A Talking Musical Robot Over Multiple Interactions: After Bonding and Empathy Fade, Relevance and Realism Arise

BackgroundEmpathy is central to patient-centred care and professional identity, yet medical students’ empathy often declines as they transition into clinical training. Theatre-based, arts-and-humanities interventions have been proposed to support empathic communication, but are usually evaluated with self-report rather than performance-based measures.MethodsWe conducted a single-institution, single-group pre–post pilot evaluation of an extracurricular, four-week theatre-based empathy programme for third-year medical students. All 60 students were eligible; 18 volunteered on a first-come, first-served basis, and 12 who attended all eight sessions and completed both assessments formed the analytic sample. The programme, co-facilitated by a professional actor and clinician, was grounded in Kolb’s experiential learning cycle and applied theatre principles. Teaching methods included repeated doctor–patient role-plays in breaking-bad-news scenarios, alternating doctor/patient perspectives, and structured feedback on communication and emotional presence. Observable empathic communication behaviours in simulated consultations were measured before and after the programme using the Empathetic Communication Assessment Form (five domains, 10-point scale), rated by the faculty member and actor. Pre–post differences were analysed with paired-samples t-tests and within-subject effect sizes (Cohen’s d).ResultsStudents (n = 12) showed significant improvements across all domains. Mean increases ranged from +1.3 to +2.6 points on the 10-point scale, with large effect sizes (Cohen’s d ≈ 1.5–2.8). The largest gains were in Empathetic Communication (+2.2), Relating to the Listener (+2.6) and Verbal Communication (+2.4). All students improved in their overall checklist score (range +0.8 to +3.1).ConclusionsThis small, single-group pilot suggests that a brief, theatre-based, pre-clerkship programme co-facilitated by a professional actor and clinician may enhance observable empathic communication behaviours in simulated breaking-bad-news encounters. Although limited by the small, self-selected sample and absence of a control group, the findings support further, larger-scale and longitudinal evaluation of theatre-based empathy teaching within arts-and-humanities-informed medical curricula.

Empathy is central to patient-centred care and professional identity, yet medical students' empathy often declines as they transition into clinical training. Theatre-based, arts-and-humanities interventions have been proposed to support empathic communication, but are usually evaluated with self-report rather than performance-based measures. We conducted a single-institution, single-group pre-post pilot evaluation of an extracurricular, four-week theatre-based empathy programme for third-year medical students. All 60 students were eligible; 18 volunteered on a first-come, first-served basis, and 12 who attended all eight sessions and completed both assessments formed the analytic sample. The programme, co-facilitated by a professional actor and clinician, was grounded in Kolb's experiential learning cycle and applied theatre principles. Teaching methods included repeated doctor-patient role-plays in breaking-bad-news scenarios, alternating doctor/patient perspectives, and structured feedback on communication and emotional presence. Observable empathic communication behaviours in simulated consultations were measured before and after the programme using the Empathetic Communication Assessment Form (five domains, 10-point scale), rated by the faculty member and actor. Pre-post differences were analysed with paired-samples t-tests and within-subject effect sizes (Cohen's d). Students (n = 12) showed significant improvements across all domains. Mean increases ranged from +1.3 to +2.6 points on the 10-point scale, with large effect sizes (Cohen's d ≈ 1.5-2.8). The largest gains were in Empathetic Communication (+2.2), Relating to the Listener (+2.6) and Verbal Communication (+2.4). All students improved in their overall checklist score (range +0.8 to +3.1). This small, single-group pilot suggests that a brief, theatre-based, pre-clerkship programme co-facilitated by a professional actor and clinician may enhance observable empathic communication behaviours in simulated breaking-bad-news encounters. Although limited by the small, self-selected sample and absence of a control group, the findings support further, larger-scale and longitudinal evaluation of theatre-based empathy teaching within arts-and-humanities-informed medical curricula.

Compréhension des interactions sociales chez des enfants atteints de troubles du spectre de l’autisme : le langage du corps leur « parle »-t-il ?

Obesity is associated with a number of chronic health problems such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer. While common prevention and treatment strategies to control unhealthy weight gain tend to target behaviors and lifestyles, the psychological factors which affect eating behaviors among underserved populations also need to be further addressed and included in practice implementations. The purpose of this study is to examine positive and negative emotional valence about food among underserved populations in a primary care setting. Uninsured primary care patients (N=621) participated in a self-administered survey from September to December in 2015. Higher levels of perceived benefits of healthy food choice were associated with lower levels of a negative emotional valence about food while higher levels of perceived barriers to healthy food choice are related to higher levels of a negative emotional valence about food. Greater acceptance of motivation to eat was associated with higher levels of positive and negative emotional valence about food. Spanish speakers reported greater acceptance of motivation to eat and are more likely to have a negative emotional valence about food than US born or non-US born English speakers. The results of this study have important implications to promote healthy eating among underserved populations at a primary care setting. Healthy food choice or healthy eating may not always be achieved by increasing knowledge. Psychological interventions should be included to advance healthy food choice.

This paper examines the role of personality traits and gender in violent interaction among middle school children (11-15 age range). The aim of the research presented here was to determine the contribution of personality traits and gender to various aspects of violent interaction, i.e. predisposition towards and exposure to peer violence. The sample consisted of 344 students from 5th to 8th grade, the majority of whom were girls (60.8%). The instruments used in the research were a questionnaire designed to assess violent behavior in primary school children (PRONA) and the Big Five Plus Two inventory (the BF + 2 for children), designed to assess seven basic personality traits in primary school children. The results of a multivariate analysis of covariance suggest that boys tend to perpetrate and be exposed to violent behaviour more than girls, and also that certain personality traits contribute to the manifestation of these constructs. Exposure to violence is determined by low Extraversion, as well as higher levels of Neuroticism and Negative Valence. The traits that contribute most significantly to the tendency towards abusive behaviour are high levels of Aggression and Negative Valence as well as lower levels of Positive Valence. The most effective means of abuse prevention among middle school children is the setting up of prevention programs along with the detection of specific vulnerable groups of students, and the adjustment of these programs to students' personological traits.

본 연구의 목적은 피트니스센터 직원의 고객지향성을 선행변수로 하여 고객만족과 재구매 의도에 미치는 영향, 고객만족이 재구매 의도에 미치는 영향을 검증하고 직원의 비언어적 커뮤니케이 션에 따른 조절효과를 실증 분석하는데 있다. 이를 위해 피트니스센터를 이용하는 회원들을 대상 으로 설문조사를 하였으며, SPSS 21.0과 AMOS 21.0 통계프로그램을 이용하여 위계적 조절회귀 분석과 구조방정식모형으로 각 요인의 관계를 분석하였다. 연구 결과 첫째, 고객지향성이 고객만족에 미치는 영향에서 고객지향성의 구성요인 중 전문적 기술, 사회적 기술, 그리고 의사결정권한이 고객만족에 유의한 영향을 미치는 것으로 결과가 확인 되어 채택되었다. 그러나 동기부여는 고객만족에 유의한 영향을 미치지 않는 것으로 결과가 확인 되어 기각되었다. 둘째, 고객만족은 재구매 의도에 유의한 영향을 미치는 것으로 확인되어 채택되 었다. 셋째, 비언어적 커뮤니케이션에 따른 조절효과 결과, 부분적으로 조절효과가 있는 것으로 확인되었다. 고객지향성 구성요인 중 전문적 기술과 고객만족의 관계, 사회적 기술과 고객만족의 관계에서 비언어적 커뮤니케이션의 조절효과가 있는 것으로 확인되어 채택되었으나 동기부여와 고객만족의 관계 및 의사결정권한과 고객만족의 관계에서는 조절효과가 없는 것으로 확인되어 기각 되었다. 넷째, 고객만족과 재구매 의도의 관계에서 비언어적 커뮤니케이션은 부분적으로 조절효과가 있는 것으로 확인되어 채택되었다. 이와 같은 결과를 근거로 피트니스센터 직원의 고객지향성과 비언어적 커뮤니케이션에 대하여 지속적인 개선과 강화를 통해 고객만족과 재구매 의도가 높아질 수 있음을 확인할 수 있었으며 효율적인 관리를 위한 시사점들이 도출되었다.The purpose of this study, was to provide the data for growth and development of fitness industry through improvement of customer satisfaction and repurchase intention. Analyzing the effect of customer satisfaction and repurchase intention, and investigating the moderating effect from the difference in non verbal communication by customers in the fitness centers. A survey was performed of the members of fitness centers. The collected data were processed by SPSS 21.0 and AMOS 21 program to analyze hierarchical moderated regression analysis and structural equation model. As a results of this study, First, technical skill, social skill, decision-making authority the subfactor of customer orientation, have a positively correlated on customer satisfaction and were adopted, Motivation did not have effect on customer satisfaction, and was rejected. Second, customer satisfaction was adopted as it was found to have a positively correlated on repurchase intention. Third, The non verbal communication was found to have a partially moderating effect. The moderating effect was found to arise from relationship among technical skill, social skill and customer satisfaction, the subfactor of customer orientation, and was adopted. However, motivation and decision-making authority did not have moderating effect, and was rejected. Fourth, The moderating effects were found to arise from the relationship between customer satisfaction and repurchase intention depending on non verbal communication, and were adopted altogether. Thus, much effort would need to be made by fitness center employee at the sites to improve the customer satisfaction and repurchase intention, along with overall control of customer orientation and non verbal communication, so as to improve both customer satisfaction and repurchase intention.

When used as an interface in the context of Ambient Assisted Living (AAL), a social robot should not just provide a task-oriented support. It should also try to establish a social empathic relation with the user. To this aim, it is crucial to endow the robot with the capability of recognizing the user's affective state and reason on it for triggering the most appropriate communicative behavior. In this paper we describe how such an affective reasoning has been implemented in the NAO robot for simulating empathic behaviors in the context of AAL. In particular, the robot is able to recognize the emotion of the user by analyzing communicative signals extracted from speech and facial expressions. The recognized emotion allows triggering the robot's affective state and, consequently, the most appropriate empathic behavior. The robot's empathic behaviors have been evaluated both by experts in communication and through a user study aimed at assessing the perception and interpretation of empathy by elderly users. Results are quite satisfactory and encourage us to further extend the social and affective capabilities of the robot.

In recent years, the web has become a widely used source for health information. Pet owners seem to respond to the supply of medical information on the Internet by increasing their self-education. However, after more than a decade of the digital revolution, little is known about the Internet's impact on the veterinarian-pet owner relationship. Recent research has raised concerns regarding the increase in self-education among pet owners. However, reasons suggest that the Internet might be a valuable source of pet-owner education for veterinarians. In particular, relationship-centered approaches of care might benefit from the information provided. Our study aimed to determine the perception of German veterinarians with regard to pet owners' self-education on different aspects of veterinary care. An online survey was conducted for German veterinarians from November 2016 to June 2017. Data were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Within the structural equation model, we evaluated how the veterinarians' attitude toward relationship-centered care might affect the evaluation of pet owners' self-education. A total of 585 valid questionnaires were completed. The majority of veterinarians (83.6%) welcomed the principles of shared decision-making. Practically, all veterinarians reported a noticeable increase in pet owners' self-education within the last few years. Perceptions on self-education's impacts on veterinary practice varied among the participants. A beneficial impact of self-education was reported regarding the general quality of veterinary care and quality of follow-up care. Most concerns were related to a negative impact on the veterinarian-pet owner relationship and the pet owners' demands on the veterinarians' work after self-education. Moreover, many participants were afraid that unfiltered information may unsettle pet owners and, therefore, advised them against self-education. The structural equation model confirmed the hypothesis that a veterinarian's positive attitude toward shared decision-making, empathic behavior, and his/her evaluation of self-education were associated. Therefore, we concluded that while there are beneficial potentials, there seem to be barriers that prevent the effective use of the Internet as a supportive medium in veterinary care. Further research and training are needed to enable the use of the Internet as an ancillary medium.

The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of taekwondo leaders on their relationship quality and leadership preferences according to their communication types. The participants selected high school and college taekwondo athletes registered with the Korea Taekwondo Association in 2020 and collected a total of 289 samples using non-probability sampling and nomadic sampling methods. A total of 286 data were used for the analysis, except for three inconsistencies in the survey questionnaire. Data processing is based on SPSS 18.0 and AMOS 18.0 and the data was analyzed through frequency analysis, confirmation factor analysis, reliability analysis, correlation analysis, and structural equation model. The results of this study are as follows. First, verbal communication has no effect on trust in relation quality. Second, verbal communication has no effect on satisfaction in relation quality. Third, nonverbal communication affects trust in relation quality. Fourth, nonverbal communication affects satisfaction among relationship quality. Fifth, verbal communication has no effect on leader preferences. Sixth, nonverbal communication has no effect on leader preferences. Seventh, trust in relationship quality affects leader preference. Eighth, satisfaction among relationship quality affects leader preference.

Employees which social needs are satisfied are more motivated to achieve better performance. This is in the best interest of an organization, as a social group, so it is important to know how to support employees in meeting the needs. In the previous studies in the field of organizational behaviour, internal communication and internal marketing, the relationship between verbal communication and the level of satisfying social needs of employees, as well as the role of organizational identification in this relationship has not been examined. The aim of this paper is to answer the question of how verbal communication affects satisfying employees'social needs. It is assumed that there is a direct and positive effect of verbal communication on both the level of satisfying social needs of employees and the level of organizational identification. It is also assumed that there is an indirect effect of verbal communication on the level of satisfying social needs of employees which occurs through organizational identification. It follows that verbal communication affects satisfying employees'social needs through organizational identification. To test the assumptions structural equation modeling was used and the partial least squares technique was applied. In order to collect the data, the survey (online questionnaire) was conducted in the last quarter of 2018 among employees in the territory of Belgrade, in Republic of Serbia. The obtained results confirmed the hypotheses. Verbal communication directly and positively affects the level of satisfying social needs of employees, but it also affects it indirectly through the increase of the organizational identification.

Management of Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD) is a key challenge in geriatric dementia care. A multimodal comprehensive care methodology, Humanitude, with eye contact, verbal communication, and touch as its elements, was provided to three geriatric dementia patients for whom conventional nursing care failed in an acute care hospital. Each episode was evaluated by video analysis. All patients had advanced dementia with BPSD. Failure of care was identified by patient's shouting, screaming, or abrupt movements of limbs. In this case series, conventional care failed for all three patients. Each element of care communication was much shorter than in Humanitude care, which was accepted by the patients. The average of the elements performed during the care was eye contact 0.6%, verbal communication 15.7%, and touch 0.1% in conventional care and 12.5%, 54.8%, and 44.5% in Humanitude care, respectively. The duration of aggressive behavior of each patient during care was 25.0%, 25.4%, and 66.3% in conventional care and 0%, 0%, and 0.3% in Humanitude, respectively. In our case series, conventional care was provided by less eye contact, verbal communication, and touch. The multimodal comprehensive care approach, Humanitude, decreased BPSD and showed success by patients' acceptance of care.

Expanding on the literature on rapport-building behavior within the airline industry, this study analyzed the influence of rapport-building behaviors (uncommonly attentive behavior, common-grounding behavior, courteous behavior, connecting behavior, and information-sharing behavior) on cabin crew members’ empathy toward their colleagues. We also analyzed the effect of empathy on variables such as team performance, organizational atmosphere, and instances of irregularity. We analyzed 230 samples obtained from an online questionnaire and convenience sampling of full-service domestic and international carriers in South Korea. A structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed that uncommonly attentive behavior, courteous behavior, connecting behavior, and information-sharing behavior showed a positive effect on empathy among colleagues, which in turn positively influenced team performance, organizational atmosphere, and possible irregularities. Moreover, we found that the presence of participants’ closest colleagues within the same team did not moderate the relationship between rapport-building and empathic behavior between airline crew members. Our study has important implications for crew members’ dignity and protection from emotional labor while working in high-pressure environments. Our findings can be used to revise the airline industry’s crew management guidelines and improve the crew’s psychological health and quality of life.

Introduction: Empathy is a complex and multidimensional attribute. Attempts have been made to explain empathic behavior based on other variables. Empirical evidence shows that empathy could be the product of the influence of several factors. One of these factors could be resilience. There is still no developed theory and consistent empirical evidence demonstrating that empathy depends on resilience. Objective: The aim of this study is to determine if resilience can predict empathic behavior. Methodology: This study is non-experimental and ex post facto with a cross-sectional design. Variables. Dependent: Empathy; Independent: Resilience. Population: Medical students belonging to the Faculty of Health Sciences of the Universidad Autónoma de Santa Ana (UNASA), Santa Ana, El Salvador (N=579). The sample (n=465) consisted of students (both sexes). Convenience sampling. Jefferson Scale of Empathy for Healthcare Professionals, student version (JSE-HPS). Trait Resilience Scale (EEA). A Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) model was used. Additionally, the Comparative Fit Index (CFI) (>0.95), Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI) (>0.95), Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) (<0.08), and Standardized Root Mean Square (SRMR) (<0.08), Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) were employed. The significance level employed was ? < 0.05. Results: All these results show that both measurement models (empathy and resilience) are adequately represented and are suitable for the structural model. Discussion: Individual resilience is a variable that can predict empathic behavior in medical students belonging to a Faculty of Health Sciences. The results constitute indirect empirical evidence that it is possible to define empathy as a dependent variable and resilience as an independent variable.

Behavioral and electrophysiological evidence for valence-space congruency effect of emotional pictures in a spatial Stroop task

The development of information technology has changed the world of education, including the application of elearning in universities. This study explores how e-learning can improve the academic achievement and critical thinking skills of automotive engineering students who rely on gadgets. Using the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS‒ SEM) method on data collected through purposive sampling, this study analyzed verbal communication, motivation, creativity, learner interaction with content, gadget use intensity, peer collaborative engagement, academic achievement, and critical thinking. The results showed that verbal communication and learner interaction with content significantly increased motivation and creativity, while excessive gadget use intensity had a negative impact. The indirect effect of learner interaction with content on academic achievement through motivation showed a P-coefficient of 0.027. In contrast, the impact of verbal communication on academic achievement through motivation showed a P-coefficient of 0.014. These findings emphasize the importance of a holistic approach in designing e-learning programs that support verbal communication, active participation, and balanced use of gadgets to improve education quality. Educational institutions are advised to develop effective e-learning programs and explore other factors, such as educational access, that affect learning outcomes in e-learning.