Emotional Empathy Research Articles

Potential Mechanism Linking Peer Relationships and Adolescent Prosocial Behavior: Mediation of Cognitive Empathy and Moderations of OXTR and DRD2.

Peers are important socializers of adolescent prosocial behavior. Still, the proximal cognitive and emotional process underlying this link and the sources of individual differences in sensitivity to peer influence have yet to be explored. Utilizing the gene-gene-environment (G × G × E) approach and multi-informant measurement, this study investigated how peer relationships operate to influence adolescent prosocial behavior by examining the mediating role of cognitive and emotional empathy, and the moderating role of the OXTR and DRD2 genes. The study utilized longitudinal data from a community sample of Chinese adolescents (N = 1080, Mage = 13.32 years at T1). Results showed that cognitive empathy rather than emotional empathy mediated the link between peer acceptance/rejection and prosocial behavior. Furthermore, the association among peer acceptance, cognitive empathy, and prosocial behavior was moderated by OXTR and DRD2. Specifically, adolescents with the combinations of AA/AA or G/G genotypes of OXTR/DRD2 benefited more from peer acceptance compared to their counterparts carrying other combined genotypes. The findings highlight cognitive empathy as a proximal process linking peer interaction to prosocial behavior and lend support to the interaction between oxytocinergic and dopaminergic systems on environmental sensitivity.

Building Resilience and Social-Emotional Competencies in Elementary School Students through a Short-Term Intervention Program Based on the SEE Learning Curriculum.

This study explored the positive effects of a six-week Social-Emotional and Ethical Learning® (SEE Learning) program on resilience and social and emotional competences, adapted for elementary students in Daegu, South Korea, a region strongly affected by the first outbreak of COVID-19. A total of 348 third- and fourth-grade students from 15 elementary schools participated, and the curriculum was tailored, emphasizing key areas such as resilience, attention, kindness, attention training, and compassion. Repeated measures analysis of variance (RMANOVA) tests showed statistically significant improvements between pre- and post-tests in resilience and its subscales, including self-efficacy, tolerance of negative affect, positive support relations, power of control, and spontaneity, as well as in social and emotional competencies, including emotional regulation, social skills, empathy, and social tendencies. Despite a lack of maintenance in all areas, at follow-up, the mean scores for self-efficacy, tolerance of negative affect, and positive support relations, as well as emotional regulation, social skills, empathy, and social tendency, remained higher than pre-test levels, suggesting some lasting benefits. The findings underscore the potential of the SEE Learning program integrated with resilience, mindfulness, compassion, and ethical practices to enhance students' resilience and social and emotional well-being. This study contributes to the growing body of evidence supporting the use of mindfulness and compassion-based SEL programs to mitigate the adverse effects of traumatic events on children's mental health.

Multidimensional assessment of social cognition using non-immersive virtual reality in dementia with Lewy bodies and Alzheimer’s disease: an exploratory study

ABSTRACT Introduction Few studies have focused on social cognition in dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), even though some brain structures being well known as underlying social cognitive processes are directly impacted in this disease. Furthermore, social cognition processes have been mostly studied independently using evaluations with poor ecological validity. We aimed at studying the ability of a new naturalistic and multidimensional social cognition task to reveal impairments in DLB patients. We chose to compare the profile of these patients with that of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients, for which social cognition is better preserved. Method Fifteen patients (DLB: n = 7; AD: n = 8) and 28 healthy controls underwent the REALSoCog task. They encountered several social situations (e.g. control versus transgressions) in a non-immersive virtual city environment allowing the assessment of moral cognition, cognitive and affective theory of mind (ToM), emotional empathy and behavioral intentions. Results The main results showed (i) a lower ability to detect transgressions in DLB patients, particularly conventional ones, whereas moral cognition seemed better preserved in AD patients; (ii) a cognitive ToM impairment in both DLB and AD patients, while affective ToM is impaired only in DLB patients; (iii) a decreased emotional empathy specifically observed in DLB patients; (iv) more inappropriate behavioral intentions, mainly in DLB patients, but also in some AD patients. Conclusions This study suggests the feasibility and potential interest of the REALSoCog task in revealing social cognition deficits, particularly for DLB patients by showing different social patterns as compared to AD patients. These results offer interesting clinical perspectives to develop more naturalistic tasks in such populations and for clinical differential diagnosis. Limitations and future perspectives are discussed.

Cognitive and emotional empathy in acute and remitted anorexia nervosa: a systematic review

BackgroundImpairments in empathy are well established in anorexia nervosa (AN). It is unclear, however, whether these deficits only occur in the acute phases of AN due to neurocognitive impacts of starvation (often referred to as context-dependent, or state-like), or if deficits remain once remission has been achieved (trait-like). This debate is commonly referred to as the ‘state vs trait’ debate.ObjectiveThis systematic review aims to summarise existing literature regarding empathy in AN, and to investigate whether empathy deficits in AN are state- or trait-based.MethodA total of 1014 articles were identified, and seven articles remained after the screening process. These seven articles, comparing empathy across three groups (acute AN, remission of AN, and non-clinical controls), were evaluated and summarised in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. Articles were required to have included all three groups and report on either cognitive empathy and/or emotional empathy.ResultsThe majority of studies were of satisfactory quality. The results identified were inconsistent, with few articles lending some support to the ‘state’ hypothesis and others producing nonsignificant results.ConclusionsThere is minimal literature comparing empathy in acute and remission phases of AN. While there were some inconsistencies in included articles, some data indicate that there may be slight improvements to emotional and cognitive empathy following recovery of AN. Further research is needed to better enrich knowledge regarding the role of state vs trait with regard to neurocognitive difficulties experienced by individuals with AN.Systematic review registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=335669, identifier CRD42022335669.

Role of cognitive and emotional empathy in the development of social cognition among adolescents

Empathy and social cognition among adolescents have been mainly studied in recent years. There are several reasons that adolescence and social cognition are being studied. Adolescents find themselves fully facing the external world and equipped with social cognitive skills, including emotional and cognitive empathy, along with the theory of mind acquired at home or school. Now, they must interact with others with diverse views, thoughts, and emotions from society. One of the fundamental components of social cognition among adolescents is described as empathy. Archival techniques are used in this review paper. This paper explores the connection between empathy and social cognition in adolescent development and how emotional and cognitive empathy influence social cognitive skills. It also investigates the changes in brain regions to social cognition and empathy among adolescents. Identifying this relationship reveals that emotional and cognitive empathy are both indispensable in the construct of social cognition during the adolescence period. The findings of the study point to the need for assessing the different components of empathy in psychopathological conditions among adolescents, which is marked by difficulties in emotional identification and expression. Developing a typical training program that improves social cognitive skills may help adolescents track their behavior in every aspect.

유아기 자녀를 둔 부모공감능력의 의미와 구성요인에 관한 델파이 연구

Objectives This study aims to clarify the meaning of parental empathy ability using the Delphi technique and to derive constituent and sub-factors. Methods To this end, the concept of parental empathy ability was defined through preceding research and liter-ature review, and the structuring factors of the ability were derived. An expert Delphi survey was conducted using the derived data to confirm the exploratory study of deriving the components of parental empathy ability. The data analysis method of the first Delphi survey questionnaire was conducted in order to define the concept of parental empathy and derive the structuring factors. A structured questionnaire, free-choice and open-ended questions were conducted with 13 experts in order to confirm the content validity. Using SPSS 25.0, the average value, standard deviation, skewness, agreement, convergence, and CVR ranges of each variable were calculated, and questions that did not meet each criterion were modified and deleted. Since the number of panels participating in the Delphi survey in this study is 13, if the CVR value is .554 or higher, it can be judged that the content validity is valid. The contents, were revised and supplemented with the experts, used to construct the second Delphi survey. It was used to construct the second questionnaire by reflecting the opinions of experts and revising and supplementing the contents. The second survey tool were gathered from the responses of the first survey. In or-der to clarify the opinions of each panel, structured questions with a 5-point rating scale were presented. Results First, the area of the scale consisted of three areas: ‘emotional empathy ability’, ‘cognitive empathy abil-ity’, and ‘behavioral empathy ability’, ‘emotional empathy ability’ consisted of perspective acceptance, cognitive empathy, and perspective acceptance, ‘cognitive empathy ability’ consisted of emotional response, emotional al-location, and emotional perception, and ‘behavioral empathy ability’ consisted of pseudo-movement, expression consistency, listening, and relationship formation. Conclusions The study is significant in that it derives categories and sub-factors of parental empathy ability that have recently come into focus. Furthermore, the study is significant in that it can be used as basic data for deriving the question composition through focus group interviews in the future.

Empathy and Coping Strategies Predict Quality of Life in Japanese Healthcare Professionals.

Burnout and secondary traumatic stress (STS), also referred to as compassion fatigue, are undeniable negative consequences experienced by healthcare professionals when working with patients. As frontline healthcare professionals are essential to communities, it is crucial to understand their mental health and how they cope with negative psychological responses. This study investigated the relationships between burnout, STS, compassion satisfaction, dispositional empathy, and stress management among Japanese healthcare professionals and students taking care of patients in clinical practice. The participants were 506 Japanese healthcare professionals and students (doctors, nurses, medical students, and nursing students) affiliated with Japanese Ministry of Defense Hospitals. The data were collected from March 2020 to May 2021. We assessed burnout, STS, and compassion satisfaction using the Professional Quality of Life Scale, dispositional empathy using the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, and coping with stress using the Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced Inventory (Brief-COPE). Exploratory factor analysis of the Brief-COPE yielded three factors: active coping; support-seeking; and indirect coping. Personal distress, a self-oriented emotional empathy index, was related to higher burnout and STS scores and lower compassion satisfaction. Empathic concern, an other-oriented emotional empathy index, was associated with lower burnout and higher compassion satisfaction. Active coping strategies were associated with lower burnout and higher compassion satisfaction, whereas indirect coping strategies were associated with higher burnout and STS scores. In a comparison of empathy in professional categories, nurses presented higher personal distress than nursing students, and medical doctors showed lower fantasy tendencies than medical students. These results imply the complex relationships between empathy, coping strategies, and psychological responses among healthcare professionals. Further longitudinal study is needed to explore these complex relationships and to develop more precise and effective psycho-educational interventions to prevent burnout and STS.

The impact of acute violent videogame exposure on neurocognitive markers of empathic concern.

Research examining the purported association between violent gaming and aggression remains controversial due to concerns related to methodology, unclear neurocognitive mechanisms, and the failure to adequately consider the role of individual differences in susceptibility. To help address these concerns, we used fMRI and an emotional empathy task to examine whether acute and cumulative violent gaming exposure were associated with abnormalities in emotional empathy as a function of trait-empathy. Emotional empathy was targeted given its involvement in regulating not only aggression, but also other important social functions such as compassion and prosocial behaviour. We hypothesized that violent gaming exposure increases the risk of aberrant social behaviour by altering the aversive value of distress cues. Contrary to expectations, neither behavioural ratings nor empathy-related brain activity varied as a function of violent gaming exposure. Notably, however, activation patterns in somatosensory and motor cortices reflected an interaction between violent gaming exposure and trait empathy. Thus, our results are inconsistent with a straightforward relationship between violent gaming exposure and reduced empathy. Furthermore, they highlight the importance of considering both individual differences in susceptibility and other aspects of cognition related to social functioning to best inform public concern regarding safe gaming practices.

Rally-around-the-destination? Changes in host-guest emotional solidarity after crises

Utilizing the political concept of “rally-around-the-flag”, this study takes Jiuzhai Valley as a case to construct a framework of host-guest emotional solidarity and examines the dynamics of such solidarity after an earthquake and the COVID-19 pandemic. Thematic and sentiment analyses are applied to interpret Sina Weibo data and the narratives derived from residents’ interviews as a form of triangulation. Results show that under crisis: (1) host-guest emotional solidarity includes shared beliefs, shared emotions, and interactive behaviors; (2) the short-term rally effect is emotion-driven and depends on “we-ness” relationships, emotional empathy, and place identity; (3) the long-term rally effect is value-driven and emerges when host-guest emotional empathy develops into value resonance through resource integration and relationship reconstruction. The results have implications for emotional solidarity theory and destination recovery in times of crisis.

Exploring the Relationship between Moral Decision-Making and Emotional Intelligence

Purpose: The general objective of the study was to explore the relationship between moral decision- making and emotional intelligence. Methodology: The study adopted a desktop research methodology. Desk research refers to secondary data or that which can be collected without fieldwork. Desk research is basically involved in collecting data from existing resources hence it is often considered a low cost technique as compared to field research, as the main cost is involved in executive’s time, telephone charges and directories. Thus, the study relied on already published studies, reports and statistics. This secondary data was easily accessed through the online journals and library. Findings: The findings reveal that there exists a contextual and methodological gap relating to the relationship between moral decision- making and emotional intelligence. Preliminary empirical review revealed that emotional intelligence significantly influences individuals' ability to make ethically sound decisions, as evidenced by positive correlations between emotional intelligence and various aspects of moral decision-making. It found that individuals with higher emotional intelligence demonstrated superior emotional awareness, regulation, and empathy, enabling them to navigate moral dilemmas more effectively. The study highlighted the practical implications of these findings, suggesting that interventions aimed at enhancing emotional intelligence could promote ethical behavior in educational, organizational, and societal contexts. Overall, the research provided valuable insights into the intricate interplay between emotional intelligence and morality, informing strategies for fostering ethical leadership and social responsibility. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The Social Learning theory, Cognitive Developmental theory and Dual Process theory may be used to anchor future studies on moral decision- making and emotional intelligence. The study offered recommendations that contributed significantly to theory, practice, and policy. It suggested further investigation into the underlying mechanisms of the relationship between moral decision-making and emotional intelligence. Practical implications included integrating emotional intelligence training into educational curricula and organizational practices, fostering ethical leadership and decision-making. Policy-wise, the study advocated for the integration of emotional intelligence and ethical education initiatives into broader societal frameworks. Collaboration among stakeholders was recommended to design evidence-based interventions promoting moral development and emotional competence, ultimately contributing to positive social change. Keywords: Moral Decision-Making, Emotional Intelligence, Education, Leadership, Ethical Dilemmas, Interventions, Stakeholders, Collaboration

Features of evaluating the effectiveness of a mentor's work by company employees

Introduction. In the era of information technology, when information becomes available and narrow specialization becomes the norm, mentoring remains an important mechanism for the transfer of unique skills and knowledge. In addition, through the mentoring institute, not only structured expert knowledge is relayed, but also a significant amount of professional practice is transferred, which forms the mentee's readiness for real challenges. In this regard, the analysis of the effectiveness of mentoring in modern Russia is becoming an extremely urgent task. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of mentoring (using the example of a Russian company). An additional task of the study was the primary adaptation of M. Yukawa's English-language questionnaire on evaluating the effectiveness of mentoring. Materials and methods. The online survey was conducted in the fall of 2023, 1,356 representatives of a Russian company took part in it, the average age of respondents was 17.67 years (SD = 2.02) (40.6% were men, 59.4% were women). The toolkit included a 13-point questionnaire to assess the effectiveness of mentoring by M. Yukawa, a personality questionnaire of the ‟Big Five”, as well as a questionnaire to measure the emotional empathy of M. Mehrabyan and N. Epstein. In addition, the questionnaire was supplemented with a question to assess the effectiveness of mentoring. Motivation was also assessed: both the mentor and the mentee (self-assessment of motivation). Results of the study. Mentees refer to the most developed qualities of a mentor as the ability to listen and have experience, and to the least – the ability to find a balance between work and personal life, as well as an interest in expanding the circle of professional contacts of the mentee and advice in building a career. Women were significantly more likely to agree that their mentor was available to solve all issues. Older mentees, as well as those with more experience or a higher level of education, were more likely to rate the mentor as more effective. Mentors with a high level of empathy and openness to experience become receptive to the demonstration of professional experience by a mentor, according to the data obtained. The mentoring process as a whole is not rated very highly by the mentee, and the mentor's motivation is rated higher than the mentee's self-assessment of motivation. This indicates the hidden reserves of the mentoring mechanism. The analysis of correlations demonstrated the expected positive relationship between the subjective assessment of the effectiveness of the mentoring process with all the statements of the mentoring effectiveness assessment questionnaire. In addition, the mentoring effectiveness assessment questionnaire showed high internal consistency. Conclusion. The conducted research on the effectiveness of mentoring and the results obtained pose new challenges to clarify many aspects of the mentoring phenomenon related to the motivation and empathy of the mentored, as well as the specifics of working with young personnel who do not have work experience.

Impact of Social Workers" Cognitive and Emotional Empathy on the Quality of Long-Term Care Services : Social Workers" Mediating Effect of Professionalism

Impact of Social Workers" Cognitive and Emotional Empathy on the Quality of Long-Term Care Services : Social Workers" Mediating Effect of Professionalism

The Relative Contribution of Teaching Mindfulness to Emotional Empathy among Teachers within Nazareth District in Light of some Variables

The study aimed to identify the relative contribution of teaching mindfulness to emotional empathy among teachers in the Nazareth District in the light of some variables. The descriptive correclational methodology was used. The teaching mindfulness scale, and the emotional empathy scale represented the study tools for the study, after ensuring their validity and reliability. The study sample consisted of (558) teachers who were randomly chosen. The results showed that there were no statistically significant differences in the study sample estimates to mindfulness, according to all demographic variables, and to the three dimensions of mindfulness dimensions separately, according to the (Gender, Academic qualification, and Experience) variables, and the presence of statistically significant differences in the dimension of calm due to (School level) variable, in favor of kindergarten teachers. The results also showed a statistically significant difference in the crying response dimension, due to (Gender) variable in favor of females, and the (Experience) variable (10-20 years), and the absence of statistically significant differences for the six dimensions individually, due to the (Academic qualification) variable, and the absence of a statistically significant difference for Empathy, (as a whole), due to (Gender, Academic qualification, and Experience variables), and a statistically significant difference according to the (School level) variable in favor of kindergarten teachers.

Multimodal neural correlates of dispositional resilience among healthy individuals

Resilient individuals are less likely to develop psychiatric disorders despite extreme psychological distress. This study investigated the multimodal structural neural correlates of dispositional resilience among healthy individuals. Participants included 92 healthy individuals. The Korean version of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale and other psychological measures were used. Gray matter volumes (GMVs), cortical thickness, local gyrification index (LGI), and white matter (WM) microstructures were analyzed using voxel-based morphometry, FreeSurfer, and tract-based spatial statistics, respectively. Higher resilient individuals showed significantly higher GMVs in the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), increased LGI in the insula, and lower fractional anisotropy values in the superior longitudinal fasciculus II (SLF II). These resilience’s neural correlates were associated with good quality of life in physical functioning or general health and low levels of depression. Therefore, the GMVs in the IFG, LGI in the insula, and WM microstructures in the SLF II can be associated with resilience that contributes to emotional regulation, empathy, and social cognition.

Early Empathy: Impact of Digital Storytelling, Traditional-Storytelling, and Gender on Early Childhood

Stories are good media for enhancing emotional intelligence and empathy. Therefore, early childhoods know how to empathize with the figure of the story through storytelling. This research objective is to investigate the impact of digital storytelling and traditional storytelling as a learning media and gender on empathy in early childhood. This research is experimental with treatment by level 2 x 2 research design. The data collection instrument uses an observation sheet in the form of an early childhood empathy Rating Scale. The results of this research showed children who got the digital storytelling intervention had more empathy than children who got the traditional storytelling. Moreover, digital storytelling is more suitable for fostering empathy in the male gender compared with traditional storytelling. On another hand, traditional story-telling is more suitable for enhancing empathy in the female gender.

Higher-Order Thinking Skills HOTS-based literacy media: An innovative learning strategy to promote the secondary students' social awareness

In this high-technology era, students are increasingly inclined to use digital services such as Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Unsurprisingly, most of them are becoming more addicted to using their digital devices. Unfortunately, the accessed contents are not always suitable and reliable for their needs and ages. Therefore, they absorb all information directly without filtering the messages. This study scrutinizes the implementation of Higher-Order Thinking Skills (HOTS)-based media literacy to promote the critical social awareness of junior high school students in an EFL classroom. A case study was employed as a research design involving one eighth-grader class and one EFL teacher as participants. The data were gathered via classroom observations, interviews with the teacher and the students, and document analysis. The data were then analyzed qualitatively by referring to the principles of teaching media literacy, Higher-Order Thinking Skills, and social awareness. The findings of this study revealed that the teacher applied some principles in teaching media literacy, namely introducing general concepts, making generalizations, analyzing information, evaluating the content of information, and drawing a conclusion from the students' actions. These principles consequently promoted the students' critical social awareness, including emotional awareness, self-regulation, empathy, active listening, cooperation, and respect. Considering such benefits, HOTS-based media literacy can be used as an alternative learning strategy to promote the students' critical social awareness in EFL classrooms.

Using Reflection to Engage with the Affective Domain in Legal Education in the Context of Cultural and Institutional Diversity

In legal education, the affective domain plays a vital role in shaping future lawyers’ professional identities, values and ethical decision-making capabilities. However, law schools in England and Wales face specific challenges in addressing the affective domain successfully in the context of cultural and institutional diversity. These include the predominant emphasis on doctrinal instruction and analytical thinking, neglecting emotional intelligence and ethical development and the emotional demands placed on law students. Law schools must also address implicit biases, combat discrimination and foster a supportive and inclusive environment. To overcome these challenges, law schools can integrate courses addressing the affective domain, offer opportunities for self-reflection, mentorship and peer support and invest in faculty development programmes. Collaboration with the legal profession can also bridge the theory–practice gap. By understanding and addressing these challenges, law schools can equip students with emotional intelligence, empathy and ethical foundations for successful legal careers.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the soft skills of lecturers

Education institutions quickly made the switch to remote teaching and learning because of the COVID-19 pandemic’s extraordinary problems. This study intends to investigate how the pandemic has affected lecturers’ soft skills, which are vital non-technical and interpersonal skills such as efficient communication, teamwork, adaptation, empathy, problem-solving, and leadership. Data were gathered from lecturers who had firsthand experience with the change to remote teaching through a qualitative study methodology that included interviews and focus group discussions. The research shows that lecturers used new tools, modified their teaching methods, and navigated the virtual environment with amazing flexibility and adaptation. Communication skills improved as lecturers used digital tools to interact with students and offer support. With lecturers attending to academic demands and emotional well-being, empathy and student assistance emerged as crucial. Through creative virtual methods, cooperation and teamwork were promoted. To overcome obstacles, problem-solving skills were used. The study advances knowledge about how the pandemic affected lecturers’ soft skills. The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly changed how instructors use their soft skills. Rapid technology advancement, improved communication abilities, adaptability and flexibility, student support and empathy, and teamwork have all been identified as major areas of change. To successfully adapt to changing educational environments and guarantee the delivery of high-quality education, lecturers will need to further develop these soft skills in the future. By accepting these adjustments, lecturers may not only deal with the difficulties caused by the pandemic but also create a future-focused, welcoming learning atmosphere for their students. Future research should focus on long-term effects, quantitative validation of findings, and evaluation of interventions to improve lecturers’ soft skills in distance learning. In light of changing educational environments, such research can promote lecturers’ professional growth and inform pedagogical methods.

The Effect of Affective Empathy on Prosocial Behavior among College Students

Affective empathy is the response and feeling to others’ emotions, it includes empathic concern and personal distress. In the real situation, empathy always occurs under certain specific circumstances and can develop into an individual’s prosocial behavior. In this experiment, the relationship between the empathy state and prosocial behavior of college students was discussed using specific emotional materials. Batson’s Empathy Adjective Scale and the revised Prosocial Behavior Scale were used. The results show that viewing specific emotional materials can stimulate different levels of emotional empathy. In a state of high emotional empathy, people have higher levels of prosocial behavior. Different emotional empathy states can only have a significant impact on some dimensions of prosocial behavior, including three dimensions of openness, compliance, and emotion. However, the three dimensions of anonymity, altruism, and urgency do not have a significant impact.

Chemical cousins with contrasting behavioural profiles: MDMA users and methamphetamine users differ in social-cognitive functions and aggression

Methamphetamine (METH, “Crystal Meth”) and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, “Ecstasy”) share structural-chemical similarities but have distinct psychotropic profiles due to specific neurochemical actions. Previous research has suggested that their impact on social cognitive functions and social behaviour may differ significantly, however, direct comparisons of METH and MDMA users regarding social cognition and interaction are lacking. Performances in cognitive and emotional empathy (Multifaceted Empathy Test) and emotion sensitivity (Face Morphing Task), as well as aggressive social behaviour (Competitive Reaction Time Task) were assessed in samples of n = 40 chronic METH users, n = 39 chronic MDMA users and n = 86 stimulant-naïve controls (total N = 165). Self-reports and hair samples were used to obtain subjective and objective estimates of substance use patterns. METH users displayed diminished cognitive and emotional empathy towards positive stimuli, elevated punitive social behaviour regardless of provocation, and self-reported heightened trait anger relative to controls. MDMA users diverged from the control group only by exhibiting a distinct rise in punitive behaviour when faced with provocation. Correlation analyses indicated that both higher hair concentrations of MDMA and METH may be associated with reduced cognitive empathy. Moreover, greater lifetime MDMA use correlated with increased punitive behaviour among MDMA users. Our findings confirm elevated aggression and empathy deficits in chronic METH users, while chronic MDMA users only displayed more impulsive aggression. Dose-response correlations indicate that some of these deficits might be a consequence of use. Specifically, the dopaminergic mechanism of METH might be responsible for social-cognitive deficits.