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Cited by 2,672Emotions and Moral BehaviorChild and Animal Learning DevelopmentChild and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 122 of the 124 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

The relation of empathy to prosocial and related behaviors

Eisenberg, Nancy, Miller, Paul A.·1987·Psychological Bulletin
DOI 10.1037/0033-2909.101.1.91
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Abstract

In a prior review involving a meta-analysis (Underwood & Moore, 1982), no relation between affective empathy and prosocial behavior was found. In this article, the literature relevant to this issue is reexamined. The studies were organized according to the method used to assess empathy. When appropriate, meta-analyses were computed. In contrast to the earlier review, low to moderate positive relations generally were found between empathy and both prosocial behavior and cooperative/socially competent behavior. The method of assessing empathy did influence the strength of the relations; picture/story measures of empathy were not associated with prosocial behavior, whereas nearly all other measures were. Several possible explanations for the pattern of findings are discussed, as are the implications of the findings.

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Crossref · 10.1037/0033-2909.101.1.91

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Metadata

Authors
Eisenberg, N., & Miller, P. A.
Affiliations
  • Arizona State University (US)
  • Nanjing University (CN)
ORCID
Eisenberg, Nancy
Venue
Psychological Bulletin
Publisher
American Psychological Association (APA)
Published
1987
Volume
101
Issue
1
Pages
91-119
ISSN
  • 0033-2909 (ISSN-L)
  • 1939-1455
DOI
10.1037/0033-2909.101.1.91
OpenAlex
W2005210865
Cited by
2,672
References
124
Citations by year
2026: 125 · 2025: 141 · 2024: 147 · 2023: 131 · 2022: 132 · 2021: 164 · 2020: 163 · 2019: 131 · 2018: 144 · 2017: 165 · 2016: 167 · 2015: 118 · 2014: 129 · 2013: 119 · 2012: 85
FWCI
29.54
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Psychological Bulletin (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
U.S. Public Health Service (935691)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Emotions and Moral Behavior
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Child and Animal Learning Development
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
Keywords
empathy, affective empathy, prosocial behavior, cooperative behavior, social competence
MeSH terms
Empathy, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Social Behavior

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