Cognitive Empathy Scores Research Articles

An Examination of Violent and Empathic Tendencies in Adolescents by Different Variables

The goal of this research was to study the violent and empathic tendencies of adolescents according to different variables and to determine the correlation levels between these tendencies. For this purpose, the relational survey and causal-comparative model were used. The research was conducted on 513 adolescents (319 females and 194 males), with no disabilities, from two-parent families, and attending the 9th, 10th, and 11th grades of Anadolu high schools and Anadolu teacher-training high schools in Yozgat, which are affiliated with the Ministry of Education. The data were collected by means of the Student Information Form, the Violent Tendency Scale, and the adolescent form of the Child and Adolescent KA-SI Empathic Tendency Scale. All the results at a level of (p<0.05) have been accepted as statistically significant. The results of the research have revealed that the type of school, sex, and grade create statistically significant differences between aggression score values (p<0.05). While the type of school and grade do not lead to any statistically significant difference between emotional, cognitive, and total empathy scores (p>0.05), gender does. The correlation analysis results have established that there is a statistically significant weak positive correlation (p<0.05) between the aggression score and the following: emotional empathy score, cognitive empathy score, and total empathy score (p<0.05).

Effects of mineralocorticoid receptor blockade on empathy in patients with major depressive disorder.

The mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) is highly expressed in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex and is involved in social cognition. We recently found that pharmacological stimulation of the MR enhances emotional empathy but does not affect cognitive empathy. In the current study, we examined whether blockade of the MR impairs empathy in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and healthy individuals. In a placebo-controlled study, we randomized 28 patients with MDD without psychotropic medication and 43 healthy individuals to either placebo or 300mg spironolactone, a MR antagonist. Subsequently, all participants underwent two tests of social cognition, the Multifaceted Empathy Test (MET) and the Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition (MASC), measuring cognitive and emotional facets of empathy. In the MET, we found no significant main effect of treatment or main effect of group for cognitive empathy but a highly significant treatment by group interaction (p < 0.01). Patients had higher cognitive empathy scores compared to controls in the placebo condition but not after spironolactone. Furthermore, in the spironolactone condition reduced cognitive empathy was seen in MDD patients but not in controls. Emotional empathy was not affected by MR blockade. In the MASC, no effect of spironolactone could be revealed. Depressed patients appear to exhibit greater cognitive empathy compared to healthy individuals. Blockade of MR reduced cognitive empathy in MDD patients to the level of healthy individuals. Future studies should further clarify the impact of MR functioning on different domains of social cognition in psychiatric patients.

Spatiotemporal neural dynamics of moral judgment: A high-density ERP study

Morality is a pervasive aspect of human nature across all cultures, and neuroscience investigations are necessary for identifying what computational mechanisms underpin moral cognition. The current study used high-density ERPs to examine how moral evaluations are mediated by automatic and controlled processes as well as how quickly information and causal-intentional representations can be extracted when viewing morally laden behavior. The study also explored the extent to which individual dispositions in affective and cognitive empathy as well as justice sensitivity influence the encoding of moral valence when healthy participants make moral judgments about prosocial (interpersonal assistance) and antisocial (interpersonal harm) actions. Moral judgment differences were reflected in differential amplitudes for components associated with cognitive appraisal (LPP) as well as early components associated with emotional salience (N1 and N2). Moreover, source estimation was performed to indicate potential neural generators. A posterior-to-anterior shift was observed, with current density peaks first in right inferior parietal cortex (at the temporoparietal junction), then later in medial prefrontal cortex. Cognitive empathy scores predicted behavioral ratings of blame as well as differential amplitudes in LPP and component activity at posterior sites. Overall, this study offers important insights into the temporal unfolding of moral evaluations, including when in time individual differences in empathy influence neural encoding of moral valence.

Emotional and Cognitive Empathy in First-Year Medical Students

Objectives. Doctors' empathy towards their patients is considered important for treatment outcome. However, during medical school there might be a decline in empathy called “hardening of the heart.” This study evaluated the cognitive and emotional empathy in medical students and investigated the influence of a preference for a specialty and students attachment styles. Methods. 126 first-year medical students were included and completed the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test revised version (RME-R), the Balanced Emotional Empathy Scale (BEES), and the Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised Adult Attachment Questionnaire (ECR-R). Results. Students identified 22 ± 4.30 of 36 photographs in the RME-R test correctly (norm: 26). The female students' mean BEES total score was 51.1 ± 17.1 and the male students' 27.2 ± 22.6; P < 0.0001. The female students' mean BEES score was significantly (P = 0.0037) below the female norm of 60. Students who preferred a specialty with continuity of patient care scored significantly higher in the BEES (P = 0.014). A more avoidant attachment style was associated with a lower BEES score (P = 0.021). Conclusion. The students showed low emotional and cognitive empathy scores and an avoidant attachment style. This supports the inclusion of specific training in cognitive and emotional empathy in medical education.

An investigation into the relationship between digit length ratio (2D: 4D) and psychopathy

This study investigates whether a higher level of pre‐natal testosterone, as indicated by the 2D: 4D digit ratio, is a correlate of psychopathy and cognitive empathy. The main research hypothesis predicts that 2D: 4D digit ratios will correlate negatively with psychopathy scores and positively with cognitive empathy scores. The study facilitates a within‐subjects correlational design, using a quasi‐experimental method consisting of questionnaires and digit measurements. Fifty‐four participants volunteered and were gathered via purposive and convenience sampling. Each participant completed a self‐report psychopathy scale, a cognitive empathy test, a verbal IQ test and a scan of both hands. The scans were later measured and computed for digit ratios. T‐tests, multiple partial correlations and multiple regression found that, contrary to the research hypothesis, a higher level of pre‐natal oestrogen, as indicated by a larger 2D: 4D digit ratio, is a positive correlate of psychopathy in females, and a positive correlate of callous affect (psychopathy sub‐scale) in males, at less than 0.01 probability levels. Gender is also a correlate of psychopathy, as males scored significantly higher than females at 0.01 probability levels. This result sheds an interesting new light on the physiological correlates of psychopathy and the role that pre‐natal oestrogen plays in organisational effects on the brain during pre‐ and post‐natal development.

Changes in Dental Student Empathy During Training

Because empathic patient interactions by dentists are associated with improved patient outcomes, self-reported declines in empathy during dental student training are a concern. This study examined differences in empathy in 178 dental students at the University of Toronto and the University of Western Ontario from years one through four using an anonymous self-report web-based survey in a cross-sectional design. To localize the effects of training on empathy, an instrument that separately evaluated emotive (Emo) and cognitive (Cog) types of empathy in both personal (Per) and professional (Pro) contexts was developed, using items modified from previously validated scales and resulting in an empathy scale with four thirteen-item subscales (Per-Emo, Per-Cog, Pro-Emo, Pro-Cog). The response rate was 36.5 percent, and all subscales showed good reliability and validity. A 2x2x4 mixed design ANOVA tested differences in mean scores among the four subscales across the four years of training. Following a significant three-way interaction, subanalyses demonstrated no significant effects in the Per-context, but a significant year by empathy-type interaction in the Pro-context. Post hoc analyses of Pro measures indicated year three emotive empathy scores were significantly lower than earlier years, whereas years three and four cognitive empathy scores were significantly higher. This isolated decrease in Pro-Emo empathy with an increase in Pro-Cog empathy is consistent with the development of "professional empathy," described elsewhere as detached concern.

Neuropsychological Evidence of Impaired Cognitive Empathy in Euthymic Bipolar Disorder

The empathic abilities have never been examined in bipolar disorder patients, despite frequent observations of impaired social behavior. To examine the neuropsychological processes that underlie the affective and cognitive empathic ability in bipolar disorder, the authors compared affective and cognitive empathic abilities, as well as theory of mind and executive functions, of euthymic bipolar disorder patients and healthy comparison subjects. Significant deficits in cognitive empathy and theory of mind were observed, while affective empathy was elevated in bipolar disorder. Patients showed impaired cognitive flexibility (shifting and reversal learning) but intact planning behavior. Impaired cognitive empathy was related with performance in neurocognitive tasks of cognitive flexibility, suggesting that prefrontal cortical dysfunction may account for impaired cognitive empathy in bipolar disorder.