Cognitive Control Processes Underpin Sex differences in Self-report Measures of Empathy
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1
University of New South Wales, Australia
Aims
A consistent finding across empathy studies is that females self-report higher affective empathy than males, yet this sex difference is less pronounced and often non-existent in more objective or implicit measures of empathy. This study aimed to investigate the neural underpinnings of response selection whilst participants completed a self-report empathy questionnaire called the Balanced Emotional Empathy Scale (BEES).
Method
Electroencephalography was recorded on 40 participants (F=20) whilst the BEES and Eriksen Flanker Task was completed. The Flanker was used as a template from which components on the BEES could be compared. Temporal Principal Components Analyses were performed on the resulting response-locked ERPs on both tasks to extricate components.
Results
For the Flanker, two negative post-response components were identified, an N200 that peaked around 200ms (maximal at parietal brain regions) and N600 at 600ms, (maximal at central regions). For the BEES task, the N200 was maximal in the lateral regions and the N600 was maximal at frontal and central regions. No significant sex difference in self-reported empathy was found, however, higher empathy scores for males correlated positively with the incongruence component (N600) in the frontal regions of the brain (all r( 1,14) ≥ .431) and with the response monitoring component (N200) in parietal sites (r( 1,14) ≥ -.428).
Conclusion
The results indicate that, for males only, scoring high on measures of empathy is more “incongruent” and at conflict with a socially desirable response. Such results are consistent with the hypothesis that for males, but not females, cognitive control processes underpin self-reporting on empathy questionnaires.
Keywords:
self-report,
Empathy,
sex differences,
ERPs (Event-Related Potentials),
Cognitive Control Mechanisms,
flanker task,
Incongruence,
conflict monitoring,
response selection,
response inhibition,
gender differences
Conference:
ASP2017: 27th Annual Meeting for the Australasian Society for Psychophysiology, Parramatta, Australia, 29 Nov - 1 Dec, 2017.
Presentation Type:
Oral Presentation
Topic:
Abstract (Student Award)
Citation:
El-Helou
R,
Rushby
JA,
De Blasio
F and
Sufani
C
(2019). Cognitive Control Processes Underpin Sex differences in Self-report Measures of Empathy.
Conference Abstract:
ASP2017: 27th Annual Meeting for the Australasian Society for Psychophysiology.
doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2017.224.00015
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Received:
20 Oct 2017;
Published Online:
25 Jan 2019.
*
Correspondence:
Miss. Rebecca El-Helou, University of New South Wales, Kensington, Australia, z5019572@ad.unsw.edu.au
Dr. Jacquline A Rushby, University of New South Wales, Kensington, Australia, j.rusby@unsw.edu.au