Department of Psychology, The University of Chicago, United States.
Dev Cogn Neurosci. 2013 Jan;3:22-32. doi: 10.1016/j.dcn.2012.08.001. Epub 2012 Aug 29.
Behavioral research indicates that human females are more empathic than males, a disparity that widens from childhood to adulthood. Nevertheless, the extent to which such sex differences are an artifact of self-report indices is unclear. The present study compared age-related sex differences in both self-report and neurophysiological measures of empathic arousal, a primary building block of empathy. Participants included sixty-five 4-17-year-old children (mean 11.5±3.5 years) who completed the Bryant Empathy Scale, and were scanned while viewing animated clips depicting people being hurt. Female participants scored higher than males on self-reported dispositional empathy, a difference that increased with age. In contrast, no sex-related differential changes were detected in hemodynamic responses or in pupil dilation, with no interaction between sex and age. Results suggest a dissociation between explicit ratings and neurophysiological measures of empathic arousal. Past observed sex differences in empathy may reflect females' greater willingness to report empathic experiences. Findings are also discussed in terms of discrepancies in the methods used to assess affective responding and how they relate to the multi-faceted construct of empathy.
行为研究表明，女性比男性更富有同理心，这种差距从儿童期到成年期逐渐扩大。然而，这种性别差异在多大程度上是自我报告指标的人为产物尚不清楚。本研究比较了自我报告和同理心唤起的神经生理学测量中与年龄相关的性别差异，同理心唤起是同理心的主要组成部分。参与者包括 65 名 4-17 岁的儿童（平均年龄 11.5±3.5 岁），他们完成了 Bryant 同理心量表的测试，并在观看描绘人们受伤的动画片段时接受了扫描。女性参与者在自我报告的特质同理心上的得分高于男性，这种差异随着年龄的增长而增加。相比之下，在血流动力学反应或瞳孔扩张方面没有检测到与性别相关的差异变化，性别和年龄之间也没有相互作用。研究结果表明，同理心的外显评价和神经生理学测量之间存在分离。过去观察到的同理心性别差异可能反映了女性更愿意报告同理心体验。研究结果还讨论了评估情感反应的方法之间的差异，以及它们与同理心这一多方面的结构之间的关系。
