Perspective Taking And Empathic Embarrassment:Examining The Roles Of Embarrassability And Empathic Response

Psychologists are paying attention to the study of social pain. Social pain expresses the interpersonal alienation painful experience, which makes people reluctant to carry out self-awareness, which gradually caused by the weakening of the ability to self-regulation, and finally reduce the pro-social behavior. Embarrassment is a typical social pain. The study found that bystanders will produce empathic embarrassment while they realized others in embarrassing situations. Empathic embarrassment indicated that when bystanders perceived others in embarrassing situations, they produced embarrassing some like others’ similar emotional experience.With further research, this alternative embarrassment began to receive attention, but the mechanism of empathic embarrassment has been inconclusive. Some results found that perspective taking can effectively predict empathic embarrassment, and embarrassability affect people’ empathic embarrassment, and empathic reaction may also affect empathic embarrassment. Meanwhile, researchers of embarrassment occurred principle has different theoretical models, each corresponding to the theoretical model several typical awkward situations, different type of awkward situations have different empathic embarrassment reaction has not yet been verified. Depth total situation embarrassing occurrence mechanism of the rich social pain research has important theoretical value, people improve their interpersonal relationships, enhance pro-social behavior has important practical significance.On the basis of previous research,158students in a college of Zhejiang Province were selected to be participators. We explored the role of perspective taking to empathic embarrassment corresponding theoretical simulated four typical awkward situations. We also examined the different effects of empathic reaction and embarrassability. The main findings are as follows:(1) Perspective taking was operated effectively, and it can effectively predict empathic embarrassment;(2) The mechanism of empathic embarrassment is conformed to the model of mediated moderation. Empathic reaction served to mediate the association between perspective taking and empathic embarrassment. Embarrassability served to moderate the association between perspective taking and empathic embarrassment;(3) Corresponding to the different theoretical models of embarrassing situations, the empathic embarrassment occurred basically the same process. In Self-esteem model and unwanted exposure model, Empathic reaction served to mediate the association between perspective taking and empathic embarrassment fully; while in drama model and unwanted exposure model, Empathic reaction served to mediate the association between perspective taking and empathic embarrassment partly.This paper has important significance:(1) it is the first empirical research to integrate a variety of factors in the case of empathic embarrassment inland. And has great contribution to the study of empathy, embarrassment and social pain;(2) enrich the research of social pain, and offer some theoretical reference value;(3)associated the theory and reality, and evoke us to pay attention to social pain. It has a very important practical significance of forming good relationship and enhancing pro-social behavior.