Search

Due to the vital role of empathy in promoting prosocial behaviors and nurturing social bonds, there is a growing interest in cultivating empathy. Yet, the effectiveness of existing training methods on empathy, especially on different dimensions of empathy (i.e., affective, cognitive, motivational, and behavioral empathy), varies tremendously, and the underlying causes for this heterogeneity remain insufficiently explored. To address this issue, we categorized various training methods into three distinct approaches based on the premise that empathy can be influenced by factors associated with the subject, the object, and their relationship. Respectively, these are Subject-Oriented, Object-Oriented, and Socially Oriented approaches. To examine the effects of training and sustainability of these approaches on different dimensions of empathy, we conducted a meta-analysis encompassing 110 eligible studies with 32, 44, 39, 39, and 91 samples for affective, cognitive, motivational, behavioral, and composite empathy, respectively. Results showed that trainings produced small and unsustainable effects on affective empathy, moderate and unsustainable effects on cognitive empathy, small and sustainable effects on motivational empathy, and moderate and sustainable effects on behavioral empathy. The effects of training on composite empathy were robust but decreased over time. Among the three training approaches, Socially Oriented approaches were the most effective in improving all dimensions of empathy. Subject-Oriented and Object-Oriented approaches were effective only in improving cognitive and composite empathy. Altogether, our study offers practical guidance for selecting appropriate training approaches and proposes theoretical principles for developing optimal training strategies in both basic research and clinical applications. Public Significance Statement: Empathy is essential for building strong social connections and encouraging positive behaviors toward others. This meta-analytic review reveals that while affective empathy (emotional resonance) is hard to train, cognitive (perspective taking), motivational (caring), and behavioral empathy (empathetic actions) are more easily enhanced. Approaches aiming to improve social relationships are the most effective in enhancing empathy, offering practical insights for training on empathy in educational, clinical, and community settings to foster a more empathetic and cohesive society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sociology plays a key role in empathy development, which is central to addressing complex social problems. However, little is known about what types of courses work best to enhance empathy. In parallel, sociological animal studies (SAS) has evolved as a relatively new subfield focused on assessing human and animal relationships. SAS research suggests that our interactions with animals enhance empathy development. Combining these literatures, we assess if SAS compared to non-SAS courses impact affective and cognitive empathy for humans and animals differently. Findings reveal that students who take SAS courses demonstrate greater postcourse human and animal empathy even when controlling for precourse levels of empathy and other factors that drive empathy development. Although SAS remains on the periphery of the discipline, this study suggests that it should be a central component of the sociological curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empathy impairments are considered a key aspect of autism-spectrum disorders (ASD). Previous research consistently shows reduced cognitive empathy, but findings on affective empathy vary, possibly due to experimental design variations (e.g., stimulus modality, social distance) and individual psychological factors (e.g., perceptual abilities, emotional reactivity). This study aims to clarify deficits in affective and cognitive empathy in ASD by addressing these contributing factors. Empathy was examined in 34 autistic individuals and 33 typically developed controls (TDCs) through the Textual Empathy Test (TET). The TET was developed to assess emotional responses when imagining oneself (emotional reactivity) as compared to a target person (friend, stranger) in emotional situations presented via short verbal descriptions. Participants rated emotional states of the target person (cognitive empathy) as well as their own emotional responses when imagining the target person in that situation (affective empathy). Ratings were interpreted relative to normative mean values through standardized regression coefficients. Results showed that high-functioning autism was associated with lower cognitive and affective empathy irrespective of social distance as well as with decreased emotional reactivity compared to controls. Moreover, emotional reactivity mediated the impact of ASD on both empathic components. In summary, altered emotional reactivity may underlie impaired empathy in autistic individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most studies examining empathy in psychopathy and autism agree that different components of empathy are implicated in each condition. Most of these studies, however, have relied on a two-component model of empathy (emotional and cognitive). Our study examines how psychopathic and autistic traits may be associated with the components of a more differentiated model of empathy that includes affective (i.e., feeling what others feel), cognitive (i.e., knowing what others feel), and motivational/sympathetic components (i.e., caring what others feel). The study included 884 college students who completed self-report measures of psychopathic and autistic traits as well as the three components of empathy. Using path modeling, we found that of the three components of empathy, sympathetic empathy was uniquely negatively associated with psychopathic traits and each of its dimensions whereas cognitive empathy was uniquely negatively associated with autistic traits and each of its dimensions. Affective empathy was not uniquely associated with either psychopathic or autistic traits. Our findings suggest that sympathetic aspects of empathy are uniquely implicated in psychopathy and cognitive aspects of empathy are uniquely implicated in autism, but neither condition may have core problems with affective empathy. We suggest that etiological models and treatment approaches might consider the implications of a three-component model of empathy for psychopathy and autism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sharing of emotional states is reduced for individuals wearing face coverings, but the mechanism behind this reduction remains unknown. Here, we investigated if face occlusion by masks reduces empathy by disrupting configural processing of emotional faces. Participants rated their empathy for happy and neutral faces which were presented in upright or inverted orientation and wore opaque, clear, or no face masks. Empathy ratings were reduced for masked faces (opaque or clear) as well as for inverted faces. Importantly, face inversion disrupted empathy more for faces wearing opaque masks relative to those wearing clear or no masks, which stands in contrast to the predictions generated by the classic configural processing models. We discuss these data within the context of classic and novel configural face perception models, and highlight that studying inverted occluded faces presents an informative case worthy of further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is strongly associated with socio-cognitive impairments that may result in vulnerability to other mental health conditions, particularly anxiety disorders. This study examined the relationship between anxiety disorders and two key socio-cognitive impairments (cognitive empathy, affective empathy) in 60 adolescents (aged 11–18 years) with and without ASD. Adolescents with ASD showed cognitive empathy was negatively associated with separation anxiety disorder, whereas positive associations between affective empathy and generalized anxiety disorder, and positive marginal associations between affective empathy, social phobia, total anxiety, and separation anxiety disorder were observed. These findings suggest that cognitive and affective empathy show different patterns of associations with anxiety-related issues in ASD, and these differences should be considered for interventions and treatment programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Empathy impairments are considered a key aspect of autism-spectrum disorders (ASD). Previous research consistently shows reduced cognitive empathy, but findings on affective empathy vary, possibly due to experimental design variations (e.g., stimulus modality, social distance) and individual psychological factors (e.g., perceptual abilities, emotional reactivity). This study aims to clarify deficits in affective and cognitive empathy in ASD by addressing these contributing factors. Empathy was examined in 34 autistic individuals and 33 typically developed controls (TDCs) through the Textual Empathy Test (TET). The TET was developed to assess emotional responses when imagining oneself (emotional reactivity) as compared to a target person (friend, stranger) in emotional situations presented via short verbal descriptions. Participants rated emotional states of the target person (cognitive empathy) as well as their own emotional responses when imagining the target person in that situation (affective empathy). Ratings were interpreted relative to normative mean values through standardized regression coefficients. Results showed that high-functioning autism was associated with lower cognitive and affective empathy irrespective of social distance as well as with decreased emotional reactivity compared to controls. Moreover, emotional reactivity mediated the impact of ASD on both empathic components. In summary, altered emotional reactivity may underlie impaired empathy in autistic individuals.

Individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) are theorized to experience lower cognitive empathy but heightened affective empathy. Despite meta-analyses addressing cognitive empathy, affective empathy remains unexplored. This pre-registered systematic review and meta-analysis investigated affective empathy in individuals with BPD or high BPD traits relative to healthy comparisons, using a multidimensional approach including, early affective empathy, emotion contagion, and empathic concern. Systematic search of SCOPUS, PubMed, Medline COMPLETE, and PsycINFO (June 27, 2022, May 14, 2023, and July 1, 2024) was completed. Included studies compared affective empathy in those with BPD/high BPD traits with healthy comparisons, utilized experimental or self-report designs, and were peer-reviewed or PhD theses. Risk of bias was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Among 22 eligible studies identified, results revealed individuals with BPD/high BPD traits showed significantly higher emotion contagion (N pooled = 1797, g = −1.10, 95 % CI [−1.57, −0.62]). No significant differences were found in empathic concern (N pooled = 1545, g = 0.06, 95 % CI [−0.10, 0.22]), or early affective empathy for anger (N pooled = 245 , g = 0.28, 95 % CI [−0.0.53, 1.09]) and happiness, (N pooled = 189 , g = 0.34, 95 % CI [−0.1.50, 2.18]). Few included studies for early affective empathy, methodological shortcomings in the broader literature and study heterogeneity suggest caution when interpreting these effects, emphasizing the need for targeted research. While individuals with BPD/high BPD traits are more likely to subjectively experience others' distress through emotion contagion, no differences were found in early affective empathy or ability to direct sympathy and concern towards others. • People with BPD report higher levels of emotion contagion compared with healthy comparisons. • There is no evidence that people with BPD experience higher empathic concern or early affective empathy. • Literature investigating affective empathy in BPD would benefit from taking a multidimensional approach to affective empathy [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is much debate over whether or not individuals convicted of a sexual offense (ICSOs) display empathy deficits, and more specifically what type of deficits. This systematic review aims to identify the empathy deficits exhibited by this population in comparison to offending and non-offending populations. Thirty-four studies were included. Results were inconsistent concerning general, cognitive and affective empathy. However, ICSOs tend to display deficits toward victims of sexual violence, especially their own. Whilst empathy deficits may be a risk factor, the presence of empathy may act as a protective factor. Nonetheless, further robust and systematic research is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Empathy refers to the cognitive and emotional reactions of an individual to the experiences of another. Women with premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) report severe social difficulties during the luteal phase of their menstrual cycle. Aims This clinical and functional magnetic resonance imaging study aimed to explore affective and cognitive empathy in women with PMDD, during the highly symptomatic luteal phase. Method Overall, 32 women with PMDD and 20 healthy controls participated in the study. The neuroimaging data were collected using a highly empathy-engaging movie. First, we characterised the synchrony of neural responses within PMDD and healthy groups, using the inter-individual correlation approach. Next, using network cohesion analysis, we compared connectivity within and between brain networks associated with affective and cognitive empathy between groups, and assessed the association of these network patterns with empathic measures. Results A consistent, although complex, picture of empathy abnormalities was found. Patients with PMDD showed decreased neural synchrony in parietal and frontal key nodes of cognitive empathy processing (theory-of-mind network), but higher neural synchrony in the anterior insula and anterior cingulate cortex, a part of the salience network, implicated in affective empathy. Positive correlations between cognitive perspective-taking scores and neural synchrony were found within the theory-of-mind network. Interestingly, during highly emotional moments, the PMDD group showed increased functional connectivity within this network. Conclusions Similar to major depression, individuals with PMDD show enhanced affective empathy and reduced cognitive empathy. These findings echo clinical observations reported when women with PMDD have a dysregulated emotional response to negative stimuli.

Abstract People consume alcohol for multiple reasons. Negative motives are often associated with alcohol-related problems. These problems might be explained by negative effects of high alcohol consumption on empathy. Past studies have associated alcohol use disorder (AUD) with reduced cognitive and affective empathy. Few studies have focused on non-clinical samples and considered behavioral empathy. We examined the links between alcohol consumption and multiple aspects of empathy, and if these links were moderated by negative drinking motives. We collected online data of 520 unselected individuals. All completed the AUD Identification Test (AUDIT) and a Drinking Motives Questionnaire. Affective and cognitive empathy were assessed using the Empathy Quotient. Behavioral empathy was assessed by asking participants how likely they would help the person in each of 24 scenarios involving pain. Helping others in pain was positively predicted by affective and cognitive empathy. Higher AUDIT scores were associated with helping others less, particularly among participants who scored higher on drinking to cope with negative affect. People who drink more and do so to cope with negative affect appear to have less behavioral empathy. This supports the view that negative drinking motives contribute to AUD risk.

People consume alcohol for multiple reasons. Negative motives are often associated with alcohol-related problems. These problems might be explained by negative effects of high alcohol consumption on empathy. Past studies have associated alcohol use disorder (AUD) with reduced cognitive and affective empathy. Few studies have focused on non-clinical samples and considered behavioral empathy. We examined the links between alcohol consumption and multiple aspects of empathy, and if these links were moderated by negative drinking motives. We collected online data of 520 unselected individuals. All completed the AUD Identification Test (AUDIT) and a Drinking Motives Questionnaire. Affective and cognitive empathy were assessed using the Empathy Quotient. Behavioral empathy was assessed by asking participants how likely they would help the person in each of 24 scenarios involving pain. Helping others in pain was positively predicted by affective and cognitive empathy. Higher AUDIT scores were associated with helping others less, particularly among participants who scored higher on drinking to cope with negative affect. People who drink more and do so to cope with negative affect appear to have less behavioral empathy. This supports the view that negative drinking motives contribute to AUD risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The belief in online news has become a topical issue. Previous studies demonstrated the role emotion plays in fake news vulnerability. However, few studies have explored the effect of empathy on online news belief. This study investigated the relationship between trait empathy, state empathy, belief in online news, and the potential moderating effect of news type. One hundred and forty undergraduates evaluated 50 online news pieces (25 real, 25 fake) regarding their belief, state empathy, valence, arousal, and familiarity. Trait empathy data were collected using the Chinese version of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index. State empathy was positively correlated with affective empathy in trait empathy and believability, and affective empathy was positively correlated with believability. The influence of affective empathy on news belief was partially mediated by state empathy and regulated by news type (fake, real). We discuss the influence of empathy on online news belief and its internal processes. This study shares some unique insights for researchers, practitioners, social media users, and social media platform providers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence suggests empathy deficits have a temporal relationship with substance use severity by late adolescence theorized to decrease use via recognition of social consequences. However, this has yet to be tested empirically along with differences in cognitive and affective empathy. Adolescents admitted to substance use treatment (n = 3382) were followed through treatment and 12 months after treatment. Variable trajectories were fit using growth curve models; and cross-lagged effects of cognitive and affective empathy (interpersonal reactivity index) on response to social consequences of use were tested along with how response to social consequences affected the mean trajectory of substance use. Results indicate higher cognitive empathy predicted greater response to social consequences of use and response to these consequences at the end of treatment predicted a steeper decrease in substance use. This evidence highlights the importance of cognitive empathy for responding to social consequences of use for motivating less adolescent substance use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND This article reports the Polish adaptation of the Questionnaire to Assess Affective and Cognitive Empathy (QAACE) by Zoll and Enz - a multidimensional self-report questionnaire used to measure empathy in children aged 8-14. The QAACE is based on a two-factor cognitive-emotional model of empathy. It has a number of international adaptations and offers a convenient Polish-language tool for use with young children and adolescents. PARTICIPANTS AND PROCEDURE The sample consisted of 677 children aged 8-13. The survey was conducted on school premises, during classes, by an appropriately prepared researcher. RESULTS Confirmatory factor analysis revealed a good fitting measurement model representing the original underlying factor structure of the QAACE among Polish children. The reliability of the questionnaire as measured by Cronbach's a and McDonald's w was good. The reliability of the scale as assessed by the test-retest method (after four weeks) was .80. We assessed the validity of the tool by analyzing the correlation of empathy with love and sadism. General empathy, as well as cognitive and affective empathy, is positively related to love. The hypothesis that sadism is significantly related to empathy was also partially confirmed. General empathy and affective empathy are negatively correlated with sadism, while there was no relationship between sadism and cognitive empathy. CONCLUSIONS The questionnaire is the first widely available tool of this type to examine empathy and its components appropriate for children and adolescents in Poland. The questionnaire can be a useful screening test for detecting children's level of empathy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: While the relationship between narcissism and empathy has been well-researched, studies have paid less attention to empathic accuracy, i.e., appreciating the precise strength of another person’s emotions, and self-other distinction, in terms of the disparity between affective ratings for self and other in response to emotive stimuli. Furthermore, empathic responses may vary depending on whether the pain is physical or social. Methods: We investigated empathic accuracy, affective empathy, and the distinction between pain, emotion and intensity ratings for self and other, in high (n = 44) and low (n = 43) narcissism groups (HNG and LNG, respectively) selected from 611 students, in response to both types of pain. Participants watched six videos where targets expressed genuine experiences of physical and social pain, and rated the perceived affect and pain experienced by the person in the video and their own empathic emotional responses. Results and discussion: The HNG displayed lower affective empathy and empathic accuracy than the LNG for both pain types. Within the HNG there was higher empathic accuracy for social vs. physical pain, despite reduced affective empathy for social pain, in contrast to the LNG. In addition to this paradox, the HNG demonstrated greater differences between ratings for the self and for target others than the LNG, suggesting that narcissism is associated with higher self-other distinction in response to viewing other people describing social pain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gifted students differ from their peers in cognitive, social and emotional development. This study aims to compare gifted and typically developing students in terms of friendship quality and empathy level and examine the gender differences in a sample of Turkish students. In addition, the predictive role of empathy in friendship quality among gifted and typically developing students was investigated. The sample consisted of 97 gifted and 135 typically developing primary and secondary school students. Data were analysed by two‐way analysis of variance and regression analysis. Results revealed that friendship quality was predicted by cognitive empathy in gifted and typically developing students. In addition, some gender differences emerged. The results are discussed in terms of the skills that need to be supported with preventive psychological counselling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sharing of emotional states is reduced for individuals wearing face coverings, but the mechanism behind this reduction remains unknown. Here, we investigated if face occlusion by masks reduces empathy by disrupting configural processing of emotional faces. Participants rated their empathy for happy and neutral faces which were presented in upright or inverted orientation and wore opaque, clear, or no face masks. Empathy ratings were reduced for masked faces (opaque or clear) as well as for inverted faces. Importantly, face inversion disrupted empathy more for faces wearing opaque masks relative to those wearing clear or no masks, which stands in contrast to the predictions generated by the classic configural processing models. We discuss these data within the context of classic and novel configural face perception models, and highlight that studying inverted occluded faces presents an informative case worthy of further investigation.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate social cognition and empathy properties in children among Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD) + Attention and Hyperactivity Disorder(ADHD); ADHD and healthy controls from Türkiye. Methods: Twenty-two children with DMDD were compared to matched 30 children with ADHD and 60 healthy controls. We administered Affective Reactivity Index (ARI), KaSi Empathy Scale, Kiddie-SADS, and Reading Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET) to evaluate Theory of Mind skills to all study participants. Results: DMDD + ADHD group had lower performance in ToM skills and empathy than in two groups. The ARI scores were found to be statistically significantly higher in the DMDD group than in two groups. It was also found that ARI, empathy, and ToM scores were significantly related in children with DMDD + ADHD. Conclusion: These results might be important to understand the difficulties in social functioning and interpersonal relationship in children with DMDD and ADHD. Children with DMDD may attend specific therapeutic programs which include specific techniques in social cognition, emotion regulation, and irritability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empathy and social justice play a significant role in social work, and the literature extensively supports their connection to this profession. The purpose of this study is to examine whether social work students have a high level of empathy that is correlated with their willingness to address social justice problems. The first part of the study examines the relationship between family structure, empathy and social justice. The second part investigates how the level of cognitive and affective empathy can predict students’ social justice attitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many healthcare education programs recognize the importance of empathy in professional practice and, consequently, include empathy training in their curricula. Unfortunately, the literature has not yet demonstrated that empathy training consistently yields greater levels of empathy. This may partly stem from the fact that empathy is frequently measured using (valid and reliable) self-reported scales. These instruments provide a "snapshot" of a respondent's empathy but provide minimal information about the development of empathy. Applying biometric analyses within the context of empathy training permits collecting additional data that may provide a more developmental evaluation of empathy training. This study empirically examines whether biometric measures are statistically significant predictors of empathy when employed within the context of health-related empathy training. We find that empathy training does not significantly impact self-reported levels of cognitive or affective empathy as measured. However, biometric information collected from individuals who completed empathy training does significantly predict affective (but not cognitive) empathy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gradual and sustained increases in resting blood pressure are accompanied by gradual and sustained reductions in the capacity to consciously experience several affective and somatosensory processes. Burgeoning theory suggests that this phenomenon, termed cardiovascular emotional dampening, contributes to heart disease risk by interfering with our ability to effectively respond to environmental demands. Interpersonal relationships are contexts in which this risk cascade likely occurs, but prior researchers have paid little attention to how emotional dampening might influence these relationships. As empathy is a construct used to describe facets of emotion-linked responding that facilitate interpersonal relationships, if emotional dampening influences interpersonal relationships, then we might expect resting blood pressure to covary with measures of empathy as it does with other previously studied aspects of affective responding. We recruited 175 healthy undergraduate college student participants (120 Women; M age = 19.17, SD age = 2.08) to complete a counterbalanced procedure in which we measured resting blood pressure and related it to participants' responses on the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, the Questionnaire of Cognitive and Affective Empathy, and a demographic survey. Bivariate comparisons revealed a significant inverse relationship between average resting systolic blood pressure (SBP) and cognitive empathy, as well as a significant inverse relationship between SBP and affective empathy. Multiple regression analyses revealed that SBP remained a significant predictor of cognitive empathy, but not affective empathy, after controlling for related covariates (i.e., sex, age, and alexithymia). SBP predicted cognitive empathy such that higher SBP was associated with lower cognitive empathy. Thus, people with higher resting blood pressures might experience increased interpersonal distress because of a reduced capacity for empathetic accuracy and perspective-taking. We discuss the implications and future directions of these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The current study explored whether agreeableness predicted cyberbullying perpetration across 3 years and extended previous studies by exploring the mediating effect of moral disengagement and the moderating effects of empathy and gender. Method: The participants included 2407 adolescents from 7 middle schools in China. They were recruited to complete the Big Five Personality Inventory, Bullying Scale and Empathy Scale at Time 1, Moral Disengagement Scale at Time 1 and Time 2, and Cyberbullying Perpetration Scale at Time 1, Time 2, and Time 3. Results: Agreeableness at Time 1 predicted cyberbullying perpetration at Time 3 and moral disengagement at Time 2 mediated this relationship. The relationship between moral disengagement at Time 2 and cyberbullying perpetration at Time 3 was stronger for low cognitive empathy adolescents than high cognitive empathy adolescents at Time 1. The relationship between agreeableness at Time 1 and cyberbullying perpetration adolescents at Time 3 was stronger for low affective empathy than high affective empathy adolescents at Time 1. The link between moral disengagement at Time 2 and cyberbullying perpetration at Time 3 was weaker for females than males. Conclusions: Low agreeableness adolescents are more likely to use moral disengagement, which in turn leads to more cyberbullying perpetration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Affective empathy is generally considered an important inhibitor of aggression. However, the meta-analysis studies on the relationship between affective empathy and aggression have challenged this common-sense view and found no substantial correlation between the two variables. We proposed a double-edged sword model to explain this counterintuitive phenomenon and tested this model by establishing an inconsistent mediation model. A total of 663 college students in China (59.1% female; Mage = 20.69 years) completed questionnaires measuring affective empathy, sympathy, personal distress, anger proneness, and physical aggression. The results showed that on the one hand, affective empathy can indirectly inhibit physical aggression by increasing sympathy; on the other hand, affective empathy can indirectly promote physical aggression through the serial mediation of personal distress and anger proneness. Such two pathways offset each other, leading to an insignificant relation observation between affective empathy and physical aggression. The findings revealed the complexity of the relationship between affective empathy and aggression, which suggested that more efforts to reduce aggression should be made to develop individuals' sympathy, while affective empathy training should be moderate to avoid excessive empathic emotional arousal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

IntroductionWhile the relationship between narcissism and empathy has been well-researched, studies have paid less attention to empathic accuracy, i.e., appreciating the precise strength of another person’s emotions, and self-other distinction, in terms of the disparity between affective ratings for self and other in response to emotive stimuli. Furthermore, empathic responses may vary depending on whether the pain is physical or social.MethodsWe investigated empathic accuracy, affective empathy, and the distinction between pain, emotion and intensity ratings for self and other, in high (n = 44) and low (n = 43) narcissism groups (HNG and LNG, respectively) selected from 611 students, in response to both types of pain. Participants watched six videos where targets expressed genuine experiences of physical and social pain, and rated the perceived affect and pain experienced by the person in the video and their own empathic emotional responses.Results and discussionThe HNG displayed lower affective empathy and empathic accuracy than the LNG for both pain types. Within the HNG there was higher empathic accuracy for social vs. physical pain, despite reduced affective empathy for social pain, in contrast to the LNG. In addition to this paradox, the HNG demonstrated greater differences between ratings for the self and for target others than the LNG, suggesting that narcissism is associated with higher self-other distinction in response to viewing other people describing social pain.

The Perth Empathy Scale (PES) is a 20-item self-report questionnaire that assesses people’s ability to recognize emotions in others (i.e., cognitive empathy) and vicariously experience other’s emotions (i.e., affective empathy), across positive and negative emotions. Originally developed in English, the aim of our study was to introduce the first Polish version of the PES and test its psychometric performance. Our sample was 318 people (184 females, 134 males) with ages ranging from 18 to 77. The factor structure was verified with confirmatory factor analysis. Reliability was tested in terms of internal consistency and test–retest reliability. To explore convergent, divergent, and discriminant validity, we examined relationships between the PES and measures of depression, anxiety, and emotional intelligence. It was shown that the scale was characterized by the intended four-factor solution, thus supporting factorial validity. The internal consistency reliability was also good and test–retest reliability was moderate. The convergent, divergent, and discriminant validity were strong. The clinical importance of assessing affective empathy across both positive and negative emotions was supported. Overall, our results therefore suggest that the Polish version of the PES has strong psychometric performance and clinical relevance as a measure of the multidimensional empathy construct.

Background This article reports the Polish adaptation of the Questionnaire to Assess Affective and Cognitive Empathy (QAACE) by Zoll and Enz – a multidimensional self-report questionnaire used to measure empathy in children aged 8-14. The QAACE is based on a two-factor cognitive-emotional model of empathy. It has a number of international adaptations and offers a convenient Polish-language tool for use with young children and adolescents. Participants and procedure The sample consisted of 677 children aged 8-13. The survey was conducted on school premises, during classes, by an appro-priately prepared researcher. Results Confirmatory factor analysis revealed a good fitting measurement model representing the original underlying factor struc-ture of the QAACE among Polish children. The reliability of the questionnaire as measured by Cronbach’s α and McDon-ald’s ω was good. The reliability of the scale as assessed by the test-retest method (after four weeks) was .80. We assessed the validity of the tool by analyzing the correlation of empathy with love and sadism. General empathy, as well as cogni-tive and affective empathy, is positively related to love. The hypothesis that sadism is significantly related to empathy was also partially confirmed. General empathy and affective empathy are negatively correlated with sadism, while there was no relationship between sadism and cognitive empathy. Conclusions The questionnaire is the first widely available tool of this type to examine empathy and its components appropriate for chil-dren and adolescents in Poland. The questionnaire can be a useful screening test for detecting children’s level of empathy.

Empathy is associated with prosociality and beneficial outcomes across the lifespan. We investigated the ability a school-based program with animal-based content to affect elementary students' empathic development through a randomized control trial conducted over one academic year with ∼600 first-grade students in six schools in four cities across eastern China. Both the affective and cognitive empathy of program-participating students fared better than non-participating students. The size of these effects were “medium” (cognitive empathy) and “large” (affective empathy). A school-based program can thus improve both types of human-directed empathy among lower elementary students through animal (and nature) content. Found among a large group of Chinese students, these results supporting the ability of such programs to promote healthy development among a traditionally-understudied population.

Although several studies have shown that left-behind adolescents are vulnerable regarding emotional and behavioral functions, much less research has focused on this group's academic engagement. The relationship between distinct empathy subcomponents and academic engagement in left-behind youth (versus non-left-behind youth) is therefore largely unknown. To fill these knowledge gaps, the current study compared the academic engagement between left-behind and non-left-behind youth. This study subsequently examined the unique and interactive relationships among affective empathy, cognitive empathy, and left-behind status with academic engagement in a combined sample of left-behind and non-left-behind youth. In total, 323 left-behind youth and 737 non-left-behind youth (Mage = 13.05; 49.5% females) participated in this study. Findings, after adjusting for participants' sociodemographic characteristics, revealed that left-behind youth did not differ significantly in academic engagement compared to non-left-behind youth. A four-step hierarchical regression analysis showed that both empathy components were positively related to academic engagement. Interaction analyses further exhibited a cross-over effect of affective and cognitive empathy for left-behind youth. Specifically, left-behind youth with high cognitive empathy seemed more susceptible to the influence of affective empathy on academic engagement, for better and for worse. In the presence of high affective empathy, left-behind youth with higher cognitive empathy reported the highest academic engagement, whereas the youth with higher cognitive empathy, in the presence of low affective empathy, reported the lowest. The current study highlights the unique and interactive roles of affective and cognitive empathy in left-behind youth's academic engagement, including important conceptual and practical implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study aimed to (i) examine associations across features of affective and cognitive empathy, and (ii) explore their independent role for children's peer relationships at the transition to school. Affective empathy was measured using both observations of children's facial affect during an empathy‐eliciting event and dispositional affective empathy to peer distress via teacher report. Cognitive empathy was measured using an index of children's proclivity to engage in perspective taking when witnessing the distress of another. Children's theory of mind was also assessed given close links with cognitive empathy. Participants were 114 Australian children (Mage = 67 months, SD = 5 months) assessed across two sessions during their first year of formal schooling. Findings showed that features of children's affective and cognitive empathy were unrelated, but both showed independent associations with children's positive peer relationships (assessed via peer‐reported social preference and teacher‐rated peer social maturity). The current study provides support for the delineation between features of affective and cognitive empathy in early school‐age children, and the importance of understanding both affective and cognitive empathy for children's peer relationships at the transition to school. These findings have implications how we understand both the nature of empathy in childhood and the role it plays in supporting children's positive peer relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Perth Empathy Scale (PES) is a 20-item self-report questionnaire that assesses people's ability to recognize emotions in others (i.e., cognitive empathy) and vicariously experience other's emotions (i.e., affective empathy), across positive and negative emotions. Originally developed in English, the aim of our study was to introduce the first Polish version of the PES and test its psychometric performance. Our sample was 318 people (184 females, 134 males) with ages ranging from 18 to 77. The factor structure was verified with confirmatory factor analysis. Reliability was tested in terms of internal consistency and test–retest reliability. To explore convergent, divergent, and discriminant validity, we examined relationships between the PES and measures of depression, anxiety, and emotional intelligence. It was shown that the scale was characterized by the intended four-factor solution, thus supporting factorial validity. The internal consistency reliability was also good and test–retest reliability was moderate. The convergent, divergent, and discriminant validity were strong. The clinical importance of assessing affective empathy across both positive and negative emotions was supported. Overall, our results therefore suggest that the Polish version of the PES has strong psychometric performance and clinical relevance as a measure of the multidimensional empathy construct. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many children with anxiety disorders exhibit significant and persistent impairments in their social and interpersonal functioning. Two components essential for successful social interaction are empathy and theory of mind (ToM). Both constructs develop rapidly in childhood, but no study has simultaneously examined these skills in young children with emerging mental health problems, including those with symptoms of anxiety. This study investigated empathy and ToM in children with anxiety symptomatology and examined their relationship with anxiety severity. A cross-sectional study was carried out with 174 children aged 4–8 years with emerging mental health difficulties who were referred by school teachers for an assessment because of emotional, cognitive, or behavioural problems at school. Participants completed empathy and ToM tasks. Parents were interviewed and rated children's emotional and behavioural problems. Correlational analyses indicated that elevated anxiety was associated with better cognitive ToM and worse affective empathy; there were no associations between anxiety and either cognitive empathy or affective ToM. Subsequent regression analyses demonstrated that whilst enhanced cognitive ToM was explained by age and verbal IQ, anxiety symptoms uniquely predicted impaired affective empathy. These results indicate that children with symptoms of anxiety have difficulty in sharing in other people's emotions. As a result, they may find it difficult to behave in socially adequate ways in interactions with others that involve affective sharing. These findings encourage the use of early and targeted interventions that improve affective empathy development in children with anxiety symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is increasing evidence to show that compassion and altruism are highly beneficial when cultivated from an early age. In the present study we explore the benefits of an intervention programme that seeks to develop affective empathy, compassion and altruism in 9-year-old children from a school of Buenos Aires, Argentina. A pretest-posttest controlled study was carried out with 48 children, half of whom carried out the intervention. The remaining children, who constituted the waitlist group, participated in academic tutoring activities conducted by the same research team. The intervention was successful in promoting children's altruistic and compassionate attitudes, evidenced by the results obtained in the universal altruism test, social integration, and affective response. Effect sizes ranged from medium to large in the intervention group. These positive findings were not observed in the waitlist group (non-significant effect sizes). This study shows that children's self-awareness and awareness of others tend to foster compassion and affective empathy, contributing to individual and collective well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to its wide-ranging reservations and lack of effective enforcement mechanisms the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) has failed to dismantle widespread and systemic discrimination. The present paper proposes a broad, theoretical, preventive and relational approach to creating and enhancing the effectiveness of novel interventions to accelerate gender equality. We describe the main elements of affective empathy (i.e. intersubjectivity, multisensory engagement and empathic embodiment) and identify potential interventions that build on those elements to advance gender equality. We ultimately argue that increased empathy towards women, transwomen and girls is required to disrupt the beliefs and behaviours that lead to discrimination, and that these changes must be enacted alongside legislative reforms and community education that construct equality environments. Our affective empathy framework could have the capacity to operationalise the normative fight against gender stereotypes and inequality in line with article 5(a) of CEDAW. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The present study aimed to compare cognitive and affective empathy in high and low alexithymia with the mediating role of eye-gaze pattern (i.e., time to first fixation on eyes and fixation duration in mouth). Method: The research used a causal-comparative method. The study population included university students of Tehran, among which 41 students were selected using the available sampling method. Participants filled out the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (Bagbi et al., 1994) and were grouped as high and low alexithymia based on their scores. Then, they responded to empathy for pain task (Timmers et al., 2018) while their eye-gaze were recorded. Path analysis was used to analyze the data. Results: Those with high alexithymia had lower cognitive (p = 0.005) and affective empathy (p = 0.020). Moreover, they fixated on the eyes later and for a shorter duration, while on the other hand, they fixated more on the mouth (p = 0.026). Finally, time to first fixation on the eyes mediated the effect of alexithymia on cognitive empathy, and fixation duration on the mouth mediated the effect of alexithymia on affective empathy. Conclusion: Based on the results, it can be concluded that aberrant eye-gaze pattern is related to hampering empathy in high alexithymic individuals, and low cognitive and affective empathy in high alexithymic individuals is to some degree related to how they look at facial expressions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several authors have underlined the negative consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health in several populations, including medical students, such as increases in anxiety, depression and burnout symptoms. Furthermore, previous studies showed that anxiety and depressive symptoms are positively associated with affective empathy and negatively associated with cognitive empathy. Given the adverse pandemic effects highlighted by several authors, the present study sought to determine whether medical students’ empathy has been potentially impacted, with higher affective empathy and lower cognitive empathy score in the pandemic cohort compared to pre-pandemic cohorts. Medical students (n = 395) were recruited during the COVID-19 pandemic and completed the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) and the Basic Empathy Scale (BES). This cohort was then compared with two pre-pandemic cohorts (one used the BES [n = 1168], and the other used the IRI [n = 342]). Similar results were found on both scales: the pandemic cohort displayed significantly higher scores in affective empathy and personal distress (affective empathy domain) and, surprisingly, significant higher scores in cognitive empathy, fantasy, and perspective-taking (cognitive empathy domains). As stressed by previous studies, we posited that the higher scores in affective empathy, personal distress, and fantasy might indicate emotional difficulties. The paper concludes with the identification of empathy components that should be promoted in the curriculum of medical students.

The belief in online news has become a topical issue. Previous studies demonstrated the role emotion plays in fake news vulnerability. However, few studies have explored the effect of empathy on online news belief. This study investigated the relationship between trait empathy, state empathy, belief in online news, and the potential moderating effect of news type. One hundred and forty undergraduates evaluated 50 online news pieces (25 real, 25 fake) regarding their belief, state empathy, valence, arousal, and familiarity. Trait empathy data were collected using the Chinese version of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index. State empathy was positively correlated with affective empathy in trait empathy and believability, and affective empathy was positively correlated with believability. The influence of affective empathy on news belief was partially mediated by state empathy and regulated by news type (fake, real). We discuss the influence of empathy on online news belief and its internal processes. This study shares some unique insights for researchers, practitioners, social media users, and social media platform providers.

Emotional expressions can be recognized from the eye region alone. However, it remains unknown how reading emotions from the eyes impacts downstream abilities that build on basic emotion recognition, including understanding (i.e., affective theory of mind) and sharing of emotions (i.e., affective empathy). In three experiments we investigated how occluding the eye region of emotional faces impacted judgments of affective theory of mind and affective empathy. Participants viewed emotional faces with eye regions covered by opaque occluders, transparent occluders, or no occluders. In Experiments 1 and 2, participants reported the protagonists' emotional valence and intensity. In Experiment 3, participants rated their own empathy and emotional valence for the protagonist. When eyes were occluded, protagonists were judged to feel more neutral and less intense emotion and were empathized with less. This provides one of the first direct links between eye region information and the complex socioemotional processes of inferring and sharing emotions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background & Aims: The concept of empathy has a special place in social psychology, neuroscience, clinical psychology and health professions (1). Contemporary theorists consider empathy as a multidimensional concept that consists of emotional, cognitive and behavioral aspects (3). Having creativity and the ability to solve problems seems to be able to facilitate the process of empathy (9). The ability to solve problems in the real world is a vital part of people's lives. A problem is a situation that people intend to reach from the initial situation to the target situation without having a specific solution (12). It seems that understanding the situation of others and sharing feelings with them can also be a form of a problem, and problem solving capacity can be effective in the process of empathy (16). Studies have shown that problem-solving skills are related to cognitive empathy (17). On the other hand, research results show that people who have a higher working memory updating ability spend a much shorter time solving problems than people who have a weaker working memory updating ability. One way in which working memory aids problem solving is by helping the problem solver resist distraction and limit his search in the problem space (21). On the contrary, there is evidence that shows that excessive concentration and having a higher working memory capacity can harm problem-solving performance (22). The relationship between empathy and working memory is one of the discussed topics in cognitive and social sciences. Working memory is hypothesized to predict empathy (23-24). However, the number of studies that depict the relationship between working memory and empathy is small, and despite the fact that working memory seems to be an important function in information processing, it plays a major role in many other cognitive functions, including problem solving, so It is possible that it has a mediating role in the relationship between problem solving and empathy, so far no research has been done on this issue, and the various effects that working memory can have on problem solving also adds to the complexity of this issue. Therefore, in the present study, the aim was to investigate the mediating role of working memory in the relationship between problem solving and empathy. Methods: In terms of the method of data collection, this research is considered a descriptive (non-experimental) research, and in terms of methodology, it is included in the category of correlational research, and it is of the structural equations type. The statistical population of the current study was all students studying in Zahedan city in the academic year of 1400-1401. Among all students, a sample of 500 people was selected by cluster sampling method. In order to collect data, problem solving questionnaire (PSI), empathy questionnaire and working memory questionnaire (WMQ) were used. Results: The results showed that there is a negative relationship between problem solving and empathy variable, but the direction of the relationship between problem solving and working memory variable is positive. Examining the correlation coefficients shows that the intensity of correlation between problem solving and empathy is equal to -0.143 and the intensity of correlation between problem solving and working memory is equal to 0.465 (p<0.01). The fit indices were in the desired range. The direct path of problem solving to working memory (0.411) is positive and significant. And the direct path of working memory to cognitive emotional empathy (0.011) is not significant. The direct path of problem solving to cognitive emotional empathy (-0.372) is negative and significant. Also, the mediating effect of problem solving on cognitive emotional empathy through working memory is not significant. In the mediation model, the squared multiple correlation for working memory variable is (0.169) and for cognitive emotional empathy (0.135). Conclusion: The findings showed that problem solving is related to working memory. This finding is consistent with previous research (20-21). In connection with the explanation of this finding, it can be said that in solving the problem, expert solvers tend to use weak methods in combined forms (31). here it is necessary to use working memory. Working memory includes a central executive that controls and coordinates the performance of two subsystems (phonological cycle and visuospatial storage). The central executive drives the entire system and allocates resources to subsystems. It is also related to cognitive tasks such as mental calculation and problem solving. Visual spatial design or the inner eye stores and processes information in a visual or spatial form. Based on this, problem solving is related to working memory. However, this hypothesis that problem solving has an indirect relationship with empathy through working memory was not confirmed in the present study. In explaining this finding, it can be said that, as previous studies have shown, high working memory can have different effects on problem solving. Working memory does not always positively predict the adaptive dimensions of problem solving, and sometimes working memory can be considered an obstacle to achieve insight. Due to the complexity of cognitive processes, increasing the power of problem solving sometimes leads to ignoring emotions, and leads to a decrease Therefore, problem solving and empathy cannot be related through working memory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: This study examines the relationship between human–dog attachment, empathy, and human quality of life. The findings suggest that attachment to dogs and concerns for empathy have a significant double-mediation effect on human quality of life. However, cognitive empathy does not show a significant effect. The study highlights the importance of attachment and empathy towards dogs in enhancing the quality of life of both humans and dogs and suggests a shift in perceiving dogs as independent individuals. Future research should focus on affective empathy to improve relationships and the quality of life of both humans and dogs. This study investigates the impact of empathy on the relationship between human–dog attachment and human quality of life. A survey involving 263 dog owners was conducted to gather data on attachment to dogs, empathy, and human quality of life in Korea. The findings indicate significant correlations between attachment to dogs, human empathy, and quality of life. Specifically, both general attachment and concerns for animal rights/welfare demonstrate meaningful parallel double-mediation effects. However, cognitive empathy does not show a significant double-mediation effect on human quality of life. These findings emphasize the importance of attachment and empathy towards dogs in enhancing the quality of life of both humans and dogs. The study suggests a shift in perceiving dogs as independent individuals rather than mere substitutes for humans. Future research should focus on emotional factors, particularly affective empathy, to further enhance the quality of life for both humans and dogs through improved relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Meta-emotions are emotions about emotions, such as, for example, shame about anger. An important subset of meta-emotions constitutes a special case of co-experienced emotions, in which one emotion is directed at another emotion experienced by a subject at the same time. By making us reflectively aware of our own firstorder emotions and suggesting an evaluation of them, meta-emotions enable reflection on our own emotional sensibility. In this paper, I explore the roles of meta-emotions in the context of affective empathy. I show that, whereas meta-emotions on the side of the target person increase the complexity of empathy's success conditions, meta-emotions on the side of the empathiser expand the role of meta-emotions for self-reflection and give rise to parallel phenomena of other-directed reflection. Exploring the roles of meta-emotions in the context of affective empathy allows us to better understand the significance of meta-emotions, as well as the functions of affective empathy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to an optimistic view, affective empathy is a route to knowledge of what it is like to be in a target person's state ("phenomenal knowledge"). Roughly, the idea is that the empathiser gains this knowledge by means of empathically experiencing the target's emotional state. The literature on affective empathy, however, often draws a simplified picture according to which the target feels only a single emotion at a time. Co-occurring emotions ("concurrent emotions") are rarely considered. This is problematic, because concurrent emotions seem to support a sceptical view according to which we cannot gain phenomenal knowledge of the target person's state by means of affective empathy. The sceptic concludes that attaining the epistemic goal of affective empathy is difficult, in practice often impossible. I accept the sceptic's premises, but reject the conclusion, because of the argument's unjustified, hidden premise: that the epistemic goal of affective empathy is phenomenal knowledge. I argue that the epistemic goal of affective empathy is phenomenal understanding, not knowledge. Attention to the under-explored phenomenon of concurrent emotions clarifies why this is important. I argue that this is the decisive epistemic progress in everyday cases of phenomenal understanding of another person. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]