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Alexithymia and sensory processing sensitivity account for unique variance in the prediction of emotional contagion and empathy

INTRODUCTION: Empathy—the ability to identify and share another person’s emotional state—is an important socio-emotional process arising, in part, from emotional contagion. In the current study, we assessed unique variance in emotional contagion and other empathy-related constructs accounted for by...

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Autores principales: McQuarrie, Amanda M., Smith, Stephen D., Jakobson, Lorna S.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10157231/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37151350
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1072783
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author McQuarrie, Amanda M.
Smith, Stephen D.
Jakobson, Lorna S.
author_facet McQuarrie, Amanda M.
Smith, Stephen D.
Jakobson, Lorna S.
author_sort McQuarrie, Amanda M.
collection PubMed
description INTRODUCTION: Empathy—the ability to identify and share another person’s emotional state—is an important socio-emotional process arising, in part, from emotional contagion. In the current study, we assessed unique variance in emotional contagion and other empathy-related constructs accounted for by two personality traits, alexithymia and sensory processing sensitivity (SPS), when controlling for childhood emotional abuse and current depressed mood. METHODS: A sample of 305 adults (M(age) = 20.1 years) watched brief film clips chosen to induce various emotional states. After each film, the participants rated how strongly they experienced each of nine different emotions. They then completed self-report measures of alexithymia, SPS, empathy-related constructs, childhood emotional abuse, and current mood. RESULTS: Those scoring high (vs. low) on SPS reported stronger primary emotions and a larger range of emotions when watching the films and were more apt to believe that their emotions matched those of the individuals featured in the films. They also scored higher on both self-oriented processes (such as the tendency to feel personal distress in tense situations) and other-oriented processes (such as perspective taking and empathic concern) related to empathy. Individuals scoring high (vs. low) on alexithymia reported feeling a larger range of emotions while watching the films but scored lower on other-oriented processes related to empathy. After controlling for SPS and alexithymia, current depressed mood predicted experiencing less varied reactions to mixed valence films that elicited strong feelings of embarrassment/humiliation, and less amusement when watching positive films. Childhood emotional abuse did not emerge as a predictor of emotional contagion or empathy. DISCUSSION: We propose that the strong and nuanced feelings elicited in those scoring high on SPS by observing others support their personal view that they are highly empathic. In contrast, by failing to closely examine their own mixed reactions to others, individuals with alexithymia may find it difficult to connect with, understand, and respond to others’ feelings.
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spelling pubmed-101572312023-05-05 Alexithymia and sensory processing sensitivity account for unique variance in the prediction of emotional contagion and empathy McQuarrie, Amanda M. Smith, Stephen D. Jakobson, Lorna S. Front Psychol Psychology INTRODUCTION: Empathy—the ability to identify and share another person’s emotional state—is an important socio-emotional process arising, in part, from emotional contagion. In the current study, we assessed unique variance in emotional contagion and other empathy-related constructs accounted for by two personality traits, alexithymia and sensory processing sensitivity (SPS), when controlling for childhood emotional abuse and current depressed mood. METHODS: A sample of 305 adults (M(age) = 20.1 years) watched brief film clips chosen to induce various emotional states. After each film, the participants rated how strongly they experienced each of nine different emotions. They then completed self-report measures of alexithymia, SPS, empathy-related constructs, childhood emotional abuse, and current mood. RESULTS: Those scoring high (vs. low) on SPS reported stronger primary emotions and a larger range of emotions when watching the films and were more apt to believe that their emotions matched those of the individuals featured in the films. They also scored higher on both self-oriented processes (such as the tendency to feel personal distress in tense situations) and other-oriented processes (such as perspective taking and empathic concern) related to empathy. Individuals scoring high (vs. low) on alexithymia reported feeling a larger range of emotions while watching the films but scored lower on other-oriented processes related to empathy. After controlling for SPS and alexithymia, current depressed mood predicted experiencing less varied reactions to mixed valence films that elicited strong feelings of embarrassment/humiliation, and less amusement when watching positive films. Childhood emotional abuse did not emerge as a predictor of emotional contagion or empathy. DISCUSSION: We propose that the strong and nuanced feelings elicited in those scoring high on SPS by observing others support their personal view that they are highly empathic. In contrast, by failing to closely examine their own mixed reactions to others, individuals with alexithymia may find it difficult to connect with, understand, and respond to others’ feelings. Frontiers Media S.A. 2023-04-20 /pmc/articles/PMC10157231/ /pubmed/37151350 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1072783 Text en Copyright © 2023 McQuarrie, Smith and Jakobson. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Psychology
McQuarrie, Amanda M.
Smith, Stephen D.
Jakobson, Lorna S.
Alexithymia and sensory processing sensitivity account for unique variance in the prediction of emotional contagion and empathy
title Alexithymia and sensory processing sensitivity account for unique variance in the prediction of emotional contagion and empathy
title_full Alexithymia and sensory processing sensitivity account for unique variance in the prediction of emotional contagion and empathy
title_fullStr Alexithymia and sensory processing sensitivity account for unique variance in the prediction of emotional contagion and empathy
title_full_unstemmed Alexithymia and sensory processing sensitivity account for unique variance in the prediction of emotional contagion and empathy
title_short Alexithymia and sensory processing sensitivity account for unique variance in the prediction of emotional contagion and empathy
title_sort alexithymia and sensory processing sensitivity account for unique variance in the prediction of emotional contagion and empathy
topic Psychology
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10157231/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37151350
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1072783
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