“Empathy is about finding echoes of another person in yourself.”

-Mohsin Hamid

A study published in the European Journal of Personality found that people are more empathetic during positive interactions when others are seen as warm and they themselves are expressing warmth. 

This research was conducted by Whitney R. Ringwald, a graduate student adviser, and Aidan G.C. Wright, an associate professor both from the Personality Processes and Outcomes Laboratory, at the University of Pittsburgh. 

Empathy is a broad social experience that can be divided into two primary types: cognitive empathy, which refers to your ability to understand another person’s perspective, and affective empathy, which occurs when you’re sharing in others’ positive and negative emotions. 

Empathy in interpersonal behavior is known to have affiliative functions that promotes prosocial behaviours such as trust, support, and cooperation. 

The purpose of this study is to forego the typical methodologies used in measuring empathy through dispositional markers.  Instead, this study looks to use different assessments to measure this construct by observing individual behavior, the perspective of the person empathizing, and the situations the empathizers choose to involve themselves in. In this way, this study seeks to understand empathy’s affiliative role by focusing on its usage in everyday interactions.

Undergraduate students from the University of Pittsburgh were recruited for the study’s student sample. A community sample was also recruited via flyers and online postings. 

Both samples completed an initial questionnaire that included questions related to their demographics, psychological and interpersonal functioning, and their personalities. 

Next, they completed ecological momentary assessments which consisted of a span of surveys about their present feelings and thoughts. Individuals were asked if they had engaged in any social interaction between the completion of surveys. 

Social interactions included any real, direct conversations that lasted at least five minutes in person, over text, call, or video. If so, individuals discussed the situation and the person they interacted with. If not, they completed a different set of questions. 

Multilevel structural equation modelling was used to account for empathy stemming from participants’ stable personalities, and empathy stemming from the interaction between their personalities and the situation. 

The results indicated that individuals were more empathetic in situations where they perceived the other party as warmer than average. As a result, empathizers themselves also acted with more warmth than they usually would. Experiencing more positive affect than normal during a conversation also resulted in more empathetic interactions. 

Interactions with people who were perceived as more or less dominant (than average) in behavior didn’t result in any differences in empathic behavior. The amount of negative affect experienced also didn’t affect empathy levels.  

In conclusion, by looking at the affiliative role of empathy in everyday interactions, we can see the ways that this construct differs amidst situations depending on the perceived warmth of interpersonal intentions.