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Cognitive and affective components of empathy and their relationship with personality dimensions in a Chinese sample
Author(s) -
Neumann David L.,
Chan Raymond C. K.,
Wang Yi,
Boyle Gregory J.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
asian journal of social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.5
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1467-839X
pISSN - 1367-2223
DOI - 10.1111/ajsp.12138
Subject(s) - psychoticism , psychology , neuroticism , extraversion and introversion , empathy , personal distress , eysenck personality questionnaire , personality , clinical psychology , anxiety , negative affectivity , interpersonal reactivity index , empathic concern , dass , distress , developmental psychology , big five personality traits , perspective taking , psychiatry , social psychology
Empathy is an essential component of social interactions and may be related to personality characteristics. However, this issue has not been extensively examined in a Chinese sample. Students at six universities in China ( N = 257) completed the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire‐Revised (EPQ‐R), and the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS‐21). Using multiple regression analyses, and after accounting for demographic variables (sex and age), it was found that the affective empathy component Personal Distress positively predicted EPQ‐R Neuroticism scores (β = .49), negatively predicted Extraversion (β = –.21) and Lie scale scores (β = –.22), and positively predicted DASS‐21 Depression (β = .26), Anxiety (β = .34) and Stress scores (β = .39). Empathic Concern positively predicted Lie Scale scores (β = .21), and negatively predicted Psychoticism scores (β = –.24). Individuals with high scores in Empathic Concern were also found to score more highly on Fantasy, Personal Distress, Neuroticism, Stress and Anxiety. Thus, more empathic individuals are likely to experience elevations in negative affectivity when they perceive the emotional suffering of others.