Employing Disability Simulations and Virtual Reality Technology to Foster Cognitive and Affective Empathy Towards Individuals With Disabilities

The chapter will begin by defining empathy and theory of mind (ToM), key constructs for showcasing the importance of simulations and immersive experiences to help typical children better understand the lived experiences of individuals with disabilities. The authors will delineate strengths and limitations associated with Autism, ADHD, Visual, Hearing and Physical Impairment. Next, the chapter will introduce Affect/Effort Theory to demonstrate how formulating positive expectancies of individuals with disabilities will be critical to interest typical children in their peers with disabilities. Moreover, the chapter will highlight the strengths, limitations and best practices for optimizing VRT and disability simulations to enhance typical children's knowledge, intentions and attitudes towards peers with disabilities. Finally, the authors will share qualitative data from a pilot disability simulation of eight children in third through sixth grade from a Camp in Liberty, NY. The results will be discussed in light of future possibilities for effective VRT-based disability simulations.

Attribution Model of Travel Intention to Internet Celebrity Spots: A Systematic Exploration Based on Psychological Perspective

Previous studies have shown that the empathy process is the main driving factor that triggers tourists’ intention to visit Internet celebrity spots. However, the academic community has not yet formed a unified understanding of the concrete mechanism. Based on this, this study combines the connotations of meme theory and empathy theory and applies Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to empirically analyze 340 valid samples of Internet celebrity spots visitors to explore the influence mechanism of attributional factors on travel intention. The result shows that mechanism of travel intention can be presented as a psychological model in which travel attribution of tourists to visit Internet celebrity spots is the independent variable, the travel intention is the dependent variable, and the empathy process is the intermediary variable. The influence intensity of internal attribution on affective empathy is higher than that of external attribution, while the influence intensity of external attribution on cognitive empathy has a comparative advantage, and there is a significant difference between them. Empathy process has a significant mediating effect on the relationship between travel attribution and travel intention of tourists to visit Internet celebrity spots, and the mediating effect of affective empathy is significantly greater than that of cognitive empathy. Overall, this study reveals the segmentation elements with strong explanatory power in the behavior of “internet celebrity spots punch in,” examines the practical effect of empathy process in the behavioral intention of traveling, and provides a theoretical reference for the transformation and upgrading of tourist destinations and marketing planning of online communication in the future.

ПРОЯВИ НЕКЛІНІЧНОГО НАРЦИСИЗМА: ПОШУК ІНДИВІДУАЛЬНИХ ВІДМІННОСТЕЙ

Запропонована стаття ґрунтується на досвіді багатьох років роботи автора над проблемою індивідуальних відмінностей осіб, які відрізняються індивідуально-психологічними особливостями емоційності. Розглядаються особливості деяких небажаних соціальних проявів, що відносяться до нарцисичних тенденцій, до крайніх (субклінічних) варіантів «норми». «Вільний індивідуалізм», що став популярним останні роки у суспільстві, не тільки призводить до порушень спілкування, порушень міжособистісних відносин, впливає на успішність діяльності, а й сприяє розвитку особистісної організації як нарцисичної. Саме тому актуальним стає теоретико-методологічне обґрунтування проблеми нарцисизма, вивчення його психологічних виявів, індивідуальних варіацій ознак цього феномена. Підґрунтям для пошуку індивідуально-типових особливостей нарцисизма нами обрано емоційність, яка розглядається як стійка схильність до переживання емоцій певної якості (знак і модальність домінуючих емоцій). Мета статті – виклад та обговорення результатів дослідження індивідуально-психологічних особливостей неклінічного нарцисизма в осіб, котрі різняться за емоційністю. Виявлена наявність від’ємних значущих зв’язків між емоційною модальністю «Радість» і більшістю показників нарцисизма; у той же час модальності «Гнів» «Страх», «Печаль» корелюють із показниками нарцисизма переважно додатно. Розглянуті профілі нарцисизма осіб, що різняться за емоційністю (стійке домінування однієї з емоційних модальностей); вивчені «психологічні портрети» осіб, які схильні до нарцисичних тенденцій, і його специфіка в представників мономодальних типів емоційності; встановлені відмінності в структурі й проявах нарцисизма між представниками різних типів емоційності. Підтверджено припущення про те, що індивідуальна своєрідність нарцисичних рис у межах психічної норми, варіативність їх індивідуальних композицій (якісно-кількісна комбінація компонентів нарцисизма) зумовлені ступенем домінування певної емоційної модальності. Література Гордієнко,І.О. (2017). Самоприйняття та нарцисизм: співвідношення показників. Матеріали Всеукраїнської науково-практичної конференції молодих учених та студентів «Проблеми сучасної психології особистості» (м. Одеса, 25-26 травня 2017). (Випуск 8, с.62–67 ). Одеса : ВМВ. Егорова, М.С., & Ситникова, М.А. (2014). Тёмная триада. Психологические исследования, 7(10). Залуцкая, Н.М. (2003). Индекс функционирования Self-системы (на основе теста оценки нарцисизма). Санкт Петербург : НИПНИ им. В.М.Бехтерева. Клепикова, Н.М. (2011). Операциональное определение нарцисизма в пределах психической нормы. (Автореф. дис. канд. психол. наук). Хабаровск. Корнилова, Т.В., Корнилов, С.А., Чумакова, М.А., & Талмач, М.С. (2015). Методика диагностики личностных черт «Темной триады»: апробация опросника «Темная дюжина». Психологический журнал, 36(2), 99–112 . Издательский дом ВЭШ Меленчук, Н.І. (2015). Нарцисичні прояви авантюрності. Наука і освіта, 10, 91–97. Одеса: ПНЦ НАПН України. Меленчук, Н.І., & Бєлєнцова, О.В. (2019). Нарцисизм як предиктор авантюрності особистості. Матеріали Всеукраїнської наук.-практ. конф. «Проблеми сучасної психології особистості. Ресурси та чинники психологічного благополуччя особистості» (м. Одеса, 21 березня 2019 р). (с. 113–120.) Одеса : ВМВ. Модель структуры личности HEXACO. Режим доступа: http://hexaco.org/scaledescriptions Небылицын, В.Д. (2000). Проблемы психологии индивидуальности. А.В. Брушлинский и Т.Н. Ушакова. (Ред.).Москва : Московский психолого-социальный институт. Воронеж : Изд-во НПО «МОДЭК». Ольшанникова,А.Е. (1978). К психодиагностике эмоциональности. Проблемы общей, возрастной и педагогической психологии. В.В. Давыдов (Ред.). 93–105 . 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Preschoolers' Empathy Profiles and Their Social Adjustment

Preschoolers face new challenges in their social life: the development of social and emotional abilities in order to have positive relationships with peers and adults. Empathy, the ability to share and understand the emotions of others, contributes to this socio-emotional adjustment. This exploratory study examines mothers and fathers' perceptions of their child's empathy and individual factors, such as age, gender, and personality, which are related to cognitive and affective empathy in 63 typically developing preschoolers. Links between children's individual characteristics (empathy and personality) and their social adjustment on the one hand and risk of developing internalized vs. externalized behaviors on the other were also investigated. Parents completed four questionnaires about their child's empathy, personality, and social (mal)adjustment. The results showed that mothers and fathers perceived their children's cognitive and affective empathy, attention to others' feelings, and social actions (such as helping), in the same way, except for emotion contagion. Gender differences appeared specifically for some components of empathy: girls were said to pay more attention to others' emotions while boys had better cognitive empathy. Moreover, children's empathy as perceived by mothers or fathers was positively linked with their age, and with personality factors (extraversion, emotional stability, agreeableness, and openness to experience). Cognitive empathy and personality were found to be partly related to higher social skills and lower externalized and internalized behaviors. The results nuanced specific links between cognitive and affective empathy and social adjustment as well as behavior problems at preschool age. These results may have some implications for future research and prevention in childhood.

Reference values regarding measure of Basic Empathy Scale in forensic adolescents

Empathy has revealed a fundamental role in fostering prosocial and altruistic behavior. Conversely, empathic dysfunction has been associated with antisocial behavior (ASB). The Basic Empathy Scale (BES) has been the most used instrument to measure empathy in studies with children and adolescents in forensic settings. Thus, we conducted a systematic review in order to establish reference values for BES in children and adolescents with conduct disorder/antisocial behavior (CD/ASB) and typical controls. Studies related to the topic were obtained from multiple databases (e.g., EBSCO, PubMed, Web of Science), through rigorous exclusion and inclusion criteria. Only papers with empirical and quantitative methodologies from scientific and academic publications were included. A total of 311 studies were identified through database searches and 15 articles were retained for this review. The findings reveal lower empathy scores in children and adolescents with CD/AB (pooled mean for the total scale = 52.32; mean for cognitive empathy = 30.86; pooled mean for affective empathy = 28.83) than controls (pooled mean for the total scale = 67.20; pooled mean for cognitive empathy = 34.04; pooled mean for affective empathy = 32.30). This review provides reference values that can be useful for the application of the BES and the interpretation of its results, both in clinical practice and in future research with children and adolescents.

The Gratitude Mediates the Relationship Between Self-Esteem and Empathy Among Medical Students

Background: One of the important parts of medical students' competence is empathy, which is believed to significantly influence patient satisfaction, clinical outcomes, and the sense of professional fulfillment. Objective: This study explored the potential mediating effect of gratitude on the relationship between self-esteem, cognitive empathy, and affective empathy, which may provide fundamental data for educational programs aiming to promote cognitive empathy and affective empathy. Design: The paper surveyed a total of 344 medical students with the Self-Esteem Scale, Gratitude Questionnaire-6, and the Chinese version of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index Scale. It uses descriptive analysis to determine the levels of self-esteem, gratitude, and empathy, and Pearson’s correlation to analyze correlations between them. It also conducts the pathway analysis with the equipment of structured equation modeling to test the mediating effect of gratitude on the association between self-esteem and empathy. Results: A total of 306 (88.95%) medical students completed the survey. It finds that, first, the levels of self-esteem, gratitude, cognitive empathy, and affective empathy are significantly correlated. Second, self-esteem has a direct, positive effect on cognitive empathy and affective empathy. Third, gratitude has a mediating role between self-esteem, cognitive empathy [b self-esteem - gratitude - cognitive empathy = 0.072, 95% CI = (0.013 to 0.131), p< 0.05], and affective empathy [bself-esteem - gratitude - affective empathy = 0.241, 95% CI = (0.018 to 0.134), p< 0.001]. Conclusion: Based on the role of self-esteem and gratitude in predicting cognitive empathy and affective empathy, this model can be used in the practice of clinical education to promote cognitive empathy and affective empathy in medical students.

Cognitive and Affective Empathy Relate Differentially to Emotion Regulation

The constructs of empathy (i.e., understanding and/or sharing another’s emotion) and emotion regulation (i.e., the processes by which one manages emotions) have largely been studied in relative isolation of one another. To better understand the interrelationships between their various component processes, this manuscript reports two studies that examined the relationship between empathy and emotion regulation using a combination of self-report and task measures. In study 1 (N = 137), trait cognitive empathy and affective empathy were found to share divergent relationships with self-reported emotion dysregulation. Trait emotion dysregulation was negatively related to cognitive empathy but did not show a significant relationship with affective empathy. In the second study (N = 92), the magnitude of emotion interference effects (i.e., the extent to which inhibitory control was impacted by emotional relative to neutral stimuli) in variants of a Go/NoGo and Stroop task were used as proxy measures of implicit emotion regulation abilities. Trait cognitive and affective empathy were differentially related to both task metrics. Higher affective empathy was associated with increased emotional interference in the Emotional Go/NoGo task; no such relationship was observed for trait cognitive empathy. In the Emotional Stroop task, higher cognitive empathy was associated with reduced emotional interference; no such relationship was observed for affective empathy. Together, these studies demonstrate that greater cognitive empathy was broadly associated with improved emotion regulation abilities, while greater affective empathy was typically associated with increased difficulties with emotion regulation. These findings point to the need for assessing the different components of empathy in psychopathological conditions marked by difficulties in emotion regulation.

Empathy and Its Relationship With Social Functioning in Individuals at Ultra-High Risk for Psychosis

Introduction: Social functioning is often impaired in the ultra-high-risk (UHR) phase of psychosis. There is some evidence that empathy is also impaired in this phase and that these impairments may underlie difficulties in social functioning. The main aim of this study was to investigate whether cognitive and affective empathy are lower in people in the UHR phase of psychosis in comparison to healthy controls, and whether possible impairments have the same magnitude as in people with schizophrenia. A second aim was to examine whether there is a relationship between empathy and social functioning in individuals in the UHR phase.Method: Forty-three individuals at UHR for psychosis, 92 people with a schizophrenia spectrum disorder, and 49 persons without a psychiatric disorder completed the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), Questionnaire of Cognitive and Affective Empathy (QCAE), and Faux Pas as instruments to measure empathy. The Time Use survey was used to measure social functioning. MAN(C)OVA was used to analyse differences between groups on empathy and social functioning, and correlations were calculated between empathy measures and social functioning for each group.Results: The UHR group presented significantly lower levels of self-reported cognitive empathy than the healthy controls, but not compared to patients with SSD, while performance-based cognitive empathy was unimpaired in the UHR group. On the affective measures, we found that people with UHR and patients with SSD had significantly higher levels of self-reported distress in interpersonal settings compared to healthy controls. In the UHR group, perspective-taking was negatively associated with time spent on structured social activities. In the SSD group, we found that structured social activities were positively associated with perspective-taking and negatively associated with personal distress in interactions with others. Lastly, in people without mental illness, social activities were positively associated with performance-based perspective-taking.Conclusion: Impairments in subjective cognitive empathy appear to be present in the UHR phase, suggesting that difficulties in interpreting the thoughts and feelings of others precede the onset of psychotic disorders. This can inform future interventions in the UHR phase.

Can Empathy Help Individuals and Society? Through the Lens of Volunteering and Mental Health

(1) Background: Empathy affects an individual’s decision to participate in volunteering, and volunteering, in turn, influences mental health. Intriguingly, studies have been limited in exploring underlying mechanisms and boundary conditions for the relationship between empathy and mental health. Furthermore, volunteering studies have overlooked the multi-dimensionality of empathy. Therefore, this study seeks to contribute to extant literature by investigating the mediating effect of volunteering for the relationships between cognitive and affective empathy and mental health and the moderating effect of gender for the relationship between empathy and volunteering. (2) Methods; Data were collected using a survey in South Korea and consisted of 301 full-time employees who voluntarily engaged in their corporate volunteer programs. Furthermore, they voluntarily participated in the study. The hypotheses were tested with path analysis and a group comparison was also conducted. (3) Results: Volunteering was found to mediate the relationships between cognitive empathy and affective empathy with mental health. In addition, gender moderated the relationship between empathy and volunteering. (4) Conclusions: As the study found empathy to increase individuals’ engaging in volunteering activities which then improved mental health, the study supports extant theoretical frameworks on empathy and volunteering. Moreover, the study found gender differences on empathy and volunteering; thereby supporting and contributing to extant literature.