RESUMEN

While empathy is considered a critical determinant of the quality of medical care, growing evidence suggests it may be associated with both one's own positive and negative moods among healthcare professionals. Meanwhile, sense of coherence (SOC) plays an essential role in the improvement of both psychological and physical health. Reportedly, individual SOC reaches full stability after around age 30. The aim of this study was first to evaluate the mediatory role of SOC on the association between empathy and individual moods among 114 healthcare professionals in a general hospital, and then to examine the moderating effect of age on this association. Participants completed a range of self-report demographic questionnaires, Empathy Process Scale (EPS), the 13-item Antonovsky's SOC, and Profile of Mood States (POMS). Findings showed that SOC mediated the relations between empathy (EPS) and both POMS-Vigor (POMS-V: self-vigor mood) and POMS-Depression (POMS-D: self-depression mood). Notably, moderated mediation analysis revealed that there was a significant interaction (age × SOC) on self-vigor mood (POMS-V) in healthcare professionals. The indirect effect of empathy (EPS) on self-vigor mood (POMS-V) through SOC was significant at over mean age "32.83." Although there was no significant interaction with age regarding the indirect effect of empathy (EPS) on self-depression mood (POMS-D), in the sub-category level analysis of empathy (EPS), we found a significant interaction item [age × empathy for other's negative affect (EPS-N)] on SOC. This indirect effect was also significant at over mean age "32.83." Taken, together, the current study highlighted the significant mediator of SOC on that empathy amplifies self-vigor mood and attenuates self-depression mood as a protective factor among the Japanese healthcare professionals. Some components of these processes may depend on the moderating role of age, indicating that we may need to consider the SOC development with age for more effective empathy performance interventions among healthcare professionals.

RESUMEN

The aim of this study was to construct a model of the elicitation of schadenfreude through vengeance, envy, and trait anger. Japanese undergraduates (239 men, 284 women) completed questionnaires assessing dispositional vengeance, trait anger, and empathy. Then, participants read two scenarios: one about a target person's success and one about his or her misfortune. After reading the first scenario, the participants were asked to rate their envy toward the target person, then their feelings of schadenfreude after the second. A Japanese version of the Vengeance Scale was developed, and its construct validity and test-retest reliability were confirmed. Structural equation modeling was applied to examine how dispositional vengeance, trait anger, and envy were related to schadenfreude. The results indicated that envy and dispositional vengeance were significantly related to scores on the schadenfreude scale, with no gender effect, whereas vengeance was associated with envy only for women.

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RESUMEN

The purposes of this study were to develop and validate the Empathic-Affective Response Scale, and to examine the relationship of empathic-affective responses with prosocial behaviors and aggressive behaviors. Undergraduate students (N = 443) participated in a questionnaire study. The results of factor analysis indicated that empathic-affective responses involved three factors: (a) sharing and good feeling toward others' positive affect, (b) sharing of negative affect and (c) sympathy toward others' negative affect. Correlations with other empathy-related scales and internal consistency suggested that this scale has satisfactory validity and reliability. Cluster analysis revealed that participants were clustered into four groups: high-empathic group, low-empathic group, insufficient positive affective response group and insufficient negative affective response group. Additional analysis showed the frequency of prosocial behaviors in high-empathic group was highest in all groups. On the other hand, the frequency of aggressive behaviors in both insufficient positive affective response group and low-empathic group were higher than others' groups. The results indicated that empathic-affective responses toward positive affect are also very important to predict prosocial behaviors and aggressive behaviors.

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The purpose of this study was to clarify the relation between joking behaviors with friends and personality factors (preference for humor, self-esteem). Also the study examined whether relational factors (cognitions of the joking relationship) affect joking behavior. In Study 1, undergraduates (n = 238) completed a questionnaire concerning joking behaviors and personality factors. The results indicated that the scale has sufficient reliability and validity. In Study 2, questionnaire date from undergraduates (n = 208) were used to examined (a) difference in joking behaviors between best friends and ordinary friends of the same sex, as well as (b) the effect of cognitions regarding the joking relationship (understanding the friend and being accepted by the friend) on joking behaviors. The results indicated that participants used aggressive jokes, self-enhancing jokes and everyday jokes significantly more with best friends compared to ordinary friend. Covariance structure analysis indicated that the sense of being accepted by an ordinary friend promoted aggressive jokes, whereas the sense of being accepted by the best friend reduced the need for other-enhancing jokes.

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