Investigating relationships between aging, gender, and emotion contagion in younger and older adults
Presenter Type
UNO Graduate Student (Doctoral)
Major/Field of Study
Gerontology
Advisor Information
Dr. Janelle Beadle
Location
CEC RM #201/205/209
Presentation Type
Poster
Poster Size
44 inches X 48 inches
Start Date
22-3-2024 2:30 PM
End Date
22-3-2024 3:45 PM
Abstract
Background. There is evidence that certain aspects of empathy undergo aging-related changes. For instance, studies demonstrate that older adults have lower cognitive empathy, but preserved levels of compassion relative to younger adults. In younger adults there are also gender differences, with women reporting higher levels than men. Aging-related differences in men and women are not well understood for a primitive component of emotional empathy called emotion contagion (i.e., the capacity to resonate with others’ emotions). The present study investigated relationships among age, gender, and emotion contagion. Based on existing literature, we hypothesized that aging would be associated with lower levels of emotion contagion, due to evidence of lower responsiveness of older adults than younger adults to negative emotional information. We also hypothesized that women would score higher on the emotion contagion scale than men based on research in younger adults suggesting that women self-report higher empathy than men. Methods. Participants included 32 healthy, community-dwelling younger adults (aged 19-35 years) and 58 older adults (aged 50 and older). We conducted a multivariate ANOVA investigating relationships among age, gender, and domains of emotion contagion. Results. We found a significant effect of age (p=0.01) and gender (p=0.03) on the emotion contagion domain measuring feelings of love towards others. Specifically, we found that older adults had lower levels than younger adults, and women had lower levels than men. We also found that women reported higher levels of the emotion contagion domain related to feelings of sadness than men (p=0.015). Finally, there was an age x gender interaction for the emotion contagion domain related to happiness (p=0.001), with older men reporting lower levels than younger men. Conclusion. Our results demonstrate that there are differences in specific domains of emotion contagion as a function of age and gender. Our findings suggest that it may be important for future studies to consider age and gender differences not only for various components of empathy, but also as a function of positive and negative emotions.
Investigating relationships between aging, gender, and emotion contagion in younger and older adults
CEC RM #201/205/209
Background. There is evidence that certain aspects of empathy undergo aging-related changes. For instance, studies demonstrate that older adults have lower cognitive empathy, but preserved levels of compassion relative to younger adults. In younger adults there are also gender differences, with women reporting higher levels than men. Aging-related differences in men and women are not well understood for a primitive component of emotional empathy called emotion contagion (i.e., the capacity to resonate with others’ emotions). The present study investigated relationships among age, gender, and emotion contagion. Based on existing literature, we hypothesized that aging would be associated with lower levels of emotion contagion, due to evidence of lower responsiveness of older adults than younger adults to negative emotional information. We also hypothesized that women would score higher on the emotion contagion scale than men based on research in younger adults suggesting that women self-report higher empathy than men. Methods. Participants included 32 healthy, community-dwelling younger adults (aged 19-35 years) and 58 older adults (aged 50 and older). We conducted a multivariate ANOVA investigating relationships among age, gender, and domains of emotion contagion. Results. We found a significant effect of age (p=0.01) and gender (p=0.03) on the emotion contagion domain measuring feelings of love towards others. Specifically, we found that older adults had lower levels than younger adults, and women had lower levels than men. We also found that women reported higher levels of the emotion contagion domain related to feelings of sadness than men (p=0.015). Finally, there was an age x gender interaction for the emotion contagion domain related to happiness (p=0.001), with older men reporting lower levels than younger men. Conclusion. Our results demonstrate that there are differences in specific domains of emotion contagion as a function of age and gender. Our findings suggest that it may be important for future studies to consider age and gender differences not only for various components of empathy, but also as a function of positive and negative emotions.