Generational And Sex Differences In Relation To Empathy Among Pre-Graduate Teachers

Abstract

Insufficient attention is paid to the issue of empathy in the context of undergraduate teacher training. Nevertheless, empathy is one of the important skills that facilitates and deepens interpersonal relationships and strengthens interpersonal interactions. Empathy as a psychological construct consists of an affective (feeling an adequate emotion triggered by the emotions of others), cognitive (the ability to understand or predict what the other person might think, feel, do) and a mixed component (cognitive and affective). In this paper the authors focused on the differences in the degree of empathy based on various generations (X, Y, and Z generations) and sex. The data were obtained by means of the Empathy Quotient (EQ) approach on a sample of 313 pre-service teachers. The sample comprises 115 men and 196 women. The X generation was represented by 67, the Y generation by 104, and the Z generation by 140 students of teaching professions. The ANOVA test (using Welch’s correction) suggested that the level of empathy differed significantly in each age group of respondents, F (2, 177.048) = 99.131, p <.001. A post-hoc analysis (Games-Howell) confirmed significant differences among all groups (p <.001) with a gradually increasing degree of empathy. An independent t test suggested that the degree of empathy varied considerably across the groups of respondents by sex; women had significantly higher empathy scores than men, t (309 = -9.524, p <.001).

Keywords: Empathyteachersundergraduate studentsgeneration differencessex differences

Introduction

The origin of the word empathy dates back to the 1880s, when a German psychologist Theodore Lipps coined the term ‘Einfühlung’ to describe the emotional comprehension of another’s feelings (Zahavi & Rochat, 2015). The English term was then adapted by Edward B. Titchener (1909). However, investigating this construct dates back to the very beginnings of philosophical thinking. Despite the extensive research history, the term has so far not been clearly defined or consolidated (Decety & Jackson, 2004; Cuff, Brown, Taylor & Howat, 2016).

In contemporary psychology, empathy represents one of the important constructs, which is very closely linked with the ability of an individual to understand other people, communicate with them, and maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships. The ability to empathize with other people and understand their opinions and feelings has a considerable influence not only on social orientation and adaptation, but also on regulating and directing one’s own conduct. It is important for creating and maintaining close relationships (In a famous novel called To kill a Mockingbird, one of the themes is dependent on the concept of empathy. In the story, Atticus Finch tries to help his children to understand people’s behaviour towards to them. ‘You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view – until you climb into his skin and walk around in it’ (Lee, 1960, p. 24).) . The ability of empathy depends on the current status of the individual (anxiety, tension and stress significantly reduce the ability to empathize with others, perceive their feelings and understand them), individual motivation, experience, and whether or how much the person feels responsible towards others (Vreeke, van der Mark, 2003; Singer & Klimecki, 2014; Vágnerová, 2016).

Problem Statement

The issue of empathy among students of teaching professions has so far not been given sufficient attention. Teachers are classified (similarly to medical staff, social workers, psychologists, etc.) as helping professions (Kvintova, Dobesova Cakirpaloglu, Szotkowski, 2017); it is assumed that these professionals have a high degree of prosocial behaviour and empathy, which form the basis of their interactions with their clients and which also represent a significant aspect of their professional efficiency. Many authors agree that the personality of helping professionals is basically their most important instrument and that empathy (as well as prosocial behaviour) has a strong influence on the structure of their personality (Grant & Kinman, 2013; Wagaman et al., 2015). The data on the degree of empathy among teachers and students of teaching professions and on further development of these competences in the course of undergraduate preparation or professional career are still missing. We believe that this information should be obtained and subject to research investigation.

Research Questions

In the present paper, the following research questions relating to undergraduate students of teaching professions were formulated:

• What is the degree of empathy among students of teaching professions?

• What are the differences in the degree of empathy between sexes?

• What are the differences in the degree of empathy in relation to various generations (X, Y, Z)?

Purpose of the Study

The present paper is part of an extensive research study mapping the issue selected protective and risk factors in pre-service teachers. The general objective is to extend the knowledge base about the group of students of teaching professions. The main objective is to analyse the degree of empathy among students of teaching professions based on their sex and generation. It is assumed that the results of the analysis focusing on this sample might help and encourage modification of teaching approaches and methods as part of specialized psychological courses taught in faculties of education.

Research Methods

The research data were obtained by means of the standardized Empathy Quotient (EQ) questionnaire. Specifically, this was a shortened version of the original 80 item questionnaire designed by Simon Baron-Cohen. This questionnaire was developed in response to conceptual imperfections of previous empathy measuring methods. In this concept, empathy in considered a two-component construct consisting of an affective (feeling an adequate emotion triggered by the emotions of others), cognitive (the ability to understand or predict what the other person might think, feel, do) and a mixed component (cognitive and affective) (Wakabayashi, 2006). The authors of the shortened 8 item version used in the present study are Peter J. Loewen, Greg Lyle and Jennifer S. Nachshen. The answers in the questionnaire are indicated on a four-point Likert scale from ‘strongly disagree’ (1) to ‘strongly agree’ (4).

The following statistical procedures were used for data processing: descriptive statistics (frequency, relative frequency, median, standard deviation), ANOVA test, Welch’s correction, Games-Howell Post-hoc analysis and independent t test; for comparison purposes with other studies, average percentiles (This is not a percentile position concerning the population but a percentile position in the score range in specific questionnaires.) of the degree of empathy in various studies were calculated. In studies (In both cases, the studies involved in the comparison used the IRI questionnaire - Interpersonal Reactivity Index (Davis, 1980; 1983).) which used an empathy questionnaire to monitor specific subscales rather than the overall score the total score was calculated as an average of individual subscales. The data were analysed using the SPSS programme (version 22).

Findings

During the stage of data analysis, overview tables including descriptive statistics of the Empathy Quotient (EQ) questionnaire were created; at first for the entire sample and then for the independent variables of sex and generation (X, Y, and Z; see Table 01 , 02, 03).

Conclusion

The present study analysed the degree of empathy among students of teaching professions. The results suggest that students of teaching professions achieve a lower degree of empathy than students of other courses (education and social work) in the category of helping professions. The result is interesting and somewhat unexpected. The relatively low percentile achieved by the students involved in this study and by the respondents in Štěrba’s study (2015) is unsatisfactory regarding the significance of empathy in helping professions. From an interpretative perspective, there are several explanations: a) in terms of content, education and social work is more focused on the use of empathetic skills compared with teaching professions; b) teaching professions are generally selected by students with a lower degree of empathy; c) the design of education and social work courses is more focused on the development of empathetic skills; d) in the study by Mlčák and Záškodná (2007) the research sample consisted only of women, who generally show (at least in self-report scales) a higher degree of empathy.

In this context, it should be added that available sources did not include any studies on the degree of empathy in the general population carried out in the Czech Republic. A comparison with the general population would be desirable and would help refine the actual state and the degree of empathy among students of teaching professions. A comparison with international studies or the standards of the questionnaire was not considered appropriate regarding the different socio-cultural background in various countries and their educational systems. It should also be noted that the comparison of the percentiles in the present study is indicative and cannot be considered an exact measure because the empathy curves in various questionnaires are not identical.

The differences in the degree of empathy among students of teaching professions in relation to sex were as anticipated. Women showed a higher degree of empathy than men. This is due to general differences between men and women in their emotional response (see for example Rueckert, Branch, Doan, 2011), but also the application of self-report scale in this research study because it was observed (see for example Eisenberg, Lennon, 1983) that in the case of these test instruments, women generally showed a higher degree of empathy compared with men.

Various generations differ not only in behaviour, but also in their opinions, which affect all areas of their social and personal life (Zolkifi, 2014). For this reason, it was interesting to monitor the variations in the degree of empathy across generations (X, Y, Z). An analysis of these differences suggested a gradually lower degree of empathy in younger generations. The results of the present study confirm the outcomes of other studies (see for example Twenge et al., 2012; Metz, 2017). It can therefore be concluded that one of the fundamental characteristics of the Z generation and partially also the Y generation - frequent use of technologies and reduced functioning in the real world - is likely to decrease person’s engagement with the self, others, and the environment (Twenge et al., 2012; Metz, 2017). On the other hand, other possible explanations should be mentioned as well. Perhaps the most significant aspect is the age of the respondents in various generations (see Research sample). The comparison includes individuals of various ages; their differing amount and type of experience could have considerably affected the resulting degree of empathy.

The authors of the present study believe that research on empathy aimed at helping professions (specifically the teaching profession) is desirable and could bring a number of interesting and practical findings. Following this study, it seems appropriate to use a much broader sample of respondents, to extend the test battery by using additional empathy measuring instruments, and to include other personality traits. The data collected in this study can be used particularly to extend the content of psychological courses for undergraduate teacher training by including aspects of empathy, and to include practical training of empathetic skills in psychology courses.

Limitations of the study include particularly the relatively small sample of respondents, which makes it impossible to generalize the results. Also, it should be considered whether the method used in the study is appropriate (questionnaire method with its advantages and disadvantages), including the specific choice of the EQ-8 method. Another limitation might be that the comparison of the degree of empathy in undergraduate students of teaching professions included students of identical courses (teacher training and helping professions - social work and education). It would also be desirable to perform a comparison with standards (not available for the Czech population concerning the method applied) or with studies investigating empathy in the general population.

Acknowledgments

The study is dedicated to the following project. Internal grant of the Faculty of Education, Palacký University: Dean’s grant 2017 Risks and protective factors among teachers in undergraduate preparedness and IGA_PdF_2017_033 Analysis of life satisfaction and self-concept in relation to the use of social networks in pre-service teachers.

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