Are personality traits really weak/moderate predictors of empathy?

Lourinho, Isabel; Severo, Mílton

doi:10.3109/0142159x.2013.786169

Cited by 9 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…Measured with these questionnaires, this means that the intention to show empathic behavior is not influenced by personality traits. Our results are not necessarily in conflict with the literature (Del Barrio et al 2004 ; Nettle 2007 ; Magalhães et al 2012 ; Lourinho and Severo 2013 ; Costa et al 2014 ; Wakabayashi and Kawashima 2015 ; Melchers et al 2016 ), which showed an association between personality and empathy. It might be that persons with specific personality traits vary in showing empathy even though the intention might be equal.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 85%

“…Other authors (Magalhães et al 2012 ; Costa et al 2014 ) measured the level of empathy using the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy (JSPE) (Kane et al 2007 ), and both showed a significant correlation between Agreeableness and Openness and the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy score. Others (Lourinho and Severo 2013 ; Melchers et al 2016 ) used the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (Davis 1983 ), demonstrating a correlation between Agreeableness (Lourinho and Severo 2013 ; Melchers et al 2016 ), Conscientiousness (Melchers et al 2016 ) and Openness (Lourinho and Severo 2013 ) and Interpersonal Reactivity Index score. Inconsistent findings may reflect the use of different questionnaires; regardless they emphasize the need for further conceptual reflection.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Does medical students’ personality have an impact on their intention to show empathic behavior?

Seitz¹,

Längle

Seidman

et al. 2018

Arch Womens Ment Health

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Several studies have demonstrated a correlation between specific personal traits and empathy. However, it is not clear if persons with certain personality traits lack the intent to show empathic behavior or if other factors independent of their intent are affecting their empathic behavior. To answer this question, we asked 132 medical students to fill out questionnaires evaluating the General Intention to Show Empathic Behavior (GISEB) and the five personality traits measured by NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI). Additionally, we evaluated the influence of other factors, such as age, gender, curricular progress (second versus fourth year), and preferred specialization after graduation. We performed a Pearson’s correlation and a regression analysis. Results indicate that the five personality traits and gender have little influence on the General Intention (GISEB), only extraversion (r = .221, 95% CI [.013–.394], p = .027), and agreeableness (r = .229, 95% CI [.021–.428], p = .022) correlated with the intention. The only predictor for General Intention (GISEB) was curricular progress (β = − .27, p < .05), showing a decrease of General Intention to Show Empathic Behavior from second to fourth year of university (U = 1203.5, p = .002). A further finding indicates that gender and personality influence the students’ wish of specialization after graduation: Agreeableness (F(12, 53) = 2.376, p = .016) impacted the preferred specialization. Our study demonstrated that medical students’ personality might not notably impact the intention to show empathic behavior. Further research is needed to investigate moderating effects.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 85%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does medical students’ personality have an impact on their intention to show empathic behavior?

Seitz¹,

Längle

Seidman

et al. 2018

Arch Womens Ment Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Both Agreeableness and Openness to Experience have previously been linked with superior academic and clinical performance in studies of medical students and physicians [31, 32]. Specifically, Openness to Experience has been linked with increased cognitive flexibility [33], as well as empathy measures which would be expected to prove beneficial in academic or clinical work measures [34]. Additionally, high Extraversion has previously been shown to be beneficial for physician’ collaboration and communication skills in professional practice [34], and this is consistent with the finding that students scoring high for Extraversion also provide high scores under the “Interactions with team” professionalism category.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Medical students’ empathy and attitudes towards professionalism: Relationship with personality, specialty preference and medical programme

et al. 2019

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Background Existing research has suggested that self-reported empathy in medical students is moderated by personality traits and diverse demographic and educational factors including age, gender, nationality, career aspirations, as well as year of curriculum. It is unclear how empathy, personality, and background factors might impact on students’ attitudes towards professionalism in medicine. Methods A cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted in first and final year medical students at an Irish medical school. The following instruments were administered: (a) Jefferson Scale of Empathy; (b) NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI-3); (c) Attitudes towards Professionalism Scale. Demographic and educational variables were also measured. Descriptive and correlational analysis was conducted to examine the association between empathy, personality, professionalism-related attitudes and additional measures. Regression analysis was used to examine determinants of attitudes towards professional behaviour. Results Both selected NEO-FFI personality traits and empathy were independently associated with distinct categories of professional behaviour. Specifically, Openness to Experience was associated with higher empathy scores, and higher ‘Social responsibility’. Extraversion was linked with higher scores on the “Personal characteristics” and “Interactions with team” categories, while Conscientiousness was also positively associated with “Personal characteristics”. In agreement with previous studies, the personality traits most associated empathy were Agreeableness and Openness to Experience. Empathy did not vary according to programme year or career specialty preference. Conclusions This study is the first to show that empathy and personality factors may act as determinants of students’ attitudes towards medical professionalism in a manner which is dependent upon category of professional behaviour.

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“…FFM comprises the broad trait dimensions referred to as OCEAN: openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism (or emotional stability which is the opposite of neuroticism) and their more specific facets [ 15 ]. For example, personality traits have already been linked to empathy in medical students [ 16 ] and to mental health [ 17 ]. As regarding the association of personality traits with medical academic achievement, the personality trait of conscientiousness appears to be a predictor of success [ 18 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Personality and achievement along medical training: Evidence from a cross-lagged analysis

2017

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Are personality traits really weak/moderate predictors of empathy?

Cited by 9 publications

References 1 publication

Does medical students’ personality have an impact on their intention to show empathic behavior?

Does medical students’ personality have an impact on their intention to show empathic behavior?

Medical students’ empathy and attitudes towards professionalism: Relationship with personality, specialty preference and medical programme

Personality and achievement along medical training: Evidence from a cross-lagged analysis

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