Effects of Empathy on Task Performance in a Social Context
Advisor Information
Janelle Beadle
Location
UNO Criss Library, Room 249
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Start Date
2-3-2018 10:45 AM
End Date
2-3-2018 11:00 AM
Abstract
Our ability to communicate and collaborate may be strained in extreme environments, such as in the context of space missions. Empathy may play an important role in improving team collaboration and resource sharing in such intense social situations. The current study aims to assess the degree to which empathy affects resource allocation in a sample of 62 healthy adults aged 19-89 years (M=64.87). Subjects completed a battery of trait empathy and personality questionnaires and then decided how to split $10 with two confederates in the study after either reading a note about a person just diagnosed with cancer (empathy condition), or a note about someone running daily errands (control condition). Participants reporting higher levels of state emotional empathy gave larger monetary offers to the person with cancer [r(60)= 0.33, p = 0.009] and reported higher levels of trait emotional empathy [r(62)= 0.33, p = 0.01]. A questionnaire assessing gender-related traits, such as masculinity and femininity, revealed subjects with greater levels of empathy during the task were more likely to report personality characteristics associated with femininity [r(62) = 0.37, p = 0.005]. The current study may lead to insight on how empathy and other related personality characteristics can aid in task performance and resource allocation in a socially relevant context. Understanding the contribution of empathy to task performance in the general population will provide a basis for applying this knowledge to specialized populations, such as astronauts and ground crew.
Effects of Empathy on Task Performance in a Social Context
UNO Criss Library, Room 249
Our ability to communicate and collaborate may be strained in extreme environments, such as in the context of space missions. Empathy may play an important role in improving team collaboration and resource sharing in such intense social situations. The current study aims to assess the degree to which empathy affects resource allocation in a sample of 62 healthy adults aged 19-89 years (M=64.87). Subjects completed a battery of trait empathy and personality questionnaires and then decided how to split $10 with two confederates in the study after either reading a note about a person just diagnosed with cancer (empathy condition), or a note about someone running daily errands (control condition). Participants reporting higher levels of state emotional empathy gave larger monetary offers to the person with cancer [r(60)= 0.33, p = 0.009] and reported higher levels of trait emotional empathy [r(62)= 0.33, p = 0.01]. A questionnaire assessing gender-related traits, such as masculinity and femininity, revealed subjects with greater levels of empathy during the task were more likely to report personality characteristics associated with femininity [r(62) = 0.37, p = 0.005]. The current study may lead to insight on how empathy and other related personality characteristics can aid in task performance and resource allocation in a socially relevant context. Understanding the contribution of empathy to task performance in the general population will provide a basis for applying this knowledge to specialized populations, such as astronauts and ground crew.