The Emerging Study of Positive Empathy

Morelli, Sylvia A.; Lieberman, Matthew D.; Zaki, Jamil

doi:10.1111/spc3.12157

Cited by 226 publications

(224 citation statements)

References 65 publications

(95 reference statements)

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“…Decades of work suggest that well-being helps individuals build positive relationships (16,31), whereas empathy fosters and maintains close relationships in particular (32,33). In college students, we found that communities comprised multiple networks, including more selective ones dependent on trust between dorm members and broader networks dependent on shared fun.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 75%

Empathy and well-being correlate with centrality in different social networks

Morelli

Ong

Makati

et al. 2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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104

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Individuals benefit from occupying central roles in social networks, but little is known about the psychological traits that predict centrality. Across four college freshman dorms (n = 193), we characterized individuals with a battery of personality questionnaires and also asked them to nominate dorm members with whom they had different types of relationships. This revealed several social networks within dorm communities with differing characteristics. In particular, additional data showed that networks varied in the degree to which nominations depend on (i) trust and (ii) shared fun and excitement. Networks more dependent upon trust were further defined by fewer connections than those more dependent on fun. Crucially, network and personality features interacted to predict individuals' centrality: people high in well-being (i.e., life satisfaction and positive emotion) were central to networks characterized by fun, whereas people high in empathy were central to networks characterized by trust. Together, these findings provide network-based corroboration of psychological evidence that well-being is socially attractive, whereas empathy supports close relationships. More broadly, these data highlight how an individual's personality relates to the roles that they play in sustaining their community.social networks | empathy | well-being | centrality | personality I n a community, certain individuals take central roles and are sought out by others for advice, support, fun, and companionship. Central individuals substantially impact the health and well-being of their community (1-4), for example, by reducing stress and generating opportunities for other community members (5). Who comes to occupy these central network positions? Recent research suggests that individuals' personalities influence their ability to attract social ties (6-11),* but this personality-centrality relationship may vary depending on the type of connection that one uses to define a network. For example, extraverts become more central than introverts in networks defined by friendship (6).Past work generally focuses on the relationship between a single personality trait (e.g., extraversion) and centrality in a single network (e.g., friendship networks). However, communities contain multiple networks that are defined by different types of relationships. Individuals might ask for advice from one subset of their community, look for companionship with another subset, and seek emotional support from a third subset (12)(13)(14)(15). This means that an individual could occupy a central role in one type of network, but hold a more peripheral position in a different type of network (2). We study this by first mapping several networks within a community and then by assessing a person's position in a network with respect to a broad array of personality traits. This allows us to identify the features of an individual that predict their centrality in various types of networks.Previous psychological research suggests that an individual's personality might relate t...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 75%

Empathy and well-being correlate with centrality in different social networks

Morelli

Ong

Makati

et al. 2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

Self Cite

104

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“…To measure empathy for positive events (i.e., positive empathy ), participants rated how happy they felt on average when their friends told them about something positive that happened that day. To assess empathy for negative events (i.e., negative empathy ), participants rated how upset they felt on average when their friends told them about something negative that happened that day (Morelli, Lieberman, Telzer, & Zaki, under review; Toi & Batson, 1982). As with our other measures, participants also assessed “received empathy”—or the extent to which their friend empathized with them—in response to positive and negative emotional disclosures.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The relationship between emotional support and instrumental support connects to a broader discussion about the nature of prosociality. On the one hand, a large body of work demonstrates that empathy drives support provision (Batson, 2011; Davis, 1994; Morelli, Lieberman, & Zaki, in press; Morelli, Rameson, & Lieberman, 2014; Zaki, López, & Mitchell, 2014), suggesting that emotional support and instrumental support should track each other. On the other hand, support provision can also reflect a host of ulterior motives, such as enhancing one’s reputation or staving off guilt (Harbaugh, 1998; Hoffman, 1982; Penner, Dovidio, Piliavin, & Schroeder, 2005).…”

Section: The Structure Of Support Provisionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emotional and instrumental support provision interact to predict well-being.

Morelli¹,

Lee

Arnn

et al. 2015

Emotion

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Individuals in close relationships help each other in many ways, from listening to each other’s problems, to making each other feel understood, to providing practical support. However, it is unclear if these supportive behaviors track each other across days and as stable tendencies in close relationships. Further, although past work suggests that giving support improves providers’ well-being, the specific features of support provision that improve providers’ psychological lives remain unclear. We addressed these gaps in knowledge through a daily diary study that comprehensively assessed support provision and its effects on well-being. We found that providers’ emotional support (e.g., empathy) and instrumental support represent distinct dimensions of support provision, replicating prior work. Crucially, emotional support, but not instrumental support, consistently predicted provider well-being. These two dimensions also interacted, such that instrumental support enhanced well-being of both providers and recipients, but only when providers were emotionally engaged while providing support. These findings illuminate the nature of support provision and suggest targets for interventions to enhance well-being.

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“…As previously reported (Morelli et al , 2015a), we also collected daily measures of positive events, stressful events, coping, emotional support, practical support, and empathy.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neural sensitivity to personal and vicarious reward differentially relate to prosociality and well-being

Morelli

Knutson

Zaki

2018

Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience

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Individuals stably vary in their responses to rewards, but researchers have not yet determined whether sensitivity to rewarding outcomes translates across social and non-social contexts or whether different forms of reward sensitivity relate to distinct behavioral tendencies. We tested for responsiveness to different types of rewards by assessing individuals’ neural sensitivity to personal vs. vicarious monetary reward outcomes and explored how responses to each related to prosociality and well-being. Forty-six participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanning while winning money for themselves and observing a friend and stranger win money. All types of reward outcomes engaged the ventral striatum, but neural sensitivity to rewards for the self and for others were uncorrelated across individuals. Further, while sensitivity to rewards for the self or a close friend correlated with individuals’ psychological well-being, only sensitivity to a friend’s rewards correlated with individuals’ prosociality. These findings highlight the value of independently assessing responsiveness to different types of reward and illuminate affective mechanisms that may promote prosocial behavior and well-being.

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The Emerging Study of Positive Empathy

Cited by 226 publications

References 65 publications

Empathy and well-being correlate with centrality in different social networks

Empathy and well-being correlate with centrality in different social networks

Emotional and instrumental support provision interact to predict well-being.

Neural sensitivity to personal and vicarious reward differentially relate to prosociality and well-being

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