Actors are Skilled in Theory of Mind but Not Empathy

Abstract

Actors must imagine themselves in a different world: they must adopt the perspective of multiple characters, grasp their beliefs and intentions, and feel their emotions. In this study we tested the hypothesis that actors have unusually sharp mind-reading abilities and unusually strong empathy. In Study 1, adolescent actors outperformed adolescents without acting experience in their ability to imagine the mental states expressed by pictures of peoples' eyes (a theory of mind measure), but did not excel on empathy as measured by a self-report scale. In Study 2, we replicated these findings with young adults using a different measure of theory of mind. These findings show that adolescent and adult actors are skilled in reading others' mental states, but do not report above average levels of empathy. Thus, strength in theory of mind can exist independently of strength in empathy.

Can Music Increase Empathy? Interpreting Musical Experience Through the Empathizing–Systemizing (E-S) Theory: Implications for Autism

“…Acting, for example, requires elevated levels of theory of mind (e.g. Goldstein, Wu, & Winner, 2009). But actors too have varying approaches.…”

Correlations Among Social‐Cognitive Skills in Adolescents Involved in Acting or Arts Classes

“…Bullies and psychopaths are sometimes strong in understanding what others are thinking and feeling, but weak in empathy: they can understand what the victim may be feeling but they do not feel the victim's suffering. Previous work has shown that actors have advantages on theory of mind but not empathy (Goldstein et al, 2009), although other work has shown actor advantages on empathy (Nettle, 2006), without measuring theory of mind.…”

“…Work on theory of mind development in middle childhood and adolescence has been sparse. However, we do know that the brain structures underlying perspective taking continue to develop throughout adolescence (Choudhury, Blakemore, & Charman, 2006), and that individual differences in theory of mind exist in adolescence and adulthood (e.g., Goldstein et al, 2009; Lee, Harkness, Sabbagh, & Jacobson, 2005; Mar, Oatley, Hirsh, Dela Paz, & Peterson, 2006).…”

“…420–421). A few studies have found links between theory of mind or similar skills, and acting or acting‐like training (Chandler, 1973; Goldstein et al, 2009; Goldstein & Winner, in press), but no studies have linked theory of mind and music or art training. Music and visual arts simply do not have this mental state emphasis.…”

Development and pilot randomized control trial of a drama program to enhance well-being among older adults

“…In correlational studies examining the relationship between empathy and acting, research has been mixed. In one study, group differences in empathy were found among actors compared to nonactors (Nettle, 2006), whereas another study found no differences between actors and nonactors on self-reported levels of empathy (Goldstein, Wu, & Winner, 2009). More recently, researchers have begun to examine the causal impact of acting on various outcomes.…”