The Relationship Between Personality, Empathy And Prosocial Behavior

Aim: In order to explore if personality of empathy subject have influence on the degree of empathy, the relationship between empathy and prosocial behavior. We are try to combine with "prosocial behavior" in the concept of psychology and"benevolence and forgiveness" in the concept of Chinese traditional culture, discussion that if individuals with different personality will induce different frequency of prosocial behavior or antisocial behavior.Method: In study 1, using Neuroticism Extraversion Openness Five-Factor Inventory(NEO-FFI) to record the data of examinee’s personality as the independent variable, the reaction time of different emotional faces and Interpersonal Reactivity Index-C (IRI-C) as the measurement index of dependent variable, to explore the relationship between personality and empathy. In study 2, we have recompose the famous electro-shock obedience experiment in a creative way, In order to simulate the scene of prosocial and antisocial behavior, we make scene of dual-approach-avoidance conflict by different stimulate of noise and musical tone to explore the relationship of personality and prosocial behavior. We also record the degree of empathy by IRI-C to examine if empathy is intervening variable. As the supplement of study 2, in study 3, we refer to the principle of Children’s game task, also using noise and musical tone as the stimulus, we put the four proposition derived from"benevolence and forgiveness" in one experimental scene, we want to explore individuals with different personality will choose which behavior pattern.Results: (1) Extraversion and Agreeableness Facets dimensionality of NEO-FFI had significant positive correlation with Empathetic Concern dimensionality of IRI-C,Extraversion and Agreeableness Facets dimensionality of NEO-FFI also had significant negative correlation with reaction time of different emotional faces. (2) The Empathetic Concern dimensionality of IRI-C had significant negative correlation with reaction time of different emotional faces. (3) According to the Agreeableness Facets dimensionality of NEO-FFI, we separate examinees into high- Agreeableness Facets group and low- Agreeableness Facets group. We found that high-Agreeableness Facets group’s frequency of prosocial behaviors have a significantly higher level than frequency of antisocial behaviors. But in study 2, we have not found similar difference at Extraversion dimensionality. (4)Individuals with high- Empathetic Concern dimensionality score of IRI-C will do more prosocial behaviors than individuals with low- Empathetic Concern dimensionality score. (5) Further analysis found that individuals with high-Openness dimensionality prefer to choose "doing for others what you would have done for yourself ’ rather than "not doing unto others what you don’t want done to yourself".Conclusion: High- Extraversion or agreeableness personality individuals have higher level of empathy response than other personality types, but only high-agreeableness personality individuals do more prosocial behaviors ("doing for others what you would have done for yourself" and "not doing unto others what you don’t want done to yourself"), low-agreeableness personality individuals do more antisocial behaviors ("not doing for others what you would have done for yourself" and "doing unto others what you don’t want done to yourself"), high- Openness personality individuals more likely to choose "doing for others what you would have done for yourself" rather than "not doing unto others what you don’t want done to yourself".