Men, women…who cares? A population-based study on sex differences and gender roles in empathy and moral cognition

Autores
Báez Buitrago, Sandra Jimena; Flichtentrei, Daniel; Prats, María; Mastandueno, Ricardo; García, Adolfo Martín; Cetkovich, Marcelo; Ibáñez Barassi, Agustín Mariano
Año de publicación
2017
Idioma
inglés
Tipo de recurso
artículo
Estado
versión publicada
Descripción
Research on sex differences in empathy has revealed mixed findings. Whereas experimental and neuropsychological measures show no consistent sex effect, self-report data consistently indicates greater empathy in women. However, available results mainly come from separate populations with relatively small samples, which may inflate effect sizes and hinder comparability between both empirical corpora. To elucidate the issue, we conducted two large-scale studies. First, we examined whether sex differences emerge in a large population-based sample (n = 10,802) when empathy is measured with an experimental empathy-for-pain paradigm. Moreover, we investigated the relationship between empathy and moral judgment. In the second study, a subsample (n = 334) completed a self-report empathy questionnaire. Results showed some sex differences in the experimental paradigm, but with minuscule effect sizes. Conversely, women did portray themselves as more empathic through self-reports. In addition, utilitarian responses to moral dilemmas were less frequent in women, although these differences also had small effect sizes. These findings suggest that sex differences in empathy are highly driven by the assessment measure. In particular, self-reports may induce biases leading individuals to assume gender-role stereotypes. Awareness of the role of measurement instruments in this field may hone our understanding of the links between empathy, sex differences, and gender roles.
Fil: Báez Buitrago, Sandra Jimena. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva. Fundación Favaloro. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva; Argentina. Universidad de los Andes; Colombia
Fil: Flichtentrei, Daniel. IntraMed; Argentina
Fil: Prats, María. IntraMed; Argentina
Fil: Mastandueno, Ricardo. IntraMed; Argentina
Fil: García, Adolfo Martín. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva. Fundación Favaloro. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Educación Elemental y Especial; Argentina
Fil: Cetkovich, Marcelo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva. Fundación Favaloro. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva; Argentina
Fil: Ibáñez Barassi, Agustín Mariano. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva. Fundación Favaloro. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva; Argentina. Universidad Adolfo Ibañez; Chile. Australian Research Council ; Australia
Materia
GENDER ROLES
MORAL COGNITION
Nivel de accesibilidad
acceso abierto
Condiciones de uso
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ar/
Repositorio
CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Institución
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
OAI Identificador
oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/48492
Acceder
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network_acronym_str CONICETDig
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network_name_str CONICET Digital (CONICET)
spelling Men, women…who cares? A population-based study on sex differences and gender roles in empathy and moral cognitionBáez Buitrago, Sandra JimenaFlichtentrei, DanielPrats, MaríaMastandueno, RicardoGarcía, Adolfo MartínCetkovich, MarceloIbáñez Barassi, Agustín MarianoGENDER ROLESMORAL COGNITIONhttps://purl.org/becyt/ford/3.1https://purl.org/becyt/ford/3Research on sex differences in empathy has revealed mixed findings. Whereas experimental and neuropsychological measures show no consistent sex effect, self-report data consistently indicates greater empathy in women. However, available results mainly come from separate populations with relatively small samples, which may inflate effect sizes and hinder comparability between both empirical corpora. To elucidate the issue, we conducted two large-scale studies. First, we examined whether sex differences emerge in a large population-based sample (n = 10,802) when empathy is measured with an experimental empathy-for-pain paradigm. Moreover, we investigated the relationship between empathy and moral judgment. In the second study, a subsample (n = 334) completed a self-report empathy questionnaire. Results showed some sex differences in the experimental paradigm, but with minuscule effect sizes. Conversely, women did portray themselves as more empathic through self-reports. In addition, utilitarian responses to moral dilemmas were less frequent in women, although these differences also had small effect sizes. These findings suggest that sex differences in empathy are highly driven by the assessment measure. In particular, self-reports may induce biases leading individuals to assume gender-role stereotypes. Awareness of the role of measurement instruments in this field may hone our understanding of the links between empathy, sex differences, and gender roles.Fil: Báez Buitrago, Sandra Jimena. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva. Fundación Favaloro. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva; Argentina. Universidad de los Andes; ColombiaFil: Flichtentrei, Daniel. IntraMed; ArgentinaFil: Prats, María. IntraMed; ArgentinaFil: Mastandueno, Ricardo. IntraMed; ArgentinaFil: García, Adolfo Martín. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva. Fundación Favaloro. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Educación Elemental y Especial; ArgentinaFil: Cetkovich, Marcelo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva. Fundación Favaloro. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva; ArgentinaFil: Ibáñez Barassi, Agustín Mariano. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva. Fundación Favaloro. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva; Argentina. Universidad Adolfo Ibañez; Chile. Australian Research Council ; AustraliaPublic Library of Science2017-06info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionhttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501info:ar-repo/semantics/articuloapplication/pdfapplication/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/11336/48492Báez Buitrago, Sandra Jimena; Flichtentrei, Daniel; Prats, María; Mastandueno, Ricardo; García, Adolfo Martín; et al.; Men, women…who cares? A population-based study on sex differences and gender roles in empathy and moral cognition; Public Library of Science; Plos One; 12; 6; 6-2017; 1-21; e01793361932-6203CONICET DigitalCONICETenginfo:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0179336info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/url/http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0179336info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccesshttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ar/reponame:CONICET Digital (CONICET)instname:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas2025-10-22T11:10:56Zoai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/48492instacron:CONICETInstitucionalhttp://ri.conicet.gov.ar/Organismo científico-tecnológicoNo correspondehttp://ri.conicet.gov.ar/oai/requestdasensio@conicet.gov.ar; lcarlino@conicet.gov.arArgentinaNo correspondeNo correspondeNo correspondeopendoar:34982025-10-22 11:10:56.956CONICET Digital (CONICET) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicasfalse
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Men, women…who cares? A population-based study on sex differences and gender roles in empathy and moral cognition
title Men, women…who cares? A population-based study on sex differences and gender roles in empathy and moral cognition
spellingShingle Men, women…who cares? A population-based study on sex differences and gender roles in empathy and moral cognition
Báez Buitrago, Sandra Jimena
GENDER ROLES
MORAL COGNITION
title_short Men, women…who cares? A population-based study on sex differences and gender roles in empathy and moral cognition
title_full Men, women…who cares? A population-based study on sex differences and gender roles in empathy and moral cognition
title_fullStr Men, women…who cares? A population-based study on sex differences and gender roles in empathy and moral cognition
title_full_unstemmed Men, women…who cares? A population-based study on sex differences and gender roles in empathy and moral cognition
title_sort Men, women…who cares? A population-based study on sex differences and gender roles in empathy and moral cognition
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Báez Buitrago, Sandra Jimena
Flichtentrei, Daniel
Prats, María
Mastandueno, Ricardo
García, Adolfo Martín
Cetkovich, Marcelo
Ibáñez Barassi, Agustín Mariano
author Báez Buitrago, Sandra Jimena
author_facet Báez Buitrago, Sandra Jimena
Flichtentrei, Daniel
Prats, María
Mastandueno, Ricardo
García, Adolfo Martín
Cetkovich, Marcelo
Ibáñez Barassi, Agustín Mariano
author_role author
author2 Flichtentrei, Daniel
Prats, María
Mastandueno, Ricardo
García, Adolfo Martín
Cetkovich, Marcelo
Ibáñez Barassi, Agustín Mariano
author2_role author
author
author
author
author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv GENDER ROLES
MORAL COGNITION
topic GENDER ROLES
MORAL COGNITION
purl_subject.fl_str_mv https://purl.org/becyt/ford/3.1
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/3
dc.description.none.fl_txt_mv Research on sex differences in empathy has revealed mixed findings. Whereas experimental and neuropsychological measures show no consistent sex effect, self-report data consistently indicates greater empathy in women. However, available results mainly come from separate populations with relatively small samples, which may inflate effect sizes and hinder comparability between both empirical corpora. To elucidate the issue, we conducted two large-scale studies. First, we examined whether sex differences emerge in a large population-based sample (n = 10,802) when empathy is measured with an experimental empathy-for-pain paradigm. Moreover, we investigated the relationship between empathy and moral judgment. In the second study, a subsample (n = 334) completed a self-report empathy questionnaire. Results showed some sex differences in the experimental paradigm, but with minuscule effect sizes. Conversely, women did portray themselves as more empathic through self-reports. In addition, utilitarian responses to moral dilemmas were less frequent in women, although these differences also had small effect sizes. These findings suggest that sex differences in empathy are highly driven by the assessment measure. In particular, self-reports may induce biases leading individuals to assume gender-role stereotypes. Awareness of the role of measurement instruments in this field may hone our understanding of the links between empathy, sex differences, and gender roles.
Fil: Báez Buitrago, Sandra Jimena. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva. Fundación Favaloro. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva; Argentina. Universidad de los Andes; Colombia
Fil: Flichtentrei, Daniel. IntraMed; Argentina
Fil: Prats, María. IntraMed; Argentina
Fil: Mastandueno, Ricardo. IntraMed; Argentina
Fil: García, Adolfo Martín. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva. Fundación Favaloro. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Educación Elemental y Especial; Argentina
Fil: Cetkovich, Marcelo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva. Fundación Favaloro. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva; Argentina
Fil: Ibáñez Barassi, Agustín Mariano. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva. Fundación Favaloro. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva; Argentina. Universidad Adolfo Ibañez; Chile. Australian Research Council ; Australia
description Research on sex differences in empathy has revealed mixed findings. Whereas experimental and neuropsychological measures show no consistent sex effect, self-report data consistently indicates greater empathy in women. However, available results mainly come from separate populations with relatively small samples, which may inflate effect sizes and hinder comparability between both empirical corpora. To elucidate the issue, we conducted two large-scale studies. First, we examined whether sex differences emerge in a large population-based sample (n = 10,802) when empathy is measured with an experimental empathy-for-pain paradigm. Moreover, we investigated the relationship between empathy and moral judgment. In the second study, a subsample (n = 334) completed a self-report empathy questionnaire. Results showed some sex differences in the experimental paradigm, but with minuscule effect sizes. Conversely, women did portray themselves as more empathic through self-reports. In addition, utilitarian responses to moral dilemmas were less frequent in women, although these differences also had small effect sizes. These findings suggest that sex differences in empathy are highly driven by the assessment measure. In particular, self-reports may induce biases leading individuals to assume gender-role stereotypes. Awareness of the role of measurement instruments in this field may hone our understanding of the links between empathy, sex differences, and gender roles.
publishDate 2017
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2017-06
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
info:ar-repo/semantics/articulo
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/11336/48492
Báez Buitrago, Sandra Jimena; Flichtentrei, Daniel; Prats, María; Mastandueno, Ricardo; García, Adolfo Martín; et al.; Men, women…who cares? A population-based study on sex differences and gender roles in empathy and moral cognition; Public Library of Science; Plos One; 12; 6; 6-2017; 1-21; e0179336
1932-6203
CONICET Digital
CONICET
url http://hdl.handle.net/11336/48492
identifier_str_mv Báez Buitrago, Sandra Jimena; Flichtentrei, Daniel; Prats, María; Mastandueno, Ricardo; García, Adolfo Martín; et al.; Men, women…who cares? A population-based study on sex differences and gender roles in empathy and moral cognition; Public Library of Science; Plos One; 12; 6; 6-2017; 1-21; e0179336
1932-6203
CONICET Digital
CONICET
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv eng
language eng
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0179336
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/url/http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0179336
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ar/
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ar/
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Public Library of Science
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Public Library of Science
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:CONICET Digital (CONICET)
instname:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
reponame_str CONICET Digital (CONICET)
collection CONICET Digital (CONICET)
instname_str Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
repository.name.fl_str_mv CONICET Digital (CONICET) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
repository.mail.fl_str_mv dasensio@conicet.gov.ar; lcarlino@conicet.gov.ar
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score 12.982451

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