Empathy-related responding is a key aspect of social-emotional development (Yavuz et al., 2024) and involves specific responses such as empathy (sharing the emotions of another person), sympathy (feeling of concern toward another's wellbeing) and personal distress (PD; feeling overwhelmed by someone else's negative emotionality; Eisenberg et al., 2015). Inhibitory control (IC), a key component of self-regulation, supports empathetic responses by enabling individuals to manage emotional reactivity and engage in socially appropriate behaviors (Eisenberg & Spinrad, 2004; Rothbart et al., 2001). While prior research has established the developmental trajectory of IC and its role in adaptive functioning (Best & Miller, 2010; Casey & Caudle, 2013), little is known about the daily fluctuations of IC and its relations with empathetic responses in young adults (18–35 years). To address this gap, for 21 days, once a day, 76 young adults (50% women) were asked to respond to questions about IC and PD. To investigate the dynamic relations of the variables, we used Dynamic Structural Equation Modeling (Hamaker et al., 2018). Results showed no significant spill-over effects between daily IC and PD. However, we found that IC and PD were negatively associated at the within-person level (r=-.163, 95% CI [-.284, -.038]): peaks of IC were negatively associated with drops of PD on the same day. At the between-person level, people who reported higher levels of IC on average also reported lower levels of PD on average (r=-.526, 95% CI [-.748, -.205]). The results also remained stable for controlling age and gender. The present study's results could help psychologists develop interventions based on inhibitory control to deal with young adults' challenges, ultimately promoting emotional wellbeing and social competencies during this critical life stage. Future studies should also investigate the dynamic relations between the variables of interest in a shorter time framework.
The relations between Inhibitory Control and Empathy-related responses: A Daily Diary Study / Virzì, Alessia Teresa; Manfredi, Lucia; Gregori, Fulvio; Barrero Toncel, Virginia Isabel; Caldaroni, Silvia; Corbelli, Giuseppe; Marras, Anna; Pastorelli, Concetta; Zuffiano, Antonio. - (2025). (Intervento presentato al convegno European Conference of Developmental Psychology 2025 tenutosi a Vilnius,Lithuania).
The relations between Inhibitory Control and Empathy-related responses: A Daily Diary Study
Alessia Teresa Virzì;Lucia Manfredi;Fulvio Gregori;Virginia Isabel Barrero Toncel;Silvia Caldaroni;Giuseppe Corbelli;Concetta Pastorelli;Antonio Zuffiano
2025
Abstract
Empathy-related responding is a key aspect of social-emotional development (Yavuz et al., 2024) and involves specific responses such as empathy (sharing the emotions of another person), sympathy (feeling of concern toward another's wellbeing) and personal distress (PD; feeling overwhelmed by someone else's negative emotionality; Eisenberg et al., 2015). Inhibitory control (IC), a key component of self-regulation, supports empathetic responses by enabling individuals to manage emotional reactivity and engage in socially appropriate behaviors (Eisenberg & Spinrad, 2004; Rothbart et al., 2001). While prior research has established the developmental trajectory of IC and its role in adaptive functioning (Best & Miller, 2010; Casey & Caudle, 2013), little is known about the daily fluctuations of IC and its relations with empathetic responses in young adults (18–35 years). To address this gap, for 21 days, once a day, 76 young adults (50% women) were asked to respond to questions about IC and PD. To investigate the dynamic relations of the variables, we used Dynamic Structural Equation Modeling (Hamaker et al., 2018). Results showed no significant spill-over effects between daily IC and PD. However, we found that IC and PD were negatively associated at the within-person level (r=-.163, 95% CI [-.284, -.038]): peaks of IC were negatively associated with drops of PD on the same day. At the between-person level, people who reported higher levels of IC on average also reported lower levels of PD on average (r=-.526, 95% CI [-.748, -.205]). The results also remained stable for controlling age and gender. The present study's results could help psychologists develop interventions based on inhibitory control to deal with young adults' challenges, ultimately promoting emotional wellbeing and social competencies during this critical life stage. Future studies should also investigate the dynamic relations between the variables of interest in a shorter time framework.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
