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The Cognitive Antecedents of Empathic Responding Cuff, B

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The Cognitive Antecedents of Empathic Responding Cuff, B The cognitive antecedents of empathic responding Cuff, B. Submitted version deposited in CURVE March 2016 Original citation: Cuff, B. (2015) The cognitive antecedents of empathic responding. Unpublished PhD Thesis. Coventry: Coventry University Copyright © and Moral Rights are retained by the author. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This item cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder(s). The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. CURVE is the Institutional Repository for Coventry University http://curve.coventry.ac.uk/open The Cognitive Antecedents of Empathic Responding By Benjamin M. P. Cuff December 2015 A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the University’s requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Acknowledgements I would like to thank each member of my supervisory team for the help you have given me throughout the last three years. Your feedback on my work has pushed my writing along considerably, and your insights have helped me grow in the way I think about my research. Special thanks go to Sarah for all your help. Your support and advice has been invaluable throughout all of this! Thank you to my friends in JS253 for making all of this enjoyable. You‟ve been incredibly distracting at times… but in a good way! Thank you to Kirsty and to my family and friends for supporting me, and for letting me test out my ideas on you. Finally, thank you to everyone who participated in my research. This couldn‟t have happened without you, and your help has been very much appreciated! Table of Contents Glossary of Terms ................................................................................................................................. vi Abstract ................................................................................................................................................ 1 Chapter 1: Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 2 1.1 Rationale ..................................................................................................................................... 2 1.2 Aims ............................................................................................................................................ 5 1.3 Thesis Outline ............................................................................................................................. 5 Chapter 2: Empathy: A Review of the Concept ..................................................................................... 8 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 9 2.2 Identifying Areas of Confusion .................................................................................................. 10 2.3 Eight Example Themes Crucial to Our Understanding of Empathy ........................................... 11 2.3.1 Distinguishing empathy from other concepts .................................................................... 11 2.3.2 Cognitive or affective? ....................................................................................................... 17 2.3.3 Congruent or incongruent? ................................................................................................ 19 2.3.4 Subject to other stimuli? .................................................................................................... 21 2.3.5 Self-other distinction or merging? ..................................................................................... 22 2.3.6 Trait or state influences?.................................................................................................... 23 2.3.7 Has a behavioural outcome? .............................................................................................. 24 2.3.8 Automatic or controlled? ................................................................................................... 25 2.4 Discussion ................................................................................................................................. 25 2.4.1 Implications ........................................................................................................................ 26 2.4.2 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 28 Chapter 3: The Cognitive Antecedents of Empathy ............................................................................ 29 3.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 29 3.2 Perception, Attention, and Cognitive Interpretation ................................................................ 32 3.2.1 Perceiving, and attending to, an emotional stimulus ......................................................... 32 3.2.2 Cognitive interpretation ..................................................................................................... 34 3.3 Cognitive Antecedents: Target-factors ...................................................................................... 35 3.3.1 Perspective taking .............................................................................................................. 35 3.3.2 Valuing ............................................................................................................................... 36 3.3.3 Similarity ............................................................................................................................ 37 3.3.4 Perceived need................................................................................................................... 38 3.3.5 Blame ................................................................................................................................. 39 3.4 Cognitive Antecedents: Self-factors .......................................................................................... 40 3.4.1 Self-interest ........................................................................................................................ 40 i 3.4.2 Perceived power ................................................................................................................ 41 3.4.3 Agency................................................................................................................................ 43 3.4.4 Morality.............................................................................................................................. 43 3.4.5 Mood and self-esteem ....................................................................................................... 44 3.5 Empathic Outcomes and Behavioural Motivations ................................................................... 46 3.6 Implications ............................................................................................................................... 50 3.5 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 54 Chapter 4: Methodology ..................................................................................................................... 55 4.1 The Need for a Measure of The Cognitive Antecedents of Empathic Responding .................... 55 4.2 A Review of Existing Measures.................................................................................................. 57 4.2.1 Conclusions ........................................................................................................................ 62 4.3 Scale Construction .................................................................................................................... 62 4.4 Other Methodological Considerations ...................................................................................... 70 4.5 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 72 Chapter 5: The Cognitive Antecedents of Empathic Responding Scale ............................................... 73 5.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 73 5.2 Construction of the CAERS ........................................................................................................ 75 5.3 Study 1: Face Validity ................................................................................................................ 77 5.3.1 Participants ........................................................................................................................ 77 5.3.2 Procedure ........................................................................................................................... 78 5.3.3 Results and Discussion ....................................................................................................... 78 5.4 Study 2: Reliability and Social Desirability ................................................................................. 79 5.4.1 Participants .......................................................................................................................
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