The effects of affective and cognitive empathy on adolescents’ behavior and outcomes in conflicts with mothers
Introduction
Increased conflict with parents is normal during adolescence as youths strive for greater autonomy (Laursen & Collins, 2004). If such conflicts are not resolved constructively, however, they can lead to maladjustment (Branje, Van Doorn, Van der Valk, & Meeus, 2009). Therefore, it is important to study factors that may promote prosocial conflict resolution. A promising candidate is adolescents’ empathy. Across different relationship contexts, empathy is associated with conflict-related constructs such as lower aggression and greater prosocial behavior (for reviews, see Eisenberg and Miller, 1987, Miller and Eisenberg, 1988). Moreover, recent research suggests that adolescents’ dispositional empathy development is accompanied by a shift toward more prosocial conflict resolution behaviors with parents (Van Lissa, Hawk, Branje, Koot, & Meeus, 2016). The current study set out to investigate whether experimentally induced situational empathy similarly promotes prosocial conflict behaviors and mutually beneficial outcomes in adolescent–mother conflict discussions. In doing so, we paid special attention to the distinction between affective empathy and cognitive empathy (Davis, 1983): Affective empathy refers to other-oriented emotional responses, and cognitive empathy refers to the process of considering others’ points of view. Although the distinction between these empathy dimensions is widely acknowledged in the literature (e.g., Davis, 1983, Eisenberg et al., 2006), relatively little is known about potentially different effects of these empathy dimensions on behaviors and outcomes in conflicts. The current study sought to contribute to this literature by examining differential effects of experimentally induced situational affective versus cognitive empathy on observed behavior and self-reported outcomes in adolescent–mother conflicts. We also examined the role of dispositional empathy and potential state–trait interactions between the empathy manipulations and preexisting empathic dispositions.
Studying adolescent–parent conflict resolution is important because the way in which these conflicts are resolved has implications for adolescents’ adjustment (Branje et al., 2009). Moreover, the obligatory and permanent nature of adolescent–parent relationships allows adolescents to practice effective conflict resolutions behaviors for future peer and romantic relationships (Adams and Laursen, 2001, Van Doorn et al., 2011). Observational methods have long been used to investigate conflict behavior because they offer high ecological validity despite being costly and time-consuming (Kurdek, 1994). Although self-report questionnaires can be readily administered to larger samples, they may introduce bias because relationship members are not trained observers and have a stake in the discussion (Hahlweg, Kaiser, Christensen, Fehm-Wolfsdorf, & Groth, 2000). These concerns may be especially pertinent when studying adolescents because adolescents’ reports of conflict behavior toward parents are affected by their attachment relationship even when questionnaires are administered immediately post-conflict (Feeney & Cassidy, 2003). Moreover, children’s and parents’ perceptions of conflict diverge temporarily during adolescence (Van Lissa et al., 2015), which suggests that observers’ reports may be more objective than self-reports. With regard to the specific behaviors that have been examined, self-report research has focused primarily on two negative behaviors, conflict escalation and withdrawal, and two prosocial behaviors, problem solving and compliance, without asserting one’s own standpoint (Kurdek, 1994). Observational research has further identified listening as a passive prosocial behavior that is frequently displayed by adolescent daughters in conflict discussions with mothers (Branje, 2008).
In addition to studying the process of conflict resolution, researchers have argued that it is also important to examine conflict outcomes (Recchia, Ross, & Vickar, 2010). Even if an empathy manipulation increases adolescents’ prosocial behavior, outcomes may remain relatively unaffected, for example, if parents’ behaviors exert greater influence. Measuring outcomes enables examining whether change in children’s behavior is paralleled by improved conflict outcomes. Moreover, by assessing both adolescents’ and parents’ perceptions of outcomes, it is possible to establish whether an empathy manipulation improves outcomes for adolescents, parents, or both. Conflict outcomes have been operationalized most commonly in terms of their fairness—that is, whether conflicts were win–lose or ended in compromise (Adams and Laursen, 2001, Recchia et al., 2010)—but also in terms of the way adolescents felt in the aftermath of the conflict (Adams & Laursen, 2001). Adolescent–parent conflict outcomes tend to reflect the power asymmetry inherent in these relationships, with adolescents mainly needing to accept win–lose outcomes and experiencing neutral or angry affect (Adams and Laursen, 2001, Recchia et al., 2010). Because outcomes are generally unfavorable for adolescents, they might also benefit personally from resolving conflicts more amicably. Empathy might play a role in promoting prosocial conflict resolution behaviors and more satisfying and fair conflict outcomes.
Manipulations of situational affective and cognitive empathy are likely to have different effects on conflict behavior. According to theorists, affective empathy inhibits aggressive behavior directly and motivates individuals to alleviate others’ distress (Feshbach & Feshbach, 2011). Consequently, affective empathy might reduce negative behavior and promote prosocial behavior even at adolescents’ own expense. Cognitive empathy, on the other hand, involves distancing oneself from the heat of the argument and considering the other’s perspective, which might also reduce negative behavior, promote listening, and help individuals to reach more mutually beneficial outcomes (e.g., Sandy & Cochran, 2000). The experimental literature provides some support for such differential effects on conflict-related behaviors and outcomes. For instance, an affective empathy manipulation led participants to cooperate in prisoner’s dilemmas even when their opponent had proven to be untrustworthy (Batson & Ahmad, 2001). Similarly, affective empathy motivated participants to comply with opponents’ demands in negotiations, which diminished participants’ outcomes but increased opponents’ satisfaction (Galinsky, Maddux, Gilin, & White, 2008). In the same study, cognitive empathy helped participants to uncover hidden agreements and negotiate better outcomes for both parties. Furthermore, cognitive empathy was found to inhibit aggressive escalation in response to provocation and to increase interpersonal sensitivity (Richardson, Hammock, Smith, Gardner, & Signo, 1994). A limitation of this experimental work, however, is its lack of ecological validity. These studies relied on simulated conflict discussions between strangers or hypothetical social dilemmas. Ecological validity could be improved by studying the effect of empathy on discussions of preexisting disagreements that are of personal significance to participants.
In addition to manipulations of situational empathy, preexisting empathic dispositions are likely to predict conflict-related behaviors and outcomes. Affective empathic concern refers to the dispositional tendency to experience sympathy toward others’ distress, and cognitive perspective taking refers to the tendency to consider others’ points of view (Davis, 1983). A recent 6-year longitudinal study found that adolescents’ development of dispositional empathic concern and perspective taking was associated with decreasing escalation and increasing problem solving, although these links were stronger for perspective taking (Van Lissa et al., 2016). Furthermore, empathic concern was positively associated with compliance, whereas perspective taking was negatively correlated with withdrawal. An additional cross-sectional study on college students similarly found that empathic concern was significantly correlated with compliance in conflicts with friends, whereas perspective taking was negatively correlated with aggression and positively correlated with problem solving with friends and siblings (Richardson et al., 1994). These findings suggest that dispositional empathic concern and perspective taking might predict lower negative conflict behavior and greater constructive conflict behaviors, although these links might be stronger for perspective taking. One limitation of the existing developmental literature, however, is that most studies have relied on adolescent self-reports. Because adolescent self-reports of conflict behavior tend to be biased (Feeney & Cassidy, 2003), there has been a call for observational research on empathy and conflict behavior (Adams and Laursen, 2001, Van Lissa et al., 2016).
Finally, manipulations of situational empathy are likely to interact with empathic dispositions. A recent study found that an empathy intervention was more effective in adolescents with high callous–unemotional traits, which involve lower dispositional empathy, than in adolescents with low callous–unemotional traits (Dadds, Cauchi, Wimalaweera, Hawes, & Brennan, 2012). This suggests that empathy manipulations might be more effective for adolescents lower in dispositional empathy.
Sex might predict the way in which adolescents express their empathic responses in behavior. According to gender intensification theory, socialization pressures encourage girls to display more emotional and caring behavior than boys (Pettitt, 2004). Indeed, girls report higher levels of dispositional empathy (Eisenberg et al., 2006, Hawk et al., 2013) and greater prosocial conflict behavior toward peers (e.g., de Wied, Branje, & Meeus, 2007). Paradoxically, parent–daughter conflicts are more frequent and more negative than parent–son conflicts (Branje, Laursen, & Collins, 2013). This suggests that it is important to investigate sex differences, but inconsistencies in the literature preclude the formulation of specific hypotheses.
Whether adolescent–parent conflict contributes to the constructive renegotiation of relationship roles depends in part on relationship quality, which is reflected in adolescent-perceived support and parental power (Branje et al., 2013). Supportive adolescent–mother relationships show less conflict, but the opposite holds when mothers are high in power (De Goede, Branje, & Meeus, 2009). Furthermore, support and power might interact with empathy manipulations. When adolescents perceive mothers as supportive, they might be more inclined to consider mothers’ emotions and point of view, which could enhance the effects of the empathy manipulations. When mothers are perceived as powerful, adolescents take a less active role in conflicts (Branje, 2008), in which case manipulations might have weaker effects.
We examined effects of manipulations of affective and cognitive situational empathy on observed behavior and self-reported outcomes in adolescent–parent conflicts. We hypothesized that both the affective and cognitive manipulations of situational empathy would lead to lower conflict escalation (Feshbach and Feshbach, 2011, Sandy and Cochran, 2000). We further hypothesized that the affective manipulation would promote problem solving and compliance (Batson and Ahmad, 2001, Galinsky et al., 2008), whereas the cognitive empathy manipulation would promote problem solving and listening (Galinsky et al., 2008, Richardson et al., 1994). With regard to self-reported outcomes, on the one hand, we considered the possibility that both empathy manipulations would promote outcome satisfaction compared with the control condition because we hypothesized that both manipulations would promote prosocial conflict behaviors and thus lead to more amicable discussions. On the other hand, we considered the possibility that the affective manipulation would lead to lower satisfaction and fairness because affective empathy may lead adolescents to reduce mothers’ distress at personal expense. We predicted that the cognitive manipulation would promote both satisfaction and fairness (Galinsky et al., 2008). With regard to dispositional empathy, we predicted that both empathic concern and perspective taking would predict lower escalation and higher problem solving but that these effects would be stronger for perspective taking (Van Lissa et al., 2016). Furthermore, we predicted that empathic concern would predict compliance, whereas perspective taking would predict lower withdrawal. Finally, we predicted state–trait interactions, expecting that the empathy manipulations would have stronger effects for adolescents who scored lower in dispositional empathy (Dadds et al., 2012). Finally, we explored the roles of sex, age, and perceived maternal support and power as covariates and moderators.
Section snippets
Participants
Participants were 67 Dutch adolescent–mother dyads (32 girls; Mage = 15.51 years, SD = 1.16, mothers’ Mage = 48.48 years, SD = 3.16). Of the adolescents, 1 was enrolled in preparatory vocational education (VMBO), 18 were enrolled in higher general education (HAVO, 27%), and 48 were enrolled in preparatory scholarly education (VWO, 72%). Of the mothers, 8 reported having vocational education, 3 had a high school education, and 56 had a college education or higher (84%). Most mothers were Dutch born
Results
We used a model building approach. The baseline regression model included experimental condition, dispositional empathy, demographics (age and sex), and perceived support and power. The effect of condition was analyzed using two dummy variables, which can be interpreted as the difference between the control condition and the affective condition (affective contrast) and the difference between the control condition and the cognitive condition (cognitive contrast). We tested whether adding
Discussion
The aim of the current study was to examine whether experimentally induced affective empathy and cognitive empathy promote prosocial conflict behaviors and mutually beneficial outcomes in adolescent–mother conflict discussions and to examine interactions with dispositional empathy and adolescent-perceived relationship quality. With regard to observed conflict behavior, we found a nonsignificant trend in the hypothesized direction for the affective empathy manipulation. The cognitive empathy
Conclusions
We examined common and unique effects of affective and cognitive empathy manipulations on observed behavior and self-reported outcomes in the context of adolescent–mother conflict discussions about real disagreements. A trend in the hypothesized direction suggested that the affective empathy manipulation might promote adolescents’ problem solving, but only cognitive empathy led to lower escalation and promoted other-oriented listening for adolescents low in dispositional perspective taking. For
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