Age-related sex differences in explicit measures of empathy do not predict brain responses across childhood and adolescence

Abstract

Behavioral research indicates that human females are more empathic than males, a disparity that widens from childhood to adulthood. Nevertheless, the extent to which such sex differences are an artifact of self-report indices is unclear. The present study compared age-related sex differences in both self-report and neurophysiological measures of empathic arousal, a primary building block of empathy. Participants included sixty-five 4-17-year-old children (mean 11.5±3.5 years) who completed the Bryant Empathy Scale, and were scanned while viewing animated clips depicting people being hurt. Female participants scored higher than males on self-reported dispositional empathy, a difference that increased with age. In contrast, no sex-related differential changes were detected in hemodynamic responses or in pupil dilation, with no interaction between sex and age. Results suggest a dissociation between explicit ratings and neurophysiological measures of empathic arousal. Past observed sex differences in empathy may reflect females' greater willingness to report empathic experiences. Findings are also discussed in terms of discrepancies in the methods used to assess affective responding and how they relate to the multi-faceted construct of empathy.

Active Listening Attitude Scale (ALAS): Reliability and Validity in a Nationwide Sample of Greek Educators

“…Women scored higher on Listening Skill and Conversation Opportunity, thus appearing to exhibit better listening attitudes and to be more eager to communicate. It could be hypothesized that female teachers scored higher than their male colleagues on ALAS, due to their tendency to be more empathetic, pay closer attention to the speaker and the things said, and listen more effectively [55][56][57][58][59]. More generally, adults' disparity between the sexes in terms of emotional socialization and their self-determination regarding the role of gender result in similar differences in social-emotional skills (e.g., [60,61]) and thus, consequently, in the communication and active listening skills.…”

Empathy Gender in Dental Students in Latin America: An Exploratory and Cross-Sectional Study

“…However, to obtain a major approach of which is the empathic behavior between gender, longitudinal studies are required, but not only related to location, since the result of this type would explain the local situation and what can be valid for a population not necessarily is valid for others, because of the possible influxes of some factors regarding the conformation of empathy. The social stereotypes (sexual role) influence the answers, since these stereotypes assign women the tendency of caring and supporting weak people, a bigger capacity to detect feelings and nonverbal signs and a major concern about the social aspects of interaction and other´s feelings [43] [44].…”

Empathy gap – what do we know about empathizing with others′ pain?

“…Experiments suggest that if the person in pain shares cultural background with the observer, it is easier to track changes in the intensity of pain experienced by another person, although Canadians (but also Chinese) estimated the intensity of pain experienced by a Caucasian person Benuzzi et al, 2008;Bird et al, 2010;Constantini et al, 2008;Danziger et al, 2009;Gu et al, 2010;Jackson et al, 2005;Lamm et al, 2007a;Lamm et al, 2007b;Lamm & Decety, 2008;Land et al, 2011;Michalska et al, 2013;Morrison & Downing, 2007a;Morrison et al, 2004;Morrison et al, 2007b;Osborn & Derbyshire, 2010;Saarela et al, 2007;Simon et al, 2006;Singer et al, 2004;Singer et al, 2006;Singer et al, 2008;Zaki et al, 2007 167 Caucasians Azevedo et al, 2013;Botvinick et al, 2005;Cheon et al, 2013;Chiao et al, 2009;Contreras-Huerta et al, 2013;Hein et al, 2010;Immordino-Yang et al, 2009;Preis et al, 2013;Xu et al, 2009 112 Asians Cao et al, 2015;Cheon et al, 2013;Wang et al, 2015;Xu et al, 2009;Zuo & Han, 2013 more accurately than if the pain was experienced by a person of Chinese origin. Both groups rated the intensity of the expression of pain lower in other Chinese than in Canadians (ibid.).…”