2021/07/09 by Gregory John Depow, Zoë Francis, Michael Inzlicht · 1 voice · 8 citations
Arts and Humanities · Psychology · #Digital Mental Health Interventions #Media Influence and Health #Mental Health Research Topics
paper · doi:10.1177/0956797621995202
openalex publication_date 2021/07/09 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
We used experience sampling to examine perceptions of empathy in the everyday lives of a group of 246 U.S. adults who were quota sampled to represent the population on key demographics. Participants reported an average of about nine opportunities to empathize per day; these experiences were positively associated with prosocial behavior, a relationship not found with trait measures. Although much of the literature focuses on the distress of strangers, in everyday life, people mostly empathize with very close others, and they empathize with positive emotions 3 times as frequently as with negative emotions. Although trait empathy was negatively associated only with well-being, empathy in daily life was generally associated with increased well-being. Theoretically distinct components of empathy-emotion sharing, perspective taking, and compassion-typically co-occur in everyday empathy experiences. Finally, empathy in everyday life was higher for women and the religious but not significantly lower for conservatives and the wealthy.