreme scores. The topics covered should aid understanding of existing moderator research as well as improve future research on interaction effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark A Whisman
- Department of Psychology, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309-0345, USA.
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