The Effect Of Empathic Response On Helping Behavior In Embarrassing Situations:the Mediating Effect Of Empathic Embarrassment

Embarrassment is a kind of self-consciousness emotion with characteristics of temporary and panic,which often occurs when a person is forced to become the focus of attention of others unexpectedly.From the perspective of social emotion,embarrassment is a kind of moral emotion with affinity,transmitting signals of non-verbal apologize and pro-social behaviors,which has certain prediction effect on helping behavior.In order to explore the effect of embarrassment on helping behavior in embarrassing situations,and the influence of empathic response and empathic embarrassment,Totally 417 college students were assessed with the Chinese Version of the Susceptibility to Embarrassment Scale(SES),the Chinese Version of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index-C(IRI-C),Self-Compiled embarrassing situation,Empathic Response Scale,Empathic Embarrassment Scale and Heping Behavior Scale,results showed:(1)There were significant differences between male subjects and female subjects on variables that contained embarrassment,empathy trait and empathic response.Embarrassment and empathy trait of females were higher than that of males,empathic response of males were higher than that of females.(2)There were significant differences between high embarrassment scorers and low embarrassment scorers on variables that contained empathy trait,empathic response,empathic embarrassment and helping behavior,which indicated high-score group was obviously higher than that of the low-score group.As for high scorers and low scorers of empathy trait,there was a same conclusion above.Meanwhile,a two-way ANOVA result showed same conclusion above.(3)In the absence of control embarrassment and empathy trait,there were significant positive correlations among embarrassment,empathy trait,empathic response,empathic embarrassment and helping behavior.In the case of control embarrassment and empathy trait,there was significant positive correlation between empathic response and helping behavior,also between empathic response and empathic embarrassment,but there was no significant correlation between empathic embarrassment and helping behavior.(4)Empathic response had obvious positive prediction on individual's helping behavior in embarrassing situations,empathic response had obvious positive prediction on individual's helping behavior and empathic embarrassment,empathic embarrassment had obvious negative prediction on individual's helping willingness.(5)Empathic embarrassment played a partial mediating role between empathic response and helping behavior in embarrassing situations,empathy trait played a moderating role between empathic embarrassment and helping behavior,individuals that own the high level of empathy trait of empathic embarrassment,but the high level of empathic embarrassment inhibitioned individual's helping behavior.(6)Empathic response could promote individual's helping behavior in embarrassing situations,but embarrassment and empathic embarrassment could inhibition individual's helping behavior in embarrassing situations.