Empathy.

After defining empathy, discussing its measurement, and offering an example of empathy in practice, we present the results of an updated meta-analysis of the relation between empathy and psychotherapy outcome. Results indicated that empathy is a moderately strong predictor of therapy outcome: mean weighted r = .31 (p     

Empathy.

Empathy is defined, and its measurement is discussed. We then present the results of a new meta-analysis of the relation between measures of empathy and psychotherapy outcome from three perspectives (client, therapist, and observer). Variables that mediate this relationship also are discussed. The processes of change that empathy is posited to facilitate, as well as the different roles and forms that empathy may take in therapy are discussed. Results indicate that clients' and observers' perceptions that therapists understand their clients' internal experiences relate to outcome. This suggests it is important that therapists make efforts to understand their clients, and that this understanding be demonstrated through responses that address the needs of the client, as the client perceives them, on an ongoing basis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Empathy and ego development.

Examined the relationship between empathy and ego development to determine whether, as J. Loevinger (1976) suggested, empathy is characteristic of higher levels of ego development. 51 undergraduates (dormitory advisors) completed the Affective Sensitivity Scale (a measure of empathy) and the Loevinger Sentence Completion Test (a measure of ego development). Analysis of test scores indicated that Ss at higher levels of ego development (I-? and above) had significantly higher empathy scores than did those at lower ego levels. Findings have implications for the selection and training of individuals to serve in counseling or quasi-counseling roles. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychoeducational consultations with parents of conduct-disordered older adolescents.

This paper presents an approach to treatment of conduct-disordered behavior in older adolescents. The nature of the dysfunctional personality traits of the patient is discussed at length as are the possible roles of the parents and organic factors in both the etiology and maintenance of the disorder. As most of these adolescents are antagonistic to both traditional individual and family-based approaches, an alternative method is outlined which emphasizes an extensive psychoeducational consultation process with the parents as the main focus of treatment. Two types of dysfunctional parental patterns are considered: the over-involved parents and the underinvolved parents, and the nature of the consultation process with both groups is illustrated. The possible beneficial effects of the work are discussed both for the parents and the adolescent patient. Potential pitfalls and particular subtleties of the process are detailed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Empathy and cooperation in 4-year-olds.

4-yr-olds viewed slides of children designed to elicit emotions of fear, sadness, anger, and happiness in the S. Cooperative behavior was then assessed by having Ss play a game in dyads and by observing their behavior in nursery school. No differences in total empathy or in individual emotions were obtained between cooperative and noncooperative children. Girls obtained higher empathy scores than boys. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Empathy and moral development in adolescence.

Examined the relationship between empathy and 2 measures of moral development (prosocial moral reasoning and helping) with a sample of 72 Ss in Grades 9, 11, and 12. Parental socialization practices were also examined. Each S completed an affective empathy questionnaire, and 2 91-item Q-sorts—one concerning the mother's childrearing practices, the other pertaining to the father's. Empathy was significantly related to moral reasoning for both sexes and to helping for males. Maternal child-rearing practices were related to sons' empathy; mothers of highly empathic boys were nonpunitive, nonrestrictive, egalitarian, encouraged their offspring to discuss their problems, and set high standards for their sons. Females' empathy was not associated with parental socialization practices, perhaps due to a ceiling effect. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Executive cognitive functioning, temperament, and antisocial behavior in conduct-disordered adolescent females.

The authors assessed whether low executive cognitive functioning (ECF) and a difficult temperament are related to aggressive and nonaggressive forms of antisocial behavior (ASB) in 249, 14–18-year-old, conduct-disordered females and controls. ECF was measured using neuropsychological tests; temperament was measured using the Dimensions of Temperament Survey—Revised; and ASB was assessed using psychiatric symptom counts for conduct disorder. The conduct-disordered females exhibited lower ECF capacity and a greater difficult temperament compared with the controls. The combined influence of low ECF and difficult temperament was significantly related to both forms of ASB. In comparison with low ECF, difficult temperament was more strongly related to nonaggressive ASB, whereas in comparison with difficult temperament, low ECF was more strongly related to aggressive ASB. Last, ECF mediated the relation between difficult temperament and aggressive ASB. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Empathy and imagery in avoidance behavior reduction.

This therapy analog study was designed to assess the relative effects of therapist empathy and instructed imagination of hierarchy scenes on avoidance behavior reduction. Ss were 30 undergraduate females who indicated "much fear," "very much fear," or "terror" on Item 39 (snakes) during a classroom-administered Fear Survey Schedule II, and who were unable to touch a live snake. After a 45-min treatment session involving (a) mechanical imagery, (b) empathetic imagery, or (c) empathetic conversation, each S completed ratings that included the 16 empathetic understanding items from the Barrett-Lennard Relationship Inventory. Although the communication of differential therapist empathy was validated, behavior change attributable to therapist empathy was minor in comparison to the effects of imagery instructions. Imagery instructions delivered in a relatively unempathetic fashion produced as much avoidance reduction as imagery instructions delivered in an empathetic manner. Unempathetic imagery instructions also produced significantly greater avoidance reduction than the establishment of an empathetic relationship without instructed imagery exercises. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predictors of adolescent psychopathy: oppositional and conduct-disordered symptoms

In this paper the sequence specificity of DNA damage has been determined for 11 cisplatin analogues. A number of the analogues used in this study have been included in clinical trials. A Taq DNA polymerase linear amplification technique was utilised to ascertain the sequence selectivity of cisplatin analogues damage to DNA. The analogues differed in their ability to damage DNA with cisplatin being the most effective DNA damaging agent followed by (in decreasing order): tetraplatin (tetrachloro(1,2-diaminocyclohexane)platinum(IV) (RR isomer)), cis-dichlorobis(isopropylamine)platinum(II), dichloro(1,2-diaminocyclohexane)platinum(II) (SS isomer), dichloro(1,2-diaminocyclohexane)platinum(II) (RR isomer), cis-bis(cyclohexylamine)dichloroplatinum(II), carboplatin, cis-dichlorobis(isopentylamine)platinum(II), and CHIP (cis-dichloro-trans-dihydroxybis(isopropylamine)platinum(IV)). However, the sequence specificity of these analogues was similar in position and relative intensity of damage. We also provide evidence that platinum(IV) complexes can damage DNA without being reduced to platinum(II). It was found that a 10-fold higher concentration of cisplatin was required to damage DNA in Tris-HCl compared to Hepes buffers. In this paper we have detected a characteristic pattern of damage with monofunctional analogues that could be used to determine the mode of binding of a cisplatin analogue with DNA. The monofunctional analogues tested were chloro(diethylenetriamine)platinum(II) and cis-diamminechloro(1-octylamine)platinum(II) as well as transplatin.     

Empathy or behavioral transparency.

"The present data are in disagreement with theories that empathy depends on the personality of the guesser or on the personality of the guessee… empathy is related to transparency of behavior." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

HIV risk behaviors: a comparison of U.S. Hispanic and Dominican Republic youth

Using 3-week-old male beagle dogs, we examined the cartilage-bone replacement processes in the mandibular condyle by means of light and electron microscopy. Calcification of the cartilage matrix occurred in the central area of the longitudinal septa, but not in the transverse septa. Perivascular mononuclear cells absorbed the transverse septa which initiated the opening of the chondrocytic lacunae. These cells phagocytosed septal cartilage fragments. Shortly thereafter, a thin bone layer was deposited on the remaining longitudinal septa by invading osteoblasts. Osteoclasts in lacunae developed neither ruffled borders nor clear zones in the cartilage matrix, but once the bone layer has been deposited in the remaining cartilage, these structures formed. Our results suggest that the cartilage-bone replacement in mandibular condyle involves three sequential processes: 1) degradation and phagocytosis of cartilage fragments in the transverse septa by mononuclear cells, 2) bone deposition over the remaining longitudinal septa, and 3) degradation of both calcified cartilage and bone by osteoclasts.     

Empathy: Client centered and psychoanalytic.

Discusses differences between empathy in client-centered, particularly Rogerian, and psychoanalytic therapy in response to E. E. Emery's (see record 1987-26891-001) discussion of the same topic. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Empathy: Psychoanalytic and client centered.

Taking the risks of twinship transference into consideration, the present author discusses E. Kahn's (see record 1986-10712-001) comparison of H. Kohut and C. Rogers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Randomized trial of two parent-training programs for families with conduct-disordered children.

Assigned mothers (mean age 30 yrs) of 35 3–8 yr old conduct-disordered children to 1 of 3 groups. Group 1 was a waiting list control; Group 2 had 9 wks of individual therapy; and Group 3 had 9 wks of therapist-led group therapy based on a standardized videotape modeling program. Ss and their children were assessed at baseline, immediately after treatment, and 1 yr later using home visits, twice per week telephone reports, and questionnaires. Results show that 1-mo after treatment Ss in Groups 2 and 3 showed significant attitudinal and behavioral improvements that were maintained at 1-yr follow-up. Children of Ss in these groups showed reduction in child noncompliance and deviant behavior that continued in reduction at 1-yr follow-up. It is concluded that although both treatments offered equivalent and sustained improvements, the therapeutic efficiency of the videotape modeling group format was more cost-effective. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Empathy and the development of guilt in children.

Semiprojective stories describing explicit wrongful acts were shown to 72 1st-, 3rd-, and 5th-grade boys and girls. Ss then were asked how they would feel if they were the wrongdoer, why, and then to complete the story. Coded interview responses indicated that Ss who had received prior encouragement to empathize with the victim exhibited more intense guilt than those who had not. Developmental changes in Ss' reasons for guilt paralleled those of moral judgment studies; older Ss exhibited victim-oriented concern and relied on internal justice principles; younger Ss feared detection and punishment. Boys also reported more intense guilt feelings than did girls. (5 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Eastern Caribbean family psychology with conduct-disordered adolescents from the Virgin Islands.

Family psychology is a new and relatively undeveloped discipline in much of the English-speaking Caribbean, particularly in the US Virgin Islands. Family structure and youth behavior in the region have changed dramatically over the past few decades. Given the family-oriented nature of the culture, it is posited that the use of family psychology as an approach to research and intervention may prove to be a rich method to address this cultural metamorphosis. This article examines the potential effectiveness of interventions at the family level when mental health providers are working with youth with conduct disorder in the Virgin Islands. This article is offered as a microcosm of the global changes in family structure and the youth culture that are occurring particularly in the developing world, in part due to the rapid development of telecommunications. Possible roles of the family psychologist in this global transformation are presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attentional difficulties in hyperactive and conduct-disordered children: a processing deficit

A random population sample of 1479 Chinese boys from Hong Kong was screened and diagnosed in a two-stage epidemiological study. Four groups, age 7-8, were distinguished: (1) a pure hyperactive group (HA), (2) a mixed hyperactive/conduct-disordered group (HA+CD), (3) a pure conduct-disordered group (CD), and (4) a normal control group (N). On a visual search task, only the HA children showed a specific processing deficit in performance. This confirms the diagnostic value of such a deficit for hyperactivity, differentiating it from conduct disorder. The failure to find a similar deficit in the HA+CD group raises questions concerning the clinical identity of these children. Each group showed a performance decrement over time in the visual search task but the decrement did not differ between the four groups. This observation is not congruent with the reports of a short attention span in hyperactive children; explanations of this apparent contradiction are considered.     

Empathy: A physiological substrate.

Studied the relation between empathy (defined as the ability to perceive accurately how another person is feeling) and physiology in 31 Ss. Ss viewed 15-min marital interactions and used a rating dial to indicate continuously how they thought a designated spouse was feeling. Rating accuracy was determined by comparing Ss' ratings with identical self-ratings obtained previously from the target spouse. Physiological linkage between S and target was determined using bivariate time-series analyses applied to 5 autonomic and somatic measures obtained from the S during the rating task and from the target spouse during the original conversation. Accuracy of rating negative emotion was greatest when S and target evidenced high levels of physiological linkage across time. Accuracy of detecting positive emotion was related to a state of low cardiovascular arousal in the S, but not to physiological linkage between S and target. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Empathy and responsibility in the motivation of children's helping.

To investigate affective and dispositional factors in the motivation of children's helping, 60 children ranging from preschool to sixth grade were observed in laboratory distress incidents involving, as potential recipients of aid, a kitten, an adult experimenter, and a mother with an infant. Positive, negative, and neutral affect expressions were observed in two of the three distress incidents, and prosocial dispositions were assessed through children's attributions regarding the motives and feelings of characters in eight stories involving persons in distress. Results indicated that helping tended to be positively correlated with positive affect and negatively correlated with negative and neutral affect. Further evidence suggested that these correlations were primarily attributable to positive affects associated with helping itself rather than to affects experienced in witnessing the other's distress. Among story attributions, attributions of guilt were strongly and consistently related to helping and affect expression in the total sample and across grade groupings. Attributions of empathy and altruism were also related to helping, but only in the total sample. These results are interpreted as suggesting that it may not be empathic arousal alone that is most important for the motivation of helping, but the subjective meaning of that arousal in terms of an accompanying sense of responsibility for the other person's plight. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Contribution of ADHD symptoms to substance problems and delinquency in conduct-disordered adolescents

We examined adolescents with conduct disorder (CD) and substance problems to determine if those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptomatology had more severe delinquency and substance involvement. ADHD symptomatology was assessed in two ways: (1) by self-reports using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (DISC) and (2) by use of DISC plus reports of others (parents, program staff, and program teacher). We divided boys into three ADHD groups based on DISC: those who met criteria, those who reported at least eight current symptoms, and those who reported fewer than eight symptoms. We also divided the same boys into two groups: those with reports of ADHD by two or more sources and those without this multisource ADHD. Examining these definitions of ADHD revealed that boys with either self- or multisource ADHD had more CD symptoms, earlier age of CD onset, more substance dependence diagnoses, and more comorbid depression and anxiety.