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Empathy Mind-Set Moderates the Association Between Low Empathy and Social Aggression.
Arti U Gandhi1, Sindes Dawood2, Hans S Schroder3,4
1Boston University, MA, USA.
Journal of Interpersonal Violence
|December 30, 2017
Summary
Beliefs about empathy
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Social Psychology
- Interpersonal Relationships
Background:
- Empathy is crucial for healthy relationships, often inversely related to aggression.
- Inconsistent findings exist regarding the empathy-aggression link.
- The role of empathy mind-sets in this relationship requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the moderating role of empathy mind-sets on the association between empathy and interpersonal aggression.
- To test the hypothesis that a fixed empathy mind-set exacerbates the link between low empathy and aggression.
Main Methods:
- Examined the moderating effect of beliefs about empathy's malleability.
- Assessed individual differences in empathy levels and aggression (specifically social aggression).
- Analyzed the interaction between empathy levels and empathy mind-sets.
Main Results:
- Results supported the hypothesis: low empathy was linked to less aggression when individuals believed empathy was malleable.
- A fixed mind-set about empathy strengthened the association between low empathy and aggression.
- Beliefs about malleability moderated the relationship between empathy and aggression.
Conclusions:
- Beliefs about the malleability of empathy significantly moderate the relationship between empathy and interpersonal aggression.
- Targeting empathy mind-sets in interventions may enhance their effectiveness in reducing aggression.
- Understanding empathy mind-sets is key to improving interpersonal relationship dynamics.
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