| Empathy is an essential prerequisite for the development and maintenance of close interpersonal relationships, and it plays an important role in keeping the mind and body of older adults sharp, and the maintaining social harmony. The old adult is not a small group and their physical and mental health is closely linked with social stability. However, they are particularly vulnerable to the negative consequences of loneliness and social isolation. So, good ability of empathy may alleviate the physical and mental pressure they face. Therefore, Studies of the empathy development about old people are playing more and more attention of psychology researchers. The existing research results are not consistent; it is not clear yet about the age differences in cognitive and affective empathy between the youngster and the old adult. Most of the theoretical model about development of empathy across lifespan is the point that empathy contains both the bottom-up emotional process and the up-down cognitive process, and the two processes have distinct developmental trajectories and mechanism, however, which haven’t been demonstrated by enough evidence.So, on the basis of previous studies, The current programme of research is aimed to assess the age differences in cognitive and affective empathy between them and meanwhile, to examine the mechanism of cognitive empathy of old adults, from a multitude of perspectives by the ways of self-reported levels and experiment researches, which makes the area of empathy of old adults more rich, and provide effective reference for improving empathy of the old.The present research is composed of three studies. Study1compared young (N=64) and older (N=60) old adults’self-reported levels of cognitive and affective empathy. In Study2, behavioural measures sensitive to affective empathy were administered to young (N=34) and older (N=30) old adults. All subjects viewed two films depicting individuals in need, one positive emotion and one negtive emotion.Participants rated their levels of emotional empathy following each film. In Study3, behavioural measures sensitive to cognitive empathy were administered to young (N=30) and older (N=30) old adults. All subjects viewed12film clips, each portraying a situation about first-order false belief or second-order false belief, and the number of each kind of film clips are six. After each film clip,participants are asked to two questions, one about reasoning false belief of others and one about recalling Physical details on film clips. The main findings are as follows:(1) In self-reported levels of affective empathy, older adults reported greater affective empathy; and cognitive empathy is subject to age-related decline.(2) In the specific situation, older adults generally reported and expressed greater affective empathy and empathic concern, and lesser personal stress while observing the target persons. In positive emotional situation, older adults expressed greater affective empathy, but lesser in negtive emotional situation in which older adults still reported greater empathic concern yet.(3) In the specific situation, cognitive empathy is also subject to age-related decline which is consist with study1.(4) The memory of old people is lower than young people, and it can effectively and positively predict cognitive empathy.(5) The study supports the perspective of double processes of empathy, that is, affective empathy and cognitive empathy are not only independent of each other, but also influence each other. |
