TY - JOUR
T1 - The relationship between cognitive failures and empathy
AU - Goodhew, Stephanie C.
AU - Edwards, Mark
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Author(s)
PY - 2022/2
Y1 - 2022/2
N2 - Cognitive empathy (or theory of mind) is the capacity to understand others' thoughts and feelings, while affective empathy is the tendency to be affected by others' feelings. There is evidence that successful attentional control is related to increased cognitive empathy but reduced affective empathy. Here, we investigated whether empathy relates to real-world cognitive failures, which are associated with attentional control. We examined the relationship between individual differences in the propensity to experience everyday cognitive failures using the widely-validated Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ), and cognitive versus affective empathy (using the Questionnaire of Cognitive and Affective Empathy) in a sample of 394 participants. We found qualitatively different relationships between general cognitive failures and the two components of empathy, such that individuals prone to cognitive failures experienced reduced tendency to understand others' perspective, but experienced greater feeling of others' emotions. When we considered the sub-factors of Cognitive Failures (Forgetfulness, Distractibility and False-Triggering), they were equivalently related to Affective Empathy. However, for Cognitive Empathy, Distractibility-related cognitive failures were uniquely negatively associated, while Forgetfulness-related cognitive failures were positively associated. Implications for the interplay between cognitive and socio-emotional factors, and the conceptualization of cognitive failures are discussed.
AB - Cognitive empathy (or theory of mind) is the capacity to understand others' thoughts and feelings, while affective empathy is the tendency to be affected by others' feelings. There is evidence that successful attentional control is related to increased cognitive empathy but reduced affective empathy. Here, we investigated whether empathy relates to real-world cognitive failures, which are associated with attentional control. We examined the relationship between individual differences in the propensity to experience everyday cognitive failures using the widely-validated Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ), and cognitive versus affective empathy (using the Questionnaire of Cognitive and Affective Empathy) in a sample of 394 participants. We found qualitatively different relationships between general cognitive failures and the two components of empathy, such that individuals prone to cognitive failures experienced reduced tendency to understand others' perspective, but experienced greater feeling of others' emotions. When we considered the sub-factors of Cognitive Failures (Forgetfulness, Distractibility and False-Triggering), they were equivalently related to Affective Empathy. However, for Cognitive Empathy, Distractibility-related cognitive failures were uniquely negatively associated, while Forgetfulness-related cognitive failures were positively associated. Implications for the interplay between cognitive and socio-emotional factors, and the conceptualization of cognitive failures are discussed.
KW - Affective empathy
KW - Attentional control
KW - Cognitive empathy
KW - Cognitive failures
KW - Empathy
KW - Theory of mind
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85118554074&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.paid.2021.111384
DO - 10.1016/j.paid.2021.111384
M3 - Article
SN - 0191-8869
VL - 186
JO - Personality and Individual Differences
JF - Personality and Individual Differences
M1 - 111384
ER -