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Electromyographically assessed empathic concern and empathic happiness predict increased prosocial behavior in adults. 2015

Sharee N Light, and Zachary D Moran, and Lena Swander, and Van Le, and Brandi Cage, and Cory Burghy, and Cecilia Westbrook, and Larry Greishar, and Richard J Davidson
Center for Investigating Healthy Minds at the Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1500 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI 53705, United States. Electronic address: lights@med.umich.edu.

The relation between empathy subtypes and prosocial behavior was investigated in a sample of healthy adults. "Empathic concern" and "empathic happiness", defined as negative and positive vicarious emotion (respectively) combined with an other-oriented feeling of "goodwill" (i.e. a thought to do good to others/see others happy), were elicited in 68 adult participants who watched video clips extracted from the television show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Prosocial behavior was quantified via performance on a non-monetary altruistic decision-making task involving book selection and donation. Empathic concern and empathic happiness were measured via self-report (immediately following each video clip) and via facial electromyography recorded from corrugator (active during frowning) and zygomatic (active during smiling) facial regions. Facial electromyographic signs of (a) empathic concern (i.e. frowning) during sad video clips, and (b) empathic happiness (i.e. smiling) during happy video clips, predicted increased prosocial behavior in the form of increased goodwill-themed book selection/donation.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008297 Male Males
D008875 Middle Aged An adult aged 45 - 64 years. Middle Age
D003657 Decision Making The process of making a selective intellectual judgment when presented with several complex alternatives consisting of several variables, and usually defining a course of action or an idea. Credit Assignment,Assignment, Credit,Assignments, Credit,Credit Assignments
D004576 Electromyography Recording of the changes in electric potential of muscle by means of surface or needle electrodes. Electromyogram,Surface Electromyography,Electromyograms,Electromyographies,Electromyographies, Surface,Electromyography, Surface,Surface Electromyographies
D004644 Emotions Those affective states which can be experienced and have arousing and motivational properties. Feelings,Regret,Emotion,Feeling,Regrets
D004645 Empathy An individual's objective and insightful awareness of the feelings and behavior of another person. It should be distinguished from sympathy, which is usually nonobjective and noncritical. It includes caring, which is the demonstration of an awareness of and a concern for the good of others. (From Bioethics Thesaurus, 1992) Caring,Compassion
D005260 Female Females
D006240 Happiness Highly pleasant emotion characterized by outward manifestations of gratification. Gladness,Joy,Happinesses
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000293 Adolescent A person 13 to 18 years of age. Adolescence,Youth,Adolescents,Adolescents, Female,Adolescents, Male,Teenagers,Teens,Adolescent, Female,Adolescent, Male,Female Adolescent,Female Adolescents,Male Adolescent,Male Adolescents,Teen,Teenager,Youths

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