Empathy in adults: understanding individual differences and the effect of skills training

Abstract

The aim of this thesis was to explore empathy in adults, by examining its relationship with attachment and investigating whether it can be learnt via brief empathy training. The thesis is presented as three separate papers. Paper one is a systematic review of the literature on attachment and empathy, as measured by the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (Davis, 1980). The review highlights that attachment and empathy are both multi-dimensional concepts with more evidence existing for some relationships compared to others. There was more consistent support for a relationship between greater attachment avoidance and reduced cognitive and emotional empathy (perspective taking and empathic concern), than for attachment anxiety. Although more variable, there was still support for a relationship between greater attachment anxiety and emotional empathy, indicated by greater personal distress and lower empathic concern. However, further research is required to provide studies which allow statistical comparison of the relationship between attachment and empathy. Paper two is an empirical study investigating the effectiveness of a brief training package aimed at increasing empathy. There were no significant differences between participants randomly allocated to attend empathy training, compared to those allocated to a control group, on either a self-report or performance measure of empathy. However, attendance at training was high and those that attended rated it useful. Possible explanations and interpretations of the findings are discussed alongside suggestions for future research. Paper three is a critical reflection of the thesis research project and processes involved. This paper discusses the strengths and limitations of the research and provides further detail on the planning, methodology and decision making processes involved. The paper concludes with personal reflections on the overall thesis project.

Date of Award	31 Dec 2019
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	The University of Manchester
Supervisor	Elspeth Guthrie (Supervisor) & Richard Brown (Supervisor)