The Personal and Social Links between Age and Self-Reported Empathy

• Published in: Social psychology quarterly Vol. 63; no. 2; pp. 152 - 174
• Main Authors: Schieman, Scott, Van Gundy, Karen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Sociological Association 01.06.2000; American Sociological Association, etc
• Subjects: Age; Age Differences; Age groups; Aging (Individuals); Behavioral Science Research; Behavioral Sciences; Biological and medical sciences; Canada; Coefficients; College Students; Community Relations; Correlation; Educational Attainment; Emotional expression; Emotions; Empathy; Family Income; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Handbooks; Higher Education; Interpersonal Relationship; Life course; Life Cycle; Older Adults; Ontario; Perspective Taking; Physical Disabilities; Prosocial Behavior; Psychological Patterns; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Researchers; Resistance (Psychology); Self image; Simmel, Georg (1858-1918); Social approval; Social Characteristics; Social Cognition; Social Control; Social interactions. Communication. Group processes; Social psychology; Sociodemographic aspects; Sociodemographic Factors; Socioeconomic Status; Thinking Skills; New York; United States > US; Belief; Human; Senescence; Attitude; Social interaction; Sex; Religion; Emotion emotionality; Empathy; Personality; Age; Interpersonal relation
• ISSN: 0190-2725; 1939-8999
• DOI: 10.2307/2695889

In this study we examine the relationship between age and self-reported empathy. Using data from a 1985 community sample of 1,567 individuals from southwestern Ontario we document a strong negative association between age and empathy. The results show that age-associated patterns in socioeconomic status, widowhood, physical impairment, and dispositional attributes contribute to more than 65 percent of the total negative association between age and empathy. Conversely, a more positive balance of interpersonal relationships and greater religious involvement among older adults conceals about 20 percent of the size of the age-empathy association; that is, those factors tend to conceal older people's otherwise lower self-reported level of empathy. Other findings show that women report significantly more empathy and that the gender gap closes at older ages. Also, higher education significantly moderates the negative age-empathy association. Collectively our findings highlight the emotional significance of age-associated personal and social factors over the life course.