David A. Lishner

Similarity and Nurturance: Two Possible Sources of Empathy for Strangers

What accounts for variation in empathy felt for strangers in need? Currently, one of the most popular explanations among personality and social psychologists is perceived similarity: We feel sympathy and compassion for others to the degree that we perceive them to be like us. Two experiments designed to test the perceived similarity explanation more directly than previous research failed to find support. Results of the second experiment instead supported a classical, but currently less popular, explanation of empathy felt for strangers: nurturant tendencies based on the impulse to care for and protect offspring. We noted distinct theoretical and practical implications of the similarity and nurturance explanations. In addition, we encourage increased attention to nurturance as a possible source of empathy.

Tenderness and Sympathy: Distinct Empathic Emotions Elicited by Different Forms of Need

Current need and vulnerability are two different forms of need. Integrating (a) cognitive-appraisal theories of emotion with (b) a view of human parental nurturance as emotionally based and cognitively generalizable, this article proposes that these two forms of need elicit distinct empathic emotions: Vulnerability evokes feelings of tenderness, whereas current need evokes feelings of sympathy. Results of two experiments support this proposal. Vulnerable targets elicited tenderness even when there was no current need; nonvulnerable targets did not. Sympathy was low when there was no evidence of current need but high when there was evidence of current need. Other forms of need and other empathic emotions are proposed, as are motivational and behavioral consequences of the distinction between tenderness and sympathy.

Addressing measurement limitations in affective rating scales: Development of an empirical valence scale

Traditional self-report measures suffer from weaknesses in either the quantitative or qualitative assessment of subjective experience. Researchers interested in the subjective intensity of oral sensation have attempted to reduce these scale limitations by developing rating scales with empirically determined placement of verbal descriptors along a continuous visual analogue scale continuum. In the present research, a similar empirical approach to scale construction was adopted to develop a rating scale of emotional valence. The potential benefits of using an empirically derived valence scale and techniques for validating the scale are discussed.

Evaluating the Relation Between Psychopathy and Affective Empathy Two Preliminary Studies

It is widely believed that impairment in an ability to experience affective empathy for others is a central feature of psychopathy. The authors tested this assumption by covertly manipulating and measuring state experiences of emotional contagion and empathic concern in college undergraduates and male forensic inpatients. Surprisingly, they found little evidence of a negative association between psychopathy and affective empathy in either sample. In those instances in which associations were found, they tended to indicate that higher psychopathy was associated with increased affective empathy. Follow-up analyses also revealed that psychopathy was positively associated with pervasive experiences of sadness, anger, and fear, and negatively associated with pervasive experiences of happiness among nonforensic individuals. This research raises questions about existing conceptualizations of interpersonal affect in psychopathy and offers suggestions for advancing future understanding of the role-played by emotional processes in psychopathy.

Can standardized measures of risk predict inpatient violence?: Combining static and dynamic variables to improve accuracy

Predicting which forensic inpatients are likely to be violent is necessary if forensic hospitals are to implement effective risk management techniques. When conducting risk assessments, clinicians have at their disposal standardized risk assessment instruments that have demonstrated ability to predict violence. The present study examined the utility of static and dynamic measures used in risk assessment to predict aggressive behavior in a sample of 103 inpatients committed to a forensic hospital after being found not guilty by reason of insanity. Results indicated that both static and dynamic measures, including psychopathy, predicted inpatient aggression; however, neither type of measure provided incremental predictive validity above and beyond the other. Implications for predicting violence with forensic inpatients is discussed with the ultimate goal of implementing effective treatment interventions aimed at reducing violence.

Are Sexual and Emotional Infidelity Equally Upsetting to Men and Women? Making Sense of Forced-Choice Responses

Forced-choice measures that assess reactions to imagined sexual and emotional infidelity are ubiquitous in studies testing the Jealousy as a Specific Innate Module (JSIM) model. One potential problem with such measures is that they fail to identify respondents who find both forms of infidelity equally upsetting. To examine this issue, an experiment was conducted in which two groups of participants imagined a romantic infidelity after which participants in the first group used a traditional forced-choice measure to indicate whether they found sexual or emotional infidelity more upsetting. Participants in the second group instead used a modified forced-choice measure that allowed them also to indicate whether they found both forms of infidelity equally upsetting. Consistent with previous research, those given the traditional forced-choice measure tended to respond in a manner that supported the JSIM model. However, the majority of participants given the modified measure indicated that both forms of infidelity were equally upsetting.

Comment: Holding Psychopaths Morally and Criminally Culpable

Theoretical arguments that psychopathy eliminates individual responsibility for illegal behavior and can therefore serve as a basis for an insanity defense are largely premised on emotional characteristics of psychopathy that impede the individual’s capacity to appreciate right from wrong. We offer arguments and countervailing evidence indicating psychopaths do have the capacity to appreciate right from wrong and therefore should not be absolved of criminal responsibility.

The Effect of a Mindfulness Practice and Dispositional Mindfulness on Affective Forecasting

ABSTRACT A field experiment was conducted to evaluate whether mindfulness produces higher affective forecasting accuracy. Participants were randomized into a mindfulness-task, control-task, or baseline condition and then forecasted their positive and negative affect upon completion of an exam and upon receiving the exam grade. They also predicted their exam score. Those in the mindfulness-task condition more accurately predicted positive and negative affect upon exam completion and more accurately predicted negative affect and exam performance upon receiving their actual exam grade. Dispositional mindfulness predicted more accuracy in forecasting negative affect upon exam completion. Results suggest that mindfulness produces higher affective forecasting accuracy, particularly for negative affect. However, evidence was more mixed when considering the dispositional mindfulness results and for positive affect.