Empathy, an integrative model

Empathy research has yielded various separate insights into empathy and its correlates. Yet a comprehensive theoretical account that situates these factors within a larger framework is lacking. In this paper a conception of empathy is proposed and defended, which makes it possible to provide an encompassing reconstruction of the processes that are characteristic of empathic encounters. This conception situates empathy within a context of communication. Doing so allows one to connect various treads in empathy research, but at the same time urges one to take new factors into account. It is argued that empathy is a response to a specific demand occurring in a specific context. The type of answer persons are able to provide depends on four types of factors. First, there are the psychological empathic components. We argue that empathy should be seen as a combination of (especially) parallel and reactive emotions, against a background of specific cognitive abilities. Second, it is argued that empathy is aided by a twofold control system, comprised of judgements and forms of self-control. Third, personality factors play a part in how a person responds to demands. Finally, but most importantly, it is pointed out that specific relational factors codetermine empathic reactions. In this paper we describe the theoretical background of our model and provide an elaborated account of the four factors that determine empathic acts in a given context. We illustrate the viability of our model by presenting observational data of children's empathic acts.     

Assessment of DSM-IV personality disorders in obsessive-compulsive disorder: comparison of clinical diagnosis, self-report questionnaire, and semi-structured interview

In patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder, personality disorders are not many times assessed according to DSM-IV criteria. The purpose of the present study is to examine the prevalence of personality disorders diagnosed according to the DSM-IV in a severely disordered OCD population (n=65) with three different methods of assessing personality disorders (structured interview, questionnaire, and clinical diagnoses). Furthermore, correspondence between these different methods was investigated and their construct validity was examined by relating the three methods to external variables. Each method resulted in a predominance of Cluster C personality disorders, and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder had the highest prevalence. However, there was generally low correspondence regarding which patient had which personality disorder. Results concerning the relation of external variables were the most promising for the structured clinical interview.     

WAIS-III factor index score patterns after traumatic brain injury

Profile subtypes, based on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Third Edition (WAIS-III) factor index scores, were examined in a sample of 166 patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) by means of a two-stage clustering procedure. Three reliable subtypes were found that were differentiated primarily by level of performance across all factor index scores, although each of them demonstrated a relative weakness on the Processing Speed index. These subtypes were then validated on the basis of demographic variables, injury parameters, and additional psychometric measures that had not been included in the clustering procedures. The results indicated that performance on the WAIS-III after TBI was affected by both injury severity and level of education. It is concluded that there is no unique "signature" profile on the WAIS-III after TBI, except that a relative strength on the Processing Speed index is uncommon with this condition.     

Large-scale ensemble averaging of ambulatory impedance cardiograms

Impedance cardiography has been used increasingly to measure human physiological responses to emotional and mentally engaging stimuli. The validity of large-scale ensemble averaging of ambulatory impedance cardiograms was evaluated for preejection period (PEP), interbeat interval, and dZ/dt_(min) amplitude. We tested whether the average of “classical” 60-sec ensemble averages across periods with fixed activity, posture, physical load, social situation, and location could be accurately estimated from a single large-scale ensemble average spanning these entire periods. Impedance and electrocardiograms were recorded for about 24-h from 21 subjects. Recordings were scored by seven raters, using both methods for each subject. Good agreement (average intraclass correlation coefficient was .91) between both ensemble averaging methods was found for all three cardiac function measures. The results indicate that for unambiguous ambulatory impedance cardiograms, large-scale ensemble averaging is valid, which makes measuring prolonged changes in cardiac sympathetic activity by measuring ambulatory PEP feasible even in large epidemiological samples.     

Neuroticism and social comparison orientation as moderators of affective responses to social comparison at work

In a study among 72 nurses, the affective consequences of social comparison were examined and related to neuroticism (N) and to social comparison orientation (SCO). Participants were confronted with a bogus interview with an upward versus a downward comparison target. Positive affect and identification were higher, and negative affect was lower, in the upward than in the downward comparison condition. Independent of their SCO, the higher individuals were in N, the less they identified with the upward comparison target, the more they identified with the downward comparison target, and the less positive affect they showed following confrontation with the upward comparison target. In contrast, independent of their level of N, the higher individuals were in SCO, the more negative affect they showed following confrontation with the downward comparison target. The effects on negative affect stayed the same when controlling for positive affect, and the effects on positive affect stayed the same when controlling for negative affect. These effects were also obtained when perceived direction was used as a predictor instead of the experimentally manipulated direction. It is concluded that, although N and SCO are correlated, these variables seem to have independent and distinct effects upon the responses to social comparison information.     

Changes in limb stiffness under conditions of mental stress

In 2 experiments, the effects of mental stress on limb stiffness were investigated. The relative contribution to arm stiffness of individual muscle activity, co-contraction, muscle reflexes, and postural adjustments were examined. In each experiment, participants (N = 24, Experiment 1; N = 16, Experiment 2) held their supinated hand under a tray that they were required to return to horizontal after it had been suddenly released. Electromyographic activity in the biceps and triceps muscles was recorded, as were elbow and wrist angles and tray displacement. In Experiment 1, mental arithmetic stress was shown to lead to decreased tray displacement (i.e., increased resistance) compared with displacements under the control, unstressed condition, as well as to increased elbow flexion before tray release. In Experiment 2, the increased resistance to perturbation caused by mental stress was found to be independent of initial elbow angle, but to vary as a function of the amount of upward force exerted before tray release. The authors conclude that stress-induced increases in limb stiffness result from changes in the initial position of the elbow, specified by its angle, together with the initial force exerted by participants to counteract the mechanical perturbations.     

Chronic, severe hypertension does not impair spatial learning and memory in Sprague-Dawley rats

This study tested the hypothesis that long-term hypertension impairs spatial learning and memory in rats. In 6-wk-old Sprague-Dawley rats, chronic hypertension was induced by placing one of three sizes of stainless steel clips around the descending aorta (above the renal artery), resulting in a 20–80-mm Hg increase of arterial pressure in all arteries above the clip, that is, the upper trunk and head. Ten months later, the rats were tested for 5 d in a repeated-acquisition water maze task, and on the fifth day, they were tested in a probe trial; that is, there was no escape platform present. At the end of the testing period, the nonsurgical and sham control groups had similar final escape latencies (16±4 sec and 23±9 sec, respectively) that were not significantly different from those of the three hypertensive groups. Rats with mild hypertension (140–160 mm Hg) had a final escape latency of 25±6 sec, whereas severely hypertensive rats (170–199 mm Hg) had a final escape latency of 21±7 sec and extremely hypertensive rats (>200 Hg) had a final escape latency of 19±5 sec. All five groups also displayed a similar preference for the correct quadrant in the probe trial. Together, these data suggest that sustained, severe hypertension for over 10 mo is not sufficient to impair spatial learning and memory deficits in otherwise normal rats.     

Regulation of distinct attractive and aversive mechanisms mediating benzaldehyde chemotaxis in Caenorhabditis elegans

Olfactory-mediated chemotaxis in nematodes provides a relatively simple system to study biological mechanisms of information processing. Analysis of the kinetics of chemotaxis in response to 100% benzaldehyde revealed an initial attractive response that is followed by a strong aversion to the odorant. We show that this behavior is mediated by two genetically separable attraction- and aversion-mediating response pathways. The attraction initially dominates behavior but with prolonged exposure habituation leads to a behavioral change, such that the odorant becomes repulsive. This olfactory habituation is susceptible to dishabituation, thereby re-establishing the attractive response to the odorant. Re-examination of the putative olfactory adaptation mutant adp-1(ky20) revealed that the phenotype observed in this line is due to a supersensitivity to a dishabituating stimulus, rather than a defect in the adaptation to odorants per se. A modified benzaldehyde chemotaxis assay was developed and used for the isolation of a mutant with a specific defect in habituation kinetics, expressed as a persistence of the attractive response.