This article was downloaded by: [Aston University] On: 22 August 2014, At: 07:40 Publisher: Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK
Aging & Mental Health Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/camh20
Cognitive and affective empathy in younger and older individuals a
a
Oksana Ze , Patrizia Thoma & Boris Suchan
a
a
Department of Neuropsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany Published online: 14 May 2014.
To cite this article: Oksana Ze, Patrizia Thoma & Boris Suchan (2014) Cognitive and affective empathy in younger and older individuals, Aging & Mental Health, 18:7, 929-935, DOI: 10.1080/13607863.2014.899973 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2014.899973
PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http:// www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions
Aging & Mental Health, 2014 Vol. 18, No. 7, 929935, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2014.899973
Cognitive and affective empathy in younger and older individuals Oksana Ze*, Patrizia Thoma and Boris Suchan Department of Neuropsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
Downloaded by [Aston University] at 07:40 22 August 2014
(Received 14 October 2013; accepted 15 February 2014) Objective: We aimed to elucidate how cognitive and affective empathy differ across age groups and how these differences might relate to executive dysfunction. Methods: In study I, we assessed 108 healthy participants in three consecutive age groups (2039 years/4059 years/ 6079 years) using a self-report measure of trait cognitive and affective empathy (interpersonal reactivity index: IRI). In study II, 54 younger (2035 years) and 54 older (5570 years) individuals completed a test of state cognitive and affective empathy (multifaceted empathy test: MET). Additionally, measures of cognitive flexibility, response inhibition, and working memory were administered. Results: Older and younger adults were comparable with regard to trait empathy (study I). Contrary to most previous findings, older adults did not show impaired state-cognitive empathy, but scored higher on subtests of state-affective empathy relative to the younger group, irrespective of the valence of the stimulus material (study II). Performance on the executive subtests was related to empathy in both studies. Discussion: While older and younger cohorts might not differ with regard to trait empathy, and state-cognitive empathy performance might be task-dependent, this investigation provides first evidence of potentially increased state affective empathic responding in older age. This might be related to executive dysfunction, in particular poor inhibitory control. Keywords: affective perspective taking; empathic concern; lifespan; fronto-temporal circuits; emotion recognition
Introduction Older age has been associated with deficits in executive control, memory, attention (see Buckner, 2004 for a review) and emotion recognition (Ruffman, Henry, Livingstone, & Phillips, 2008), largely attributed to deterioration of fronto-temporal brain areas (Ruffman et al., 2008). By contrast, sociocognitive accounts predict either experience-based stability or even improvement of the capacity to understand emotions, potentially constituting a protective factor for mental health in older age (Magai, 2001). For instance, higher trait empathy has been related to lower self-rated loneliness in older age (Beadle, Brown, Keady, Tranel, & Paradiso, 2012). As a consequence of on average more debilitating life circumstances (e.g. physical illness, bereavement), older individuals might also increasingly feel the need to and develop better competences to regulate negative mood. This might explain the so-called ‘positivity bias’, meaning that older individuals preferentially attend to positive information while avoiding negative information (see Scheibe & Carstensen, 2010 for a review). Earlier evidence partly supports the notion of neuropsychological decline in older individuals. Relative to younger people, they appear to be particularly impaired in decoding facial (but not verbally described) affect (Phillips, MacLean, & Allen, 2002), which, at least for some emotions, seems to be related to cognitive deficits and dysfunctional eye fixation patterns (Circelli, Clark, & CroninGolomb, 2013; Suzuki & Akiyama, 2013). Changes of theory of mind (ToM), i.e. of the ability to infer other people’s
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected] Ó 2014 Taylor & Francis
mental states, represent a frequently investigated aspect of higher order social cognition across the lifespan. With few exceptions (Happe, Winner, & Brownell, 1998), agerelated impairments have been reported (e.g. Pardini & Nichelli, 2009), partly mediated by executive dysfunction (Duval, Piolino, Bejanin, Eustache, & Desgranges, 2010). Empathy, on the other hand, has received considerably less attention in aging research. This concept involves at least three components (e.g. Decety & Jackson, 2004): (1) A cognitive component mediating the decoding and contextually embedded understanding of other people’s emotions, thus overlapping considerably with affective ToM, (2) an affective component facilitating affective sharing of other people’s emotional states, and (3) a mechanism monitoring the distinction between one’s own and the other person’s feelings. The latter is thought to rely on top-down executive control mediating downregulation or enhancement of the empathic response depending on contextual factors (Singer & Lamm, 2009). In previous studies, cognitive empathy, often assessed using the reading the mind in the eyes test (RMET: BaronCohen, Wheelwright, Hill, Raste, & Plumb, 2001), was impaired in older individuals (Bailey & Henry, 2008), particularly for social emotions, and related to decreased selfreported social functioning (Duval et al., 2010). Reduced inhibitory control, potentially leading to a preoccupation with one’s own perspective, appears to contribute to reduced empathy in older age (Bailey & Henry, 2008). Regarding affective empathy, previous evidence is inconsistent and hardly ever addresses the link to overall cognitive
930
O. Ze et al.
Table 1. Demographic variables for the participants of studies I and II. Younger
Middle-aged
Older
2035 years
3659 years
6079 years
M
SD
M
SD
M
SD
F
df
p
hp2
Age (years) Sex (M:F) IQ estimate Education (years)
27.1 22:14 111.2 12.1
4.9
47.0 17:19 111.5 11.1
5.6
67.8 16:20 114.0 9.4
5.8 7.0 1.8
493.29 x2 ¼ 2.30 1.87 24.74
2107 2 2107 2107
.074). In study II, there were significant correlations between MET cognitive empathy scores and TMT flexibility costs (r ¼ .214, p ¼ .026) and between MET cognitive empathy and digit span backwards (r ¼ .221, p ¼ .022). Ratings of MET-empathic concern and personal involvement were significantly related to CWIT inhibition costs (r ¼ .245, p ¼ .011/r ¼ .191, p ¼ .048) (all other
Correlations Pearson correlations were computed between the IRI cognitive (fantasy þ perspective taking) and affective (empathic concern þ personal distress) subscores (only for study I), the relevant MET-dependent variables (cognitive empathy, empathic concern, and personal involvement, averaged across valences) (only for study II) and the executive measures of interest (TMT flexibility costs, CWIT inhibition costs, CWIT corrected and uncorrected errors, digit span backwards) in the overall groups
Table 3. Average performance on the executive tasks for participants in studies I and II. Younger
Middle-aged
Older
2035 years
3659 years
6079 years
M
SD
M
SD
M
SD
F
df
p
hp2
TMT RTs B-A (s) CWIT RTs INT-name (s) CWIT uncorrected errors CWIT corrected errors DS backwards
34.8 26.8 1.6 2.3 7.9
20.9 10.4 1.8 2.3 2.3
35.2 29.7 1.4 1.9 7.3
16.7 10.6 1.7 2.2 2.1
58.4a,b 41.1a,b 2.7b 3.2 5.8a,b
39.8 12.1 2.4 2.5 2.5
8.53 16.77 4.68 2.56 7.91
2107 2107 2107 2107 2,107
Aging & Mental Health Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/camh20
Cognitive and affective empathy in younger and older individuals a
a
Oksana Ze , Patrizia Thoma & Boris Suchan
a
a
Department of Neuropsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany Published online: 14 May 2014.
To cite this article: Oksana Ze, Patrizia Thoma & Boris Suchan (2014) Cognitive and affective empathy in younger and older individuals, Aging & Mental Health, 18:7, 929-935, DOI: 10.1080/13607863.2014.899973 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2014.899973
PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http:// www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions
Aging & Mental Health, 2014 Vol. 18, No. 7, 929935, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2014.899973
Cognitive and affective empathy in younger and older individuals Oksana Ze*, Patrizia Thoma and Boris Suchan Department of Neuropsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
Downloaded by [Aston University] at 07:40 22 August 2014
(Received 14 October 2013; accepted 15 February 2014) Objective: We aimed to elucidate how cognitive and affective empathy differ across age groups and how these differences might relate to executive dysfunction. Methods: In study I, we assessed 108 healthy participants in three consecutive age groups (2039 years/4059 years/ 6079 years) using a self-report measure of trait cognitive and affective empathy (interpersonal reactivity index: IRI). In study II, 54 younger (2035 years) and 54 older (5570 years) individuals completed a test of state cognitive and affective empathy (multifaceted empathy test: MET). Additionally, measures of cognitive flexibility, response inhibition, and working memory were administered. Results: Older and younger adults were comparable with regard to trait empathy (study I). Contrary to most previous findings, older adults did not show impaired state-cognitive empathy, but scored higher on subtests of state-affective empathy relative to the younger group, irrespective of the valence of the stimulus material (study II). Performance on the executive subtests was related to empathy in both studies. Discussion: While older and younger cohorts might not differ with regard to trait empathy, and state-cognitive empathy performance might be task-dependent, this investigation provides first evidence of potentially increased state affective empathic responding in older age. This might be related to executive dysfunction, in particular poor inhibitory control. Keywords: affective perspective taking; empathic concern; lifespan; fronto-temporal circuits; emotion recognition
Introduction Older age has been associated with deficits in executive control, memory, attention (see Buckner, 2004 for a review) and emotion recognition (Ruffman, Henry, Livingstone, & Phillips, 2008), largely attributed to deterioration of fronto-temporal brain areas (Ruffman et al., 2008). By contrast, sociocognitive accounts predict either experience-based stability or even improvement of the capacity to understand emotions, potentially constituting a protective factor for mental health in older age (Magai, 2001). For instance, higher trait empathy has been related to lower self-rated loneliness in older age (Beadle, Brown, Keady, Tranel, & Paradiso, 2012). As a consequence of on average more debilitating life circumstances (e.g. physical illness, bereavement), older individuals might also increasingly feel the need to and develop better competences to regulate negative mood. This might explain the so-called ‘positivity bias’, meaning that older individuals preferentially attend to positive information while avoiding negative information (see Scheibe & Carstensen, 2010 for a review). Earlier evidence partly supports the notion of neuropsychological decline in older individuals. Relative to younger people, they appear to be particularly impaired in decoding facial (but not verbally described) affect (Phillips, MacLean, & Allen, 2002), which, at least for some emotions, seems to be related to cognitive deficits and dysfunctional eye fixation patterns (Circelli, Clark, & CroninGolomb, 2013; Suzuki & Akiyama, 2013). Changes of theory of mind (ToM), i.e. of the ability to infer other people’s
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected] Ó 2014 Taylor & Francis
mental states, represent a frequently investigated aspect of higher order social cognition across the lifespan. With few exceptions (Happe, Winner, & Brownell, 1998), agerelated impairments have been reported (e.g. Pardini & Nichelli, 2009), partly mediated by executive dysfunction (Duval, Piolino, Bejanin, Eustache, & Desgranges, 2010). Empathy, on the other hand, has received considerably less attention in aging research. This concept involves at least three components (e.g. Decety & Jackson, 2004): (1) A cognitive component mediating the decoding and contextually embedded understanding of other people’s emotions, thus overlapping considerably with affective ToM, (2) an affective component facilitating affective sharing of other people’s emotional states, and (3) a mechanism monitoring the distinction between one’s own and the other person’s feelings. The latter is thought to rely on top-down executive control mediating downregulation or enhancement of the empathic response depending on contextual factors (Singer & Lamm, 2009). In previous studies, cognitive empathy, often assessed using the reading the mind in the eyes test (RMET: BaronCohen, Wheelwright, Hill, Raste, & Plumb, 2001), was impaired in older individuals (Bailey & Henry, 2008), particularly for social emotions, and related to decreased selfreported social functioning (Duval et al., 2010). Reduced inhibitory control, potentially leading to a preoccupation with one’s own perspective, appears to contribute to reduced empathy in older age (Bailey & Henry, 2008). Regarding affective empathy, previous evidence is inconsistent and hardly ever addresses the link to overall cognitive
930
O. Ze et al.
Table 1. Demographic variables for the participants of studies I and II. Younger
Middle-aged
Older
2035 years
3659 years
6079 years
M
SD
M
SD
M
SD
F
df
p
hp2
Age (years) Sex (M:F) IQ estimate Education (years)
27.1 22:14 111.2 12.1
4.9
47.0 17:19 111.5 11.1
5.6
67.8 16:20 114.0 9.4
5.8 7.0 1.8
493.29 x2 ¼ 2.30 1.87 24.74
2107 2 2107 2107
.074). In study II, there were significant correlations between MET cognitive empathy scores and TMT flexibility costs (r ¼ .214, p ¼ .026) and between MET cognitive empathy and digit span backwards (r ¼ .221, p ¼ .022). Ratings of MET-empathic concern and personal involvement were significantly related to CWIT inhibition costs (r ¼ .245, p ¼ .011/r ¼ .191, p ¼ .048) (all other
Correlations Pearson correlations were computed between the IRI cognitive (fantasy þ perspective taking) and affective (empathic concern þ personal distress) subscores (only for study I), the relevant MET-dependent variables (cognitive empathy, empathic concern, and personal involvement, averaged across valences) (only for study II) and the executive measures of interest (TMT flexibility costs, CWIT inhibition costs, CWIT corrected and uncorrected errors, digit span backwards) in the overall groups
Table 3. Average performance on the executive tasks for participants in studies I and II. Younger
Middle-aged
Older
2035 years
3659 years
6079 years
M
SD
M
SD
M
SD
F
df
p
hp2
TMT RTs B-A (s) CWIT RTs INT-name (s) CWIT uncorrected errors CWIT corrected errors DS backwards
34.8 26.8 1.6 2.3 7.9
20.9 10.4 1.8 2.3 2.3
35.2 29.7 1.4 1.9 7.3
16.7 10.6 1.7 2.2 2.1
58.4a,b 41.1a,b 2.7b 3.2 5.8a,b
39.8 12.1 2.4 2.5 2.5
8.53 16.77 4.68 2.56 7.91
2107 2107 2107 2107 2,107
