Using a cross-sectional sample of young (20-30 years old), middle-aged (40-50 years old), and old... more Using a cross-sectional sample of young (20-30 years old), middle-aged (40-50 years old), and older adults (60-80 years old), the present study examined age differences in cognitive empathy (i.e., the capacity to know what another is feeling or thinking). Cognitive empathy was measured in terms of: (a) facial emotion recognition using static stimuli; (b) the Eyes test using age-matched and non-age-matched static stimuli; and (c) emotional tracking using age-matched and non-age-matched dynamic interpersonal stimuli. While past studies on cognitive empathy and aging have focused almost exclusively on the former two measures and have found evidence of age-related decline for both, other research suggests that older adults may be able to compensate for such losses with information from other sources, even surpassing the performance of young adults under conditions that mimic real-world social contexts. Consistent with this idea, results revealed an age by task interaction such that older adults performed worse than young adults on facial emotion recognition and aspects of the Eyes test (with middle-aged adults performing in between), but better on emotional tracking of social interactions (with middle-aged adults performing in between). Additionally, I found no evidence for an agematched advantage on the Eyes test or in emotional tracking. Implications of these findings are discussed in terms of the nature of cognitive empathy and neuropsychological and motivational models of the aging mind. 1 To be consistent with prior literature, I will use "cognitive empathy" as a shorthand term for the measures used in the present study. It may be argued, however, that these measures are more closely aligned with emotion recognition constructs, or more precisely, the ability to identify accurately what others are feeling or thinking.
Attention to internal bodily sensations is a core feature of mindfulness meditation. Previous stu... more Attention to internal bodily sensations is a core feature of mindfulness meditation. Previous studies have not detected differences in interoceptive accuracy between meditators and nonmeditators on heartbeat detection and perception tasks. We compared differences in respiratory interoceptive accuracy between meditators and nonmeditators in the ability to detect and discriminate respiratory resistive loads and sustain accurate perception of respiratory tidal volume during nondistracted and distracted conditions. Groups did not differ in overall performance on the detection and discrimination tasks; however, meditators were more accurate in discriminating the resistive load with the lowest ceiling effect. Meditators were also more accurate during the nondistracted tracking task at a lag time of 1 s following the breath. Results provide initial support for the notion that meditators have greater respiratory interoceptive accuracy compared to nonmeditators.
Past studies on emotion recognition and aging have found evidence of age-related decline when emo... more Past studies on emotion recognition and aging have found evidence of age-related decline when emotion recognition was assessed by having participants detect single emotions depicted in static images of full or partial (e.g., eye region) faces. These tests afford good experimental control but do not capture the dynamic nature of real-world emotion recognition, which is often characterized by continuous emotional judgments and dynamic multi-modal stimuli. Research suggests that older adults often perform better under conditions that better mimic real-world social contexts. We assessed emotion recognition in young, middle-aged, and older adults using two traditional methods (single emotion judgments of static images of faces and eyes) and an additional method in which participants made continuous emotion judgments of dynamic, multi-modal stimuli (videotaped interactions between young, middle-aged, and older couples). Results revealed an age by test interaction. Largely consistent with prior research, we found some evidence that older adults performed worse than young adults when judging single emotions from images of faces (for sad and disgust faces only) and eyes (for older eyes only), with middle-aged adults falling in between. In contrast, older adults did better than young adults on the test involving continuous emotion judgments of dyadic interactions, with middle-aged adults falling in between. In tests in which target stimuli differed in age, emotion recognition was not facilitated by an age match between participant and target. These findings are discussed in terms of theoretical and methodological implications for the study of aging and emotional processing.
Most studies of meditation have focused on "actual affect" (how people actually feel). We predict... more Most studies of meditation have focused on "actual affect" (how people actually feel). We predict that meditation may even more significantly alter "ideal affect" (how people ideally want to feel). As predicted, meditators ideally wanted to feel calm more and excited less than nonmeditators, but the groups did not differ in their actual experience of calm or excited states (Study 1). We ruled out self-selection and nonspecific effects by randomly assigning participants to meditation classes, an improvisational theater class, or a no class control (Study 2). After eight weeks, meditators valued calm more but did not differ in their actual experience of calm compared with the other groups. There were no differences in ideal or actual excitement, suggesting that meditation selectively increases the value placed on calm. These findings were not due to expectancy effects (Study 3). We discuss the implications of these findings for understanding how meditation alters affective life.
Emotional empathy and prosocial behavior were assessed in older, middle-aged, and young adults. P... more Emotional empathy and prosocial behavior were assessed in older, middle-aged, and young adults. Participants watched two films depicting individuals in need, one uplifting and the other distressing. Physiological responses were monitored during the films, and participants rated their levels of emotional empathy following each film. As a measure of prosocial behavior, participants were given an additional payment they could contribute to charities supporting the individuals in the films. Age-related linear increases were found for both emotional empathy (self-reported empathic concern and cardiac and electrodermal responding) and prosocial behavior (size of contribution) across both films and in self-reported personal distress to the distressing film. Empathic concern and cardiac reactivity to both films, along with personal distress to the distressing film only, were associated with greater prosocial behavior. Empathic concern partially mediated the age-related differences in prosocial behavior. Results are discussed in terms of our understanding both of adult development and of the nature of these vital aspects of human emotion.
Two fundamental issues in emotion theory and research concern: (a) the role of emotion in promoti... more Two fundamental issues in emotion theory and research concern: (a) the role of emotion in promoting response coherence across different emotion systems; and (b) the role of awareness of bodily sensations in the experience of emotion. The present study poses a question bridging the two domains; namely, whether training in Vipassana meditation or dance, both of which promote attention to certain kinds of bodily sensations, is associated with greater coherence between the subjective and physiological aspects of emotion. We used lag correlations to examine second-by-second coherence between subjective emotional experience and heart period within individuals across four different films. Participants were either: (a) experienced Vipassana meditators (attention to visceral sensations), (b) experienced dancers (attention to somatic sensations), and (c) controls with no meditation or dance experience. Results indicated a linear relationship in coherence, with meditators having highest levels, dancers having intermediary levels, and controls having lowest levels. We conclude that the coherence between subjective and cardiac aspects of emotion is greater in those who have specialized training that promotes greater body awareness.
Women S Health Issues Official Publication of the Jacobs Institute of Women S Health, Jan 3, 2013
Intimate partner violence (IPV) poses a significant threat to public health and safety, particula... more Intimate partner violence (IPV) poses a significant threat to public health and safety, particularly for women, in the United States. IPV can be defined as physical violence, sexual violence, threats of physical or sexual violence, and stalking and psychological aggression (including coercive tactics) by a current or former intimate partner (Black et al., 2011). Epidemiological studies in the general population suggest that one in three women experiences IPV during her lifetime (Black et al., 2011); nearly equivalent rates (33%) of lifetime IPV exposure have been reported among female veterans (Dichter, Cerulli, & Bossarte, 2011; Murdoch & Nichol, 1995). There are currently 1.8 million female veterans in the United States (Department of Veterans Affairs, 2007). Women veterans using Veterans Health Administration (VHA) facilities for their health and mental health care often demonstrate diminished physical and mental health relative to their civilian peers; this difference in health status is attributed, at least in part, to women veterans' greater exposure to trauma (
Using a cross-sectional sample of young (20-30 years old), middle-aged (40-50 years old), and old... more Using a cross-sectional sample of young (20-30 years old), middle-aged (40-50 years old), and older adults (60-80 years old), the present study examined age differences in cognitive empathy (i.e., the capacity to know what another is feeling or thinking). Cognitive empathy was measured in terms of: (a) facial emotion recognition using static stimuli; (b) the Eyes test using age-matched and non-age-matched static stimuli; and (c) emotional tracking using age-matched and non-age-matched dynamic interpersonal stimuli. While past studies on cognitive empathy and aging have focused almost exclusively on the former two measures and have found evidence of age-related decline for both, other research suggests that older adults may be able to compensate for such losses with information from other sources, even surpassing the performance of young adults under conditions that mimic real-world social contexts. Consistent with this idea, results revealed an age by task interaction such that older adults performed worse than young adults on facial emotion recognition and aspects of the Eyes test (with middle-aged adults performing in between), but better on emotional tracking of social interactions (with middle-aged adults performing in between). Additionally, I found no evidence for an agematched advantage on the Eyes test or in emotional tracking. Implications of these findings are discussed in terms of the nature of cognitive empathy and neuropsychological and motivational models of the aging mind. 1 To be consistent with prior literature, I will use "cognitive empathy" as a shorthand term for the measures used in the present study. It may be argued, however, that these measures are more closely aligned with emotion recognition constructs, or more precisely, the ability to identify accurately what others are feeling or thinking.
Attention to internal bodily sensations is a core feature of mindfulness meditation. Previous stu... more Attention to internal bodily sensations is a core feature of mindfulness meditation. Previous studies have not detected differences in interoceptive accuracy between meditators and nonmeditators on heartbeat detection and perception tasks. We compared differences in respiratory interoceptive accuracy between meditators and nonmeditators in the ability to detect and discriminate respiratory resistive loads and sustain accurate perception of respiratory tidal volume during nondistracted and distracted conditions. Groups did not differ in overall performance on the detection and discrimination tasks; however, meditators were more accurate in discriminating the resistive load with the lowest ceiling effect. Meditators were also more accurate during the nondistracted tracking task at a lag time of 1 s following the breath. Results provide initial support for the notion that meditators have greater respiratory interoceptive accuracy compared to nonmeditators.
Past studies on emotion recognition and aging have found evidence of age-related decline when emo... more Past studies on emotion recognition and aging have found evidence of age-related decline when emotion recognition was assessed by having participants detect single emotions depicted in static images of full or partial (e.g., eye region) faces. These tests afford good experimental control but do not capture the dynamic nature of real-world emotion recognition, which is often characterized by continuous emotional judgments and dynamic multi-modal stimuli. Research suggests that older adults often perform better under conditions that better mimic real-world social contexts. We assessed emotion recognition in young, middle-aged, and older adults using two traditional methods (single emotion judgments of static images of faces and eyes) and an additional method in which participants made continuous emotion judgments of dynamic, multi-modal stimuli (videotaped interactions between young, middle-aged, and older couples). Results revealed an age by test interaction. Largely consistent with prior research, we found some evidence that older adults performed worse than young adults when judging single emotions from images of faces (for sad and disgust faces only) and eyes (for older eyes only), with middle-aged adults falling in between. In contrast, older adults did better than young adults on the test involving continuous emotion judgments of dyadic interactions, with middle-aged adults falling in between. In tests in which target stimuli differed in age, emotion recognition was not facilitated by an age match between participant and target. These findings are discussed in terms of theoretical and methodological implications for the study of aging and emotional processing.
Most studies of meditation have focused on "actual affect" (how people actually feel). We predict... more Most studies of meditation have focused on "actual affect" (how people actually feel). We predict that meditation may even more significantly alter "ideal affect" (how people ideally want to feel). As predicted, meditators ideally wanted to feel calm more and excited less than nonmeditators, but the groups did not differ in their actual experience of calm or excited states (Study 1). We ruled out self-selection and nonspecific effects by randomly assigning participants to meditation classes, an improvisational theater class, or a no class control (Study 2). After eight weeks, meditators valued calm more but did not differ in their actual experience of calm compared with the other groups. There were no differences in ideal or actual excitement, suggesting that meditation selectively increases the value placed on calm. These findings were not due to expectancy effects (Study 3). We discuss the implications of these findings for understanding how meditation alters affective life.
Emotional empathy and prosocial behavior were assessed in older, middle-aged, and young adults. P... more Emotional empathy and prosocial behavior were assessed in older, middle-aged, and young adults. Participants watched two films depicting individuals in need, one uplifting and the other distressing. Physiological responses were monitored during the films, and participants rated their levels of emotional empathy following each film. As a measure of prosocial behavior, participants were given an additional payment they could contribute to charities supporting the individuals in the films. Age-related linear increases were found for both emotional empathy (self-reported empathic concern and cardiac and electrodermal responding) and prosocial behavior (size of contribution) across both films and in self-reported personal distress to the distressing film. Empathic concern and cardiac reactivity to both films, along with personal distress to the distressing film only, were associated with greater prosocial behavior. Empathic concern partially mediated the age-related differences in prosocial behavior. Results are discussed in terms of our understanding both of adult development and of the nature of these vital aspects of human emotion.
Two fundamental issues in emotion theory and research concern: (a) the role of emotion in promoti... more Two fundamental issues in emotion theory and research concern: (a) the role of emotion in promoting response coherence across different emotion systems; and (b) the role of awareness of bodily sensations in the experience of emotion. The present study poses a question bridging the two domains; namely, whether training in Vipassana meditation or dance, both of which promote attention to certain kinds of bodily sensations, is associated with greater coherence between the subjective and physiological aspects of emotion. We used lag correlations to examine second-by-second coherence between subjective emotional experience and heart period within individuals across four different films. Participants were either: (a) experienced Vipassana meditators (attention to visceral sensations), (b) experienced dancers (attention to somatic sensations), and (c) controls with no meditation or dance experience. Results indicated a linear relationship in coherence, with meditators having highest levels, dancers having intermediary levels, and controls having lowest levels. We conclude that the coherence between subjective and cardiac aspects of emotion is greater in those who have specialized training that promotes greater body awareness.
Women S Health Issues Official Publication of the Jacobs Institute of Women S Health, Jan 3, 2013
Intimate partner violence (IPV) poses a significant threat to public health and safety, particula... more Intimate partner violence (IPV) poses a significant threat to public health and safety, particularly for women, in the United States. IPV can be defined as physical violence, sexual violence, threats of physical or sexual violence, and stalking and psychological aggression (including coercive tactics) by a current or former intimate partner (Black et al., 2011). Epidemiological studies in the general population suggest that one in three women experiences IPV during her lifetime (Black et al., 2011); nearly equivalent rates (33%) of lifetime IPV exposure have been reported among female veterans (Dichter, Cerulli, & Bossarte, 2011; Murdoch & Nichol, 1995). There are currently 1.8 million female veterans in the United States (Department of Veterans Affairs, 2007). Women veterans using Veterans Health Administration (VHA) facilities for their health and mental health care often demonstrate diminished physical and mental health relative to their civilian peers; this difference in health status is attributed, at least in part, to women veterans' greater exposure to trauma (
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