Attachment and inter-individual differences in empathy, compassion, and theory of mind abilities.

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Title: Attachment and inter-individual differences in empathy, compassion, and theory of mind abilities.
Authors: Gallistl, Mathilde, Kungl, Melanie, Gabler, Sandra, Kanske, Philipp, Vrticka, Pascal, Engert, Veronika
Source: Attachment & Human Development. Aug2024, Vol. 26 Issue 4, p350-365. 16p.
Subjects: Empathy, Self-evaluation, Research funding, Attachment behavior, Compassion, Interviewing, Questionnaires, Social skills, Thought & thinking, Video recording, Avoidance (Psychology)
Abstract: Social processing, namely the ability to understand others' cognitive and affective states, is crucial for successful social interaction. It encompasses socio-affective abilities such as empathy and compassion, as well as socio-cognitive abilities such as theory of mind (ToM). This study examined the link between social processing and attachment. Our study goes beyond previous research in that social processing abilities were assessed in a single, state-of-the-art behavioral paradigm using video narratives, the EmpaToM. Attachment was captured with the Adult Attachment Interview (N = 85; 50.60% women, Mage = 25.87 ± 4.50 years) measuring participants' present-day capacity to think about and communicate attachment-relevant information about the past. Additionally, a self-report attachment questionnaire was employed (N = 158). We found that AAI-based attachment security (vs. insecurity) was associated with higher behavioral ToM abilities. Furthermore, self-reported attachment avoidance was negatively correlated with behavioral compassion abilities. Our findings provide further evidence that interview-based and self-reported attachment measures do not converge, but may rather be understood as capturing different facets of attachment that relate to different components of social processing. We conclude that individuals with secure, non-avoidant attachment show social abilities that allow them to better understand others' thoughts and generate positive, caring emotions in face of others' distress. Attachment is differentially associated with distinct behavioral social processing abilities, that is, compassion and theory of mind. Higher attachment security in the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) is linked to higher behavioral theory of mind abilities. Increased self-reported attachment avoidance is linked to lower behavioral compassion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Attachment & Human Development is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Data: Attachment and inter-individual differences in empathy, compassion, and theory of mind abilities.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Gallistl%2C+Mathilde%22">Gallistl, Mathilde</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Kungl%2C+Melanie%22">Kungl, Melanie</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Gabler%2C+Sandra%22">Gabler, Sandra</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Kanske%2C+Philipp%22">Kanske, Philipp</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Vrticka%2C+Pascal%22">Vrticka, Pascal</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Engert%2C+Veronika%22">Engert, Veronika</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Attachment+%26+Human+Development%22">Attachment & Human Development</searchLink>. Aug2024, Vol. 26 Issue 4, p350-365. 16p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Empathy%22">Empathy</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Self-evaluation%22">Self-evaluation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Research+funding%22">Research funding</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Attachment+behavior%22">Attachment behavior</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Compassion%22">Compassion</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Interviewing%22">Interviewing</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Questionnaires%22">Questionnaires</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+skills%22">Social skills</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Thought+%26+thinking%22">Thought & thinking</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Video+recording%22">Video recording</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Avoidance+%28Psychology%29%22">Avoidance (Psychology)</searchLink>
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  Data: Social processing, namely the ability to understand others' cognitive and affective states, is crucial for successful social interaction. It encompasses socio-affective abilities such as empathy and compassion, as well as socio-cognitive abilities such as theory of mind (ToM). This study examined the link between social processing and attachment. Our study goes beyond previous research in that social processing abilities were assessed in a single, state-of-the-art behavioral paradigm using video narratives, the EmpaToM. Attachment was captured with the Adult Attachment Interview (N = 85; 50.60% women, Mage = 25.87 ± 4.50 years) measuring participants' present-day capacity to think about and communicate attachment-relevant information about the past. Additionally, a self-report attachment questionnaire was employed (N = 158). We found that AAI-based attachment security (vs. insecurity) was associated with higher behavioral ToM abilities. Furthermore, self-reported attachment avoidance was negatively correlated with behavioral compassion abilities. Our findings provide further evidence that interview-based and self-reported attachment measures do not converge, but may rather be understood as capturing different facets of attachment that relate to different components of social processing. We conclude that individuals with secure, non-avoidant attachment show social abilities that allow them to better understand others' thoughts and generate positive, caring emotions in face of others' distress. Attachment is differentially associated with distinct behavioral social processing abilities, that is, compassion and theory of mind. Higher attachment security in the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) is linked to higher behavioral theory of mind abilities. Increased self-reported attachment avoidance is linked to lower behavioral compassion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Attachment & Human Development is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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RecordInfo BibRecord:
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      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1080/14616734.2024.2376762
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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      Pagination:
        PageCount: 16
        StartPage: 350
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Empathy
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Self-evaluation
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Research funding
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Attachment behavior
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Compassion
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Interviewing
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Questionnaires
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Social skills
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Thought & thinking
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Video recording
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Avoidance (Psychology)
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Attachment and inter-individual differences in empathy, compassion, and theory of mind abilities.
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            NameFull: Gallistl, Mathilde
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            NameFull: Kungl, Melanie
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            NameFull: Gabler, Sandra
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            – D: 01
              M: 08
              Text: Aug2024
              Type: published
              Y: 2024
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              Value: 26
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