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Related Experiment Video

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Observational Fear as a Model of Affective Empathy in Mice

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Published on: November 22, 2024

Disentangling Counter-Empathy: Developing a Three-Dimensional Model and Measure of Dispositional Counter-Empathy.

Jake R Siamro¹, Christian H Jordan¹

¹Department of Psychology, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.

Journal of Personality

|October 7, 2025

Summary

This study introduces a Three-Dimensional Model of Counter-Empathy (3DCE), including schadenfreude, gluckschmerz, and affective sadism. The developed Various Indices of Counter-Empathy (VICE) effectively measure these dimensions and predict negative social outcomes.

Keywords:

affective sadism aggression counter‐empathy dark triad gluckschmerz scale development schadenfreude

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Area of Science:

Psychology
Social Psychology
Personality Psychology

Background:

Counter-empathy, responding incongruently to others' emotions, lacks a clear dimensional structure in existing research.
Previous studies focused on specific counter-empathic constructs, hindering a comprehensive understanding of dispositional counter-empathy.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop and test a Three-Dimensional Model of Counter-Empathy (3DCE).
To introduce the Various Indices of Counter-Empathy (VICE) for measuring counter-empathy.
To explore the relationship between counter-empathy and socially aversive outcomes.

Main Methods:

Five studies (N=1878) were conducted to test the 3DCE and develop the VICE.
Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, hierarchical structure analysis, and correlational studies were employed.
Participants reacted to vignettes depicting others' fortunes, misfortunes, and harms, reporting their responses.

Main Results:

The 3DCE and the validity of the VICE were supported through robust statistical analyses.
The VICE demonstrated incremental validity in predicting socially aversive outcomes beyond empathy.
Counter-empathic reactions to specific scenarios were successfully predicted by the model.

Conclusions:

The 3DCE and VICE provide a framework for understanding counter-empathy and situating prior research.
This model expands the study of vicarious emotions beyond empathy.
Counter-empathy is identified as a significant contributor to socially aversive outcomes, independent of empathy levels.