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Emotion regulation moderates the association between empathy and prosocial behavior
Patricia L Lockwood1, Ana Seara-Cardoso1, Essi Viding1
1Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
Plos One
|May 10, 2014
Summary
Empathy generally promotes prosocial behavior, but cognitive reappraisal (a form of emotion regulation) can weaken this link in individuals who frequently use this strategy.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Social Neuroscience
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Empathy is theorized to motivate prosocial behavior.
- Emotion regulation may moderate the empathy-prosocial behavior link.
- Previous studies have not simultaneously examined empathic processes, emotion regulation strategies, and prosocial behavior.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the associations between different empathic processes (affective and cognitive) and prosocial behavior.
- To explore whether emotion regulation strategies (cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression) moderate the empathy-prosocial behavior relationship.
Main Methods:
- 110 healthy adults completed self-report questionnaires.
- Measures included empathy, emotion regulation, and prosocial tendencies.
Main Results:
- Both affective and cognitive empathy significantly predicted prosocial tendencies.
- Cognitive reappraisal moderated the association between affective empathy and prosocial tendencies.
- The empathy-prosocial behavior link was significant for low/average reappraisers but not for high reappraisers.
Conclusions:
- Empathy is generally positively associated with prosocial behavior.
- High levels of cognitive reappraisal may diminish the positive impact of empathy on prosocial behavior.
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