Research On The Cognitive Neural Mechanisms Of Positive Empathy

Empathy is the process by which individuals infer the affective states of others by generating isomorphic affective states in themselves, while retaining self-other awareness. As a kind of important social mood, empathy is closely linked with people’s moral and altruistic behavior, and plays a very important role in the development of healthy personality. Empathy is the hot topic in the research of psychology, researches have done many studies on the cognitive and neural mechanism of it. They found that when faced with the low-level emotional information, through the embodied-simulation mechanism to empathize with others emotion; while when faced with emotional information which is more abstract and complex, self projection is the main way of people’s emotional empathy. Not only so, research evidence on f MRI indicates that people’s difference on trait empathy is also reflected in the structure and function of the brain.Although scholars pay attention on the issue of empathy lasted for many years, but so far, most of the focus has been on other’s negative emotion(such as pain, sadness, disgust, etc.) of empathy.In fact, it is also an important theme to share with others’ positive emotion in our life, the process and ability of share and understand others’ positive emotions is defined as positive empathy. Positive empathy is a new field of empathy research. At present, this psychological phenomenon is not in-depth discussion. According to the deficiencies of the previous studies,this paper explored the cognitive and neural mechanism from the perspective of state positive empathy and trait positive empathy. Among them, study 1 and study 2 mainly investigate the characteristics of cognitive processing when people empathize with the low-level and high-level emotional information. On the basis of the revised positive empathy scale, study 3,4 and 5 discussed how the differences of trait positive empathy are reflected on the c ognitive processing and neural basis.Basing on the tasked-based f MRI, study 1 explored the characteristics of cognitive processing when empathizing for the cheerful faces compared with empathizing for the sad faces in 23 subjects drawing on the research paradigm of Greck de et al(2012). The results of the behavioral level showed that the subjects reported that they were more likely to stay in line with the pleasant faces. The f MRI results showed that compared with empathize for the sad faces, when empathize with the cheerful faces there have more activeated in the reward processing system like orbitalfrontal cortex(OFC) and the mirror neuron system like the inferior frontal gyrus(IFG) and inferior parietal lobule(IPL). This suggests that in the face of joy empathy, individuals not only won the alternative pleasure experience, but also produced a stronger embodied-simulation tendency. Further extraction of the beta value of the IFG and OFC and apply the mediation analysis method to investigate the neuronal mechanism of it. The results showed that IFG influence the level of embodied-simulation tendency by the activation of OFC. The result shows that the stronger embodied-simulation tendency in the progress of empathize with the low-level emotional information may caused by the indirect feelings of pleasure.In the study 2, based on the ERP technology, we investigate whether the individual’s own money loss would have different effects on the empathic response to his friends’ gains and losses. On the FRN indicator, the results showed that whether subjects suffering from the loss of money or not, the amplitude of it on watching friends loss always lower than watching friends win. As to the P300 indicator, after the subjects own loss, the difference of P300 between watching friends win and loss was not signif icant any more. The results showed that when subjects in a relatively infer ior position, positive emotional events of others would make them produce social comparison, and perhaps it is this kind of psychological progress make people hard to share others’ positive feelings through the self projection mechanism.The study 3 translated and examined the psychometric properties of a Chinese version of the Positive Empathy Scale(PES) in Chinese undergraduates. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were performed on data from 2 undergraduate samples to examine the scale’s construct validity, and the convergent, divergent, and concurrent validity, and test–retest reliability were also assessed. The analyses showed that the PES had a single factor, and a test–retest reliability coefficient was suitable. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the scale’s structure was satisfactory. It was strongly correlated with measures of similar constructs(e.g., empathic concern, positive affect), but not with measures of dissimilar psychological constructs(e.g., personal distress). The scale also had a positive correlation with prosocial behavior and well-being. Thus, the Chinese version of the PES is a suitable measure of positive empathy for Chinese undergraduates.In study 4 we screened 21 participants of high and low level of trait positive empathy respectively through PES, and further investigated whether there are differences in the positive emotion processing and self construction based by behavior research paradigm. Among them, the study 4a adopted the joystick task and found that people with high trait positive empathy showed a stronger tendency of approach behavior compared with low trait positive empathy group when faced withj cheerful faces, indicating that the former may have a stronger positive emotional information processing ability. With the memory reference task paradigm, the study 4b examined the differences of self construction between participants in high and low trait positive empathy group. The results showed that people with high level of trait positive empathy could remember more personality traits adjectives in the friends reference tasks.which means that they may has a more interdependent self construction.Using a voxel-based morphometry analysis, study 5a investigates the relationship between trait positive empathy and its association with brain structure in 86 healthy college students. The results indicate that an individual’s ability to show positive empathy is positively correlated with the volume of gray matter in the right insula, left anterior cingulate cortex, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and medial prefrontal cortex. It may be suggested that the differences between the abilities of emotion processing and regulating play important roles in shaping an individual’s positive empathy traits from the perspective of brain morphometry. In the study 4b, we used the resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging(f MRI) signal of the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations(ALFFs) and resting state functional connectivity(RSFC) to identify PES-related regions and networks. We found that a higher level of PES was associated with higher ALFFs in the right subgenual cingulate and right insula, and lower ALFFs in the right side of the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex and right precuneus. RSFC analyses revealed that the strengths of functional connectivity between the right insula and left hippocampus,left posterior cinulate and middle temporal gyrus were positively correlated with PES, while the strengths of functional connectivity between dorsal medial prefrontal cortex and medial orbifrontal cortex, the strengths of functional connectivity between subgenual cingulate and left precuneus/SMA were also positively correlated with PES. The above results showed that people with high level of positive empathy were sensitive to the emotional information from others and more adept at processing positive emotional information. Not only so, they can effectively inhibit the impact of negative emotional information, and has a less self-centered tendency.On the basis of previous studies, combined with the conclusions obtained in this study, this paper attempts to propose the positive empathy cognitive processing model. The model believes that in the application of positive empathy the previous empathy reaction processing model is needed to adjust, namely positive empathy reaction in the production of mechanism has its unique characteristics. Specific performance: when to generate empathy for others sensory positive emotional information, the alternative of pleasure will inspire people with more tendency to imitate others’ emotions; and when faced with others’ more abstract positive emotional information, it is possible due to the fact of social comparison, it is difficult to through self projection to share positive feelings with others. Attributed to the features, possibly because in the empathy response emotional connection mechanism and positive emotional valence effect each other. And high trait positive empathy more adept at using empathy in emotion connection mechanism to share the positive emotion of others, the machining features of the cognitive processing and positive empathy reaction is can confirm each other. Specific performance: high trait positive empathy more adept at processing of positive emotion stimulation, and can effectively inhibit the effect of negative moods of their own, which may make them in the face of the positive emotions of others more motivation to resonate with them; high trait positive empathy is more mutual depend on the type of self construction and less self centeredness tendency, which may make them easier to others, positive emotional events transformation for its positive emotional events and not easy to produce social psychological. In general, the cognitive processing model based on the results of this study and put forward the positive empathy can be more systematic and reasonable interpretation of positive empathy the cognitive and neural mechanism can provide theoretical support for the future study of this psychological phenomenon.This study not only enriches the people of empathy cognitive and neural mechanisms of theory understanding, for positive empathy research into new methods. First, good reliability and validity of Chinese version of positive empathy scale revised can provide effective measurement tool for the future study of the personality; secondly, this study used classical behavior research paradigm to investigate the differences in the cognitive processing of high and low trait positive empathy, can complement and extend previous understanding about the problem; finally, the first attempt to explore the positive trait empathy of brain structure and function characteristics, from the neural level is derived from the conclusion provides more evidence for support.The results have also important practice meanings, it not only could provide operational suggestions for training trait positive empathy, It also has an important inspiration for how to improve the harmony of the team and the maintenance of social stability and harmony.Positive empathy is a complex subject involving cognition, personality, cultural and social psychological phenomenon. This study only preliminar ily reflected the cognitive neural structure of positive empathy, and there are many problems waiting for further discussion with multiple perspectives and methods.