2023/12/28 by Sara Konrath, Alison Jane Martingano, Mark H. Davis +1 · 1 voice
Arts and Humanities · Medicine · Psychology · #Cultural Differences and Values #Empathy and Medical Education #Media Influence and Health
paper · pdf · doi:10.1177/19485506231218360
openalex publication_date 2023/12/28 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/15
Previous research has found declining dispositional empathy among American youth from 1979 to 2009. We update these trends until 2018, using three datasets. Study 1 presents a cross-temporal meta-analysis of undergraduates’ empathy (Interpersonal Reactivity Index), finding significant cubic trends over time: perspective taking (PT) and empathic concern (EC) both increased since 2009. Study 2 conceptually replicated these findings using nationally representative datasets, also showing increasing PT (Study 2a: American Freshman Survey) and EC (Study 2b: Monitoring the Future Survey) since 2009. We include economic, interpersonal, and worldview covariates to test for potential explanations, finding evidence that empathy trends may be related to recent changes in interpersonal dynamics.