Empathy, Memory, And Aging During the COVID-19 Pandemic

34 Pages Posted: 6 Jan 2023

See all articles by Isu Cho

Isu Cho

Brandeis University

Tony J. Cunningham

Harvard University - Harvard Medical School

Ryan T. Daley

Boston College

Elizabeth A. Kensinger

Boston College

Angela Gutchess

Brandeis University

Abstract

Recently, there has been increasing attention to the interaction between empathy and memory. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a period when empathy plays a key role in people’s behaviors, we assessed the relationship between empathy and memory. Specifically, we used memory accuracy for the number of COVID-19 cases as a measure of recent memory and correlated it with empathy levels. Moreover, we investigated whether cognitive vs. affective empathy differently associate with one’s memory for the number of COVID-19 cases, given evidence for distinct mechanisms for the two aspects of empathy. Finally, we assessed the impact of age on empathy-memory associations. The present study investigated these questions using the Boston College COVID-19 Dataset, which included surveys assessing dispositional empathy and memory for the number of COVID-19 confirmed cases during the pandemic. With a final sample of 386 adults (ages 18-89) from the USA, empathy was not associated with memory accuracy for the confirmed cases when using an empathy measure that combined both cognitive and affective empathy. However, when using a measure that separately assessed cognitive and affective empathy, only affective empathy, specifically the personal distress subscale, was associated with greater memory accuracy. There was no age-related difference in memory accuracy despite the age-related decreases in affective empathy. Results suggest that affective empathy can induce individuals to have more accurate memory for details of an ongoing empathy-evoking situation, discussed in the context of motivation and emotional arousal. The current study provides ecological evidence to corroborate the interplay of empathy and memory.

Note:

Funding Information: This work was supported by funding from Boston College. IC is supported by National Institutes of Health R01AG061886 (awarded to A.G.). During data collection for this study, TJC was funded by the Research Training Program in Sleep, Circadian and Respiratory Neurobiology (NIH T32 HL007901) through the Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Brigham & Women’s Hospital.

Declaration of Interests: The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Ethics Approval Statement: Participants provided informed consent for protocol approved through the Institutional Review Board at Boston College.

Keywords: empathy, memory, age, COVID-19, personal distress

Suggested Citation

Cho, Isu and Cunningham, Tony J. and Daley, Ryan T. and Kensinger, Elizabeth A. and Gutchess, Angela, Empathy, Memory, And Aging During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4313666 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4313666

Isu Cho (Contact Author)

Brandeis University ( email )

Waltham, MA 02454
United States

Tony J. Cunningham

Harvard University - Harvard Medical School ( email )

25 Shattuck St
Boston, MA 02115
United States

Ryan T. Daley

Boston College ( email )

140 Commonwealth Avenue
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
United States

Elizabeth A. Kensinger

Boston College ( email )

140 Commonwealth Avenue
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
United States

Angela Gutchess

Brandeis University ( email )

Waltham, MA 02454
United States

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