The (non)relation between empathy and aggression: surprising results from a meta-analysis

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Criminology
• Social Science

Background:

• Empathy is widely assumed to be crucial in understanding and treating aggressive behavior.
• Previous research on the empathy-aggression link has produced inconsistent findings.
• Existing treatments for aggression often target empathy deficits.

Purpose of the Study:

• To comprehensively review and meta-analyze the relationship between empathy and aggression in adults.
• To clarify inconsistent findings from prior smaller-scale reviews.
• To assess the strength of the association between empathy deficits and aggressive behavior.

Main Methods:

• A mixed-effects meta-analysis was conducted on 106 effect sizes from published and unpublished studies.
• Included community, student, and criminal samples to ensure broad applicability.
• Examined specific types of aggression: verbal, physical, and sexual.

Main Results:

• A weak negative correlation (r = -.11) was found between empathy and aggression overall.
• The association remained weak across verbal (r = -.20), physical (r = -.12), and sexual aggression (r = -.09).
• Potential moderators did not significantly alter the overall effect size.

Conclusions:

• The assumed strong link between empathy and aggression is not supported by current evidence.
• Findings challenge the centrality of empathy in aggression treatment and theory.
• Highlights the need for diverse measurement approaches and potential re-operationalization of empathy.