Under 2012 uppmärksammades ett ovanligt rån i media. En berusad man föll ned på ett tunnelbanespår och slog sig medvetslös. Därefter rånades han på sina värdesaker och lämnades åt sitt öde medan gärningsmannen lämnade platsen. Syftet med den här undersökningen var att mäta empati gentemot gärningsmannen och brottsoffret i denna händelse. I en kvantitativ enkätundersökning, med kvalitativa inslag, deltog 138 studenter varav 70 män. Resultaten visade skillnader mellan könen då männen kände mer empati för gärningsmannen än kvinnorna och kvinnorna kände mer empati för offret än männen. Alla deltagare uppvisade dock mer empati för offret än för gärningsmannen oavsett könstillhörighet. En förklaring till detta kan vara att männen identifierade sig mer med gärningsmannen utifrån kön medan kvinnorna empatiserade mer med offret utifrån hans hjälplöshet. Detta kan relateras till tidigare studier som visat att människor lättare känner empati för personer i svåra situationer samt de som dem kan identifiera sig med.

According to the interpersonal process model, interactions characterized by self-disclosure and empathic responding foster emotional intimacy between the two participating individuals (Reis & Shaver, 1988). This study provided “insider” and “outsider” perspectives of this model, examining the relation between perceived and observed behaviors in couple interactions and their relative contributions to the development of intimate feelings. The sample consisted of 102 community couples who completed measures of intimacy after engaging in videotaped discussions about relationship injuries that occurred both within and outside of the relationship. Both self-report and observational measures were used to assess disclosure and empathic responding during these discussions. There was significant agreement between self- and observer-report of men’s behavior, between self- and observer-report of women’s male partner’s behavior, and between partners’ report of disclosure and empathic responding. There was mixed support for global distress and attachment style as predictors of differences between self- and observer-report. Whereas an earlier study using observational measures found gender differences in the effect of self-disclosure and empathic responding on intimacy (Mitchell et al., 2008), in this study self-report measures from the same sample indicated that perception of both an individual’s own and his or her partner’s disclosure and empathic responding predicted intimacy for both men and women. Observational measures provided incremental validity relative to self-report measures in predicting intimacy. These findings suggest that targeting certain personal and relational characteristics may be helpful in treating intimacy deficits and also indicate that self-report and observational measures provide unique information about the influence of behaviors on the development of intimate feelings in couple relationships.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Kent State University, 2008. / Title from OhioLINK ETD abstract webpage (viewed Feb. 2, 2010) Advisor: Mark Bracher. Keywords: Literature; Multiethnic; Pedagogy. Includes bibliographical references.

Social aggression is defined as a set of behaviors directed towards damaging another individual’s self-esteem or social status and may include direct forms such as verbal rejection, negative facial expressions or gestures, or more indirect means such as rumor spreading or social exclusion (Galen & Underwood, 1997). Previous research demonstrates that social aggression and self-reported empathy have a negative linear relationship, and that social aggression is positively correlated with the ability to effectively navigate varied social contexts (a subset of Machiavellianism, or a manipulative beliefs and strategies towards others; Wilson, Near, & Miller, 1996). Despite this evidence, few researchers have investigated the relationships among all three of these variables (empathy, social aggression, and social navigation) (Bjorkqvist, Osterman, & Kaukiainen, 2000; Kaukiainen et al., 1999). This study examines whether social aggression is correlated with Machiavellianism, or a manipulative orientation to others, and if this relationship is contingent upon the child’s self- reported level of empathy. It is hypothesized that children’s levels of Machiavellianism are related to the use of social aggression, but the strength of this relationship will vary according to level of empathy. Therefore, empathy is proposed to serve as a moderator of the relationship between Machiavellianism and social aggression. The investigator also conducted additional exploratory analyses using a portion of the sample identified by school records as Hispanic. The same relationships are explored with this portion of the sample to determine whether this population is unique with respect to these relationships. Using this portion of the sample, intercorrelations among the variables are reported as well. A sample of 280, nine- to 13-year-old students from a school district outside a metropolitan area participated. Each one completed instruments designed to measure social aggression, empathy, Machiavellianism, and acculturation. The results indicated that there was no linear relationship between Machiavellianism and social aggression, and further, there is no moderating effect of empathy. An exploratory analysis with Hispanic participants (n = 217) suggests the relationship between Machiavellianism and social aggression, and non-significant role of empathy as a moderator, do not differ for Hispanic and non-Hispanic participants. Interestingly, acculturation is positively correlated with social aggression and negatively correlated with empathy, suggesting that as children become more oriented to US culture, they are more likely to engage in social aggression and report lower overall levels of empathy. These findings contribute uniquely to the literature, and further, provide new information on these constructs using a Hispanic sample. Implications for intervention and future research are discussed. / text

The objective of this study is to determine whether the practice of yoga is associated with enhanced emotion regulation and empathy, and if the relationship between these variables is mediated by mindfulness. It was hypothesized that the participants with more yoga experience will show more skillful emotion regulation, more mindfulness, and higher empathetic ability. The relationship of exercise experience to the dependent variables was also examined to evaluate if it differed from the relationship of yoga experience to the dependent variables. It was also hypothesized that mindfulness mediates the effect of yoga experience on the other variables. The study sampled both a college students (n =185) and individuals in the community (n =81) with a range of yoga experience, from no experience to experts. Yoga experience was measured with three independent variables in the community sample, including lifetime number of hours of yoga, frequency of yoga practice, and importance of yoga practice. In the college student sample, individuals who practiced yoga were compared to those who had never practiced yoga in a dichotomous independent variable. The Godin Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire (GLTEQ; Godin & Shepard, 1985), Five Factor Mindfulness Measure (FFMQ; Baer, Smith, Hopkins, Krietemeyer, & Toney, 2006), the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS; Gratz & Roemer, 2004), Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ; Gross & John, 2003), and Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI; Davis, 1980) were used to assess the study constructs. Preliminary analyses were conducted to examine the relationship of demographic variables (age, gender, ethnicity/race, religion, religious attendance, income, education, and relationship status) with the dependent variables, and demographic variables that were found to be significantly related to dependent variables were controlled for in the primary analyses. The hypotheses were analyzed using hierarchical regression, simple regression, and mediation. The study hypotheses were partially supported by the study findings. In the community sample, those with more yoga experience exhibited increased mindfulness, improved emotion regulation, and higher perspective taking. Mindfulness was found to mediate the relationship between yoga experience and suppression and the relationship between yoga experience and reappraisal. The results of the college student sample yielded non-significant findings. The implications of the study findings are discussed. / text

This thesis is an examination of the concept of permeable boundaries as it applies to character and setting in my plays Catch the Wall and 70 Secrets of Marmalade Kittens. The thesis synopsizes each play and catalogues their creation process. It examines the way permeable boundaries can be used to create audience empathy and a wider invitation into the work. The full text of Catch the Wall and 70 Secrets of Marmalade Kittens accompany the thesis essay. / text

According to most developmental psychologists 'non-basic' emotions such as jealousy, pride, empathic concern and guilt do not emerge before the second year of life, despite limited evidence for this proposition. Critical examination of the major theories of emotional development reveals (i) that this belief stems from the assumption that young infants are incapable of interpersonal awareness, and (ii) that this incapacity is invariably explained in terms of lack of representational skills. Three studies are presented investigating the possibility that, in fact, young infants are capable of these emotions. The first is a study of 37 adults' perceptions of an expression resembling adult expressions of shyness and embarrassment which is displayed in infants as young as two or three months during positive interactions (Reddy, 2000). The second is an experimental study of jealousy of the mother's loving attention in 24 five-months old infants. The third is a longitudinal study of 6 infants through their first year of life employing a bottom-up methodology to explore a wide range of 'non-basic' emotions, their developmental course, and the determinants of this course. On the whole, results from these studies suggest that: (i) infants are indeed capable of a large number and possibly all 'non-basic' emotion, (ii) the age of first emergence and the frequency of later occurrence of these emotions can vary widely across infants, and (iii) their development is context-related rather than age-related. These results are explained by calling upon relational approaches that do not set a cut-off age for the emergence of early interpersonal awareness.

The society’s position in the XXI century is likely to become egocentric leaving personal values aside. Altruism and empathy are being ousted from our lives. Instead of them a lack of sympathy, help, understanding and passiveness towards other people’s misfortune is noticed. This is especially characteristic of the young generation. Therefore, the question about teenagers’ altruistic behavior arises, i.e. if teenagers tend to provide non-selfish help or support and what the level of their empathy is. There have not been any researches about the expression of teenagers’ empathic behavior carried out so far. Consequently, the relevance of the work is to reveal the present situation and problems related to it. The object of the research ��� the expression of personality’s altruism and empathy’s features of senior students. The aim of the work – to analyze the features of personality’s empathy and altruistic behavior of senior students. In order to achieve the aim the following objectives have been set: 1. to ascertain the nature of expression of senior students’ altruistic behavior; 2. to identify the manifestations of altruistic behavior applying the method of social provocation; 3. to determine the personality’s empathy features of senior students; 4. to identify if the coherence between the empathy of senior students and altruistic behavior exists; 5. to discover if social demographic and educational features influence altruistic behavior and personality’s empathy. In... [to full text]

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of short term empathy training on the faculty of a small, private college faculty. Specific attention is given to examining the effects of empathy training on the variables of authoritarianism and dogmatism. Several studies regarding empathy training were reviewed. It was found that a majority of the designs used in these studies limited their emphasis to the effect of training on increased empathy. Very little had been done to expand our knowledge to other variables.

Thesis (B.Sc.Hons.))--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Psychology, 1978.