Inter-human and animal-directed empathy: A test for evolutionary biases in empathetic responding

Prguda, Emina; Neumann, David L.

doi:10.1016/j.beproc.2014.09.012

Cited by 27 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…These features include group membership and similarity to self, likeability, and trustworthiness [20,21]. Humans can also feel empathy, including assessment of pain, toward non-human species [22], and personal empathy has been associated with higher ratings of pain in non-human species including cattle [23] and dogs [24].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do dog breeds differ in pain sensitivity? Veterinarians and the public believe they do

2020

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Humans do not respond to the pain of all humans equally; physical appearance and associated group identity affect how people respond to the pain of others. Here we ask if a similar differential response occurs when humans evaluate different individuals of another species. Beliefs about pain in pet dogs (Canis familiaris) provide a powerful test, since dogs vary so much in size, shape, and color, and are often associated with behavioral stereotypes. Using an on-line survey, we asked both the general public and veterinarians to rate pain sensitivity in 28 different dog breeds, identified only by their pictures. We found that both the general public and veterinarians rated smaller dogs (i.e. based on height and weight) as being more sensitive to pain; the general public respondents rated breeds associated with breed specific legislation as having lower pain sensitivity. While there is currently no known physiological basis for such breed-level differences, over 90% of respondents from both groups indicated belief in differences in pain sensitivity among dog breeds. We discuss how these results inform theories of human social discrimination and suggest that the perception of breed-level differences in pain sensitivity may affect the recognition and management of painful conditions in dogs.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do dog breeds differ in pain sensitivity? Veterinarians and the public believe they do

2020

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“…From a neurophysiological point of view, it has been established that empathic responses influence both cortical activity (Brüne et al, 2012; Decety & Jackson, 2006; Rameson & Lieberman, 2009; Thirioux, Mercier, Blanke, & Berthoz, 2014) and autonomic physiological responsiveness (Balconi & Bortolotti, 2012b; Eisenberg et al, 1989; Prguda & Neumann, 2014). Indeed, as suggested by empathy models, the indubitable vantage of acquiring both autonomic and central activities is the possibility to better elucidate the reciprocal interplay of these two domains (Decety & Svetlova, 2012; Preston & de Waal, 2002 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It has been observed that different degrees of empathic experience may affect autonomic psychophysiological responses (Balconi, Falbo, & Conte, 2012; Prguda & Neumann, 2014). In those cases, participants imagined (a) a personal experience of fear or anger from their own past, (b) an equivalent experience from another person as if it were happening to them, or (c) a non-emotional experience from their own past (Ruby & Decety, 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Empathy in Negative and Positive Interpersonal Interactions. What is the Relationship Between Central (EEG, fNIRS) and Peripheral (Autonomic) Neurophysiological Responses?

Balconi

Vanutelli

2017

ACP

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in Affective and social neuroscience, catholic University of the sacred heart, Milan, italy 2 department of Psychology, catholic University of the sacred heart, Milan, italy interpersonal empathy, positive/negative interactions, fnirs, brain oscillations; autonomic activity emotional empathy is crucial to understand how we respond to interpersonal positive or negative situations. in the present research, we aim at identifying the neural networks and the autonomic responsiveness underlying the human ability to perceive and empathize with others' emotions when positive (cooperative) or negative (uncooperative) interactions are observed. A multimethodological approach was adopted to elucidate the reciprocal interplay of autonomic (peripheral) and central (cortical) activities in empathic behavior. electroencephalography (eeg, frequency band analysis) and hemodynamic (functional near-infrared spectroscopy, fnirs) activity were all recorded simultaneously with systemic skin conductance response (scr) and heart rate (hr) measurements as potential biological markers of emotional empathy. subjects were required to empathize in interpersonal interactions. As shown by fnirs/eeg measures, negative situations elicited increased brain responses within the right prefrontal cortex (PFc), whereas positive situations elicited greater responses within the left PFc. therefore, a relevant lateralization effect was induced by the specific valence (mainly for negative conditions) of the emotional interactions. Also, scr was modulated by positive/negative conditions. Finally, eeg activity (mainly low-frequency theta and delta bands) intrinsically correlated with the cortical hemodynamic responsiveness, and they both predicted autonomic activity. the integrated central and autonomic measures better elucidated the significance of empathic behavior in interpersonal interactions.

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“…Animals possessing high levels of infant features are perceived as being 'cute' and elicit care-giving responses in humans [3]. It is thought that these responses are generalised 'empathetic-type' responses [4], in that they are seen in response to both human and non-human infants. Lorenz [1] proposed that infant features are 'social releasers', innate characteristics that lead to a care-giving response, usually from the parent.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Individuals with Psychopathic Traits and Poor Attitudes towards Animals Can Recognise Infant Features But Give Them Reduced Attentional Priority

Cohen

McParland

Jack

et al. 2020

Animals

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Simple Summary: Certain facial characteristics in companion animals are perceived by humans as being 'cute'. This includes having large eyes, a round head and a small nose and mouth. These characteristics, which are shared with human infants, trigger care-giving responses in humans. Despite this, however, companion animal abuse occurs. The aim of this research was to better understand cognitive processes of people with pro-social personality traits and positive attitudes towards animals compared to those with anti-social personality traits and negative attitudes towards animals. This was done by assessing participants' ability to detect cues of cuteness in animal and human infant faces (study 1) and by assessing attention to cuteness cues via an eye-tracking task (study 2). Findings indicate that the ability to detect cuteness cues is widespread, regardless of personality or attitudes. However, individuals with anti-social personality traits and negative attitudes towards animals chose to pay less attention to 'cute' stimuli in the eye-tracking task. This proof of concept study is an initial step in determining how individuals 'at risk' of committing animal abuse process information on infant features in animals.Abstract: Infant features are physical traits that are characteristic of human infants and include facial features such as large and low-lying eyes, and a small nose and mouth. Animals possessing high levels of infant features elicit care-giving responses in humans. Despite this, animal cruelty is a common occurrence. The aim of this research was to determine whether the ability to recognise and/or attend to infant features is linked to subclinical psychopathic traits and attitudes towards animals. Using a community sample, participants (n = 387) completed a cuteness forced-choice task. Self-reported psychopathy and attitude towards animals were not related to the participants' ability to detect cues of cuteness in human infants and animals. In a second study, participants (n = 142) were screened for low versus high primary psychopathy and low versus high animal attitude scores. A Psychopathy-Attitude Composite score was created and a subset of participants (n = 50) from the upper and lower quartiles completed a free-viewing eye-tracking task where 'Cute', 'Neutral, 'Monetary' and 'Control' images were presented in pairs. Higher levels of psychopathic traits and an anti-animal welfare attitude were associated with decreased attention to 'Cute' images in terms of decreased dwell time, mean fixation duration and mean fixation count, measures of voluntary attention. There were a number of interactions between Psychopathy-Attitude Composite classification and attention to each image category in terms of dwell time, first fixation duration, mean fixation duration and fixation count. These findings support the theory that individuals with psychopathic traits recognise facial cues of vulnerability but choose to give them reduced attentional priority. This may have implications for animal welfare.

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Inter-human and animal-directed empathy: A test for evolutionary biases in empathetic responding

Cited by 27 publications

References 36 publications

Do dog breeds differ in pain sensitivity? Veterinarians and the public believe they do

Do dog breeds differ in pain sensitivity? Veterinarians and the public believe they do

Empathy in Negative and Positive Interpersonal Interactions. What is the Relationship Between Central (EEG, fNIRS) and Peripheral (Autonomic) Neurophysiological Responses?

Individuals with Psychopathic Traits and Poor Attitudes towards Animals Can Recognise Infant Features But Give Them Reduced Attentional Priority

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