Introduction to the special issue on prosociality in adult development and aging: Advancing theory within a multilevel framework.

Bailey, Phoebe E.; Ebner, Natalie C.; Stine‐Morrow, Elizabeth A. L.

doi:10.1037/pag0000598

Cited by 33 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 58 publications

(96 reference statements)

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“…Age-related differences in empathy have been researched across multiple studies, and overall a pattern has emerged suggesting decrease in cognitive empathy with age, while effects on affective empathy are more mixed (see also Bailey et al 2021 ; Ebner et al 2017 , for overviews). Going beyond previous research by examining not only behavior but also brain structure and function in cognitive and affective empathy among younger and older adults, this study generated several novel insights.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Finally, Beadle et al ( 2015 ) did not find evidence for age-group differences in affective empathy or personal distress in response to cancer patients describing their experiences with the disease. This currently limited and mixed knowledge base on age effects in cognitive and affective empathy warrants additional research (see also Bailey et al 2021 ; Ebner et al 2017 , for overviews).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Age-related differences in negative cognitive empathy but similarities in positive affective empathy

et al. 2021

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Empathy, among other social-cognitive processes, changes across adulthood. More specifically, cognitive components of empathy (understanding another’s perspective) appear to decline with age, while findings for affective empathy (sharing another’s emotional state) are rather mixed. Structural and functional correlates underlying cognitive and affective empathy in aging and the extent to which valence affects empathic response in brain and behavior are not well understood yet. To fill these research gaps, younger and older adults completed a modified version of the Multifaceted Empathy Test, which measures both cognitive and affective empathy as well as empathic responding to both positive and negative stimuli (i.e., positive vs. negative empathy). Adopting a multimodal imaging approach and applying multivariate analysis, the study found that for cognitive empathy to negative emotions, regions of the salience network including the anterior insula and anterior cingulate were more involved in older than younger adults. For affective empathy to positive emotions, in contrast, younger and older adults recruited a similar brain network including main nodes of the default mode network. Additionally, increased structural microstructure (fractional anisotropy values) of the posterior cingulum bundle (right henisphere) was related to activation of default mode regions during affective empathy for positive emotions in both age groups. These findings provide novel insights into the functional networks subserving cognitive and affective empathy in younger and older adults and highlight the importance of considering valence in empathic response in aging research. Further this study, for the first time, underscores the role of the posterior cingulum bundle in higher-order social-cognitive processes such as empathy, specifically for positive emotions, in aging.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Age-related differences in negative cognitive empathy but similarities in positive affective empathy

et al. 2021

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“…Emerging evidence suggests that older adults might be more prosocial than younger adults 6 on measures including economic games 7-9 , learning about rewards for others 10 , effortful actions 11 and charitable donations [12][13][14][15] . In line with this, theoretical accounts of lifespan development, such as socioemotional selectivity theory 16 , propose that motivation for socially and emotionally meaningful behaviors increases as a result of age-related differences in goals and priorities 17,18 . However, most research has tested participants from western, educated, industrialized, rich and democratic populations 19 .…”

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confidence: 97%

Older adults across the globe exhibit increased prosocial behavior but also greater in-group preferences

2021

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Population aging is a global phenomenon with substantial implications across society1,2. Prosocial behaviors—actions that benefit others—promote mental and physical health across the lifespan3,4 and can save lives during the COVID-19 pandemic. We examined whether age predicts prosociality in a preregistered global study (46,576 people aged 18–99 across 67 countries) using two acutely relevant measures: distancing during COVID-19 and willingness to donate to hypothetical charities. Age positively predicted prosociality on both measures, with increased distancing and donations among older adults. However, older adults were more in-group focused than younger adults in choosing who to help, making larger donations to national over international charities and reporting increased in-group preferences. In-group preferences helped explain greater national over international donations. Results were robust to several control analyses and internal replication. Our findings have vital implications for predicting the social and economic impacts of aging populations, increasing compliance with public health measures and encouraging charitable donations.

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“…Finally, Beadle et al (2015) did not find evidence for age-group differences in affective empathy or personal distress in response to cancer patients describing their experiences with the disease. This currently limited and mixed knowledge base on age effects in cognitive and affective empathy warrants additional research (see also Bailey et al, 2021; Ebner et al, 2017, for overviews).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Age-related differences in negative cognitive empathy but similarities in positive affective empathy

Ziaei

Oestreich

Reutens

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Empathy, among other social-cognitive processes, changes across adulthood. More specifically, cognitive components of empathy (understanding another's perspective) appear to decline with age, while findings for affective empathy (sharing another's emotional states) are rather mixed. Not well understood yet are the neural correlates underlying cognitive and affective empathy and the extent to which valence modulates these components of empathy in aging. To fill these research gaps, young and older participants completed a modified version of the Multifaceted Empathy Test, which measures both cognitive and affective empathy, while brain images were acquired in the MRI scanner. Multivariate analysis showed that regions of the salience network, including anterior insula and anterior cingulate, were more involved in cognitive empathy to negative emotions, in older than in younger participants. For affective empathy to positive emotions, in contrast, young and older participants recruited a similar brain network including the main nodes of the default mode network. These results provide novel insights into the neural networks subserving cognitive and affective empathy in young and older adults and highlight a modulatory role of valence on empathy in aging. Our findings highlight the importance of valence for the study of higher-order social-cognitive processes such as empathy in aging.

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Introduction to the special issue on prosociality in adult development and aging: Advancing theory within a multilevel framework.

Cited by 33 publications

References 58 publications

Age-related differences in negative cognitive empathy but similarities in positive affective empathy

Age-related differences in negative cognitive empathy but similarities in positive affective empathy

Older adults across the globe exhibit increased prosocial behavior but also greater in-group preferences

Age-related differences in negative cognitive empathy but similarities in positive affective empathy

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