Relationship between empathy and big-five personality factors in a college student sample

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PDF (Español (España)) Relación Entre la Empatía y los Cinco Grandes Factores de Personalidad en una Muestra de Estudiantes Universitarios (Español (España))
Published: Jul 22, 2015
DOI: https://doi.org/10.32348/1852.4206.v7.n2.9038
Keywords:
empathy, personality, big five model

Main Article Content

Jorge Daniel Iacovella
Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Psicología
Carlos Miguel Díaz-Lázaro
Walden University. College of Social and Behavioral Sciences
María Marta Richard´s
Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Psicología

Abstract

Empathy has been associated with many psychological variables such as prosocial behavior, aggression, and intergroup relations. In our study the relationship between empathy and the big five personality model was evaluated. The general hypothesis in our study is that empathy is positively associated with agreeableness, openness to experience, and conscientiousness; while negatively associated with extraversion and not associated with neuroticism.  The sample consisted of 117 male and female university students between 21 and 60 years old, assessed with regionally validated measures. Bivariate correlations and a hierarchical multiple regression were used to test the hypotheses. The effects of gender were controlled in the first step of the regression analysis. Consistent with the hypotheses, agreeableness, openness to experience, and conscientiousness were positively correlated with empathy. In the multiple regression analysis, agreeableness, openness to experience, conscientiousness, and extraversion also made statistically significant contributions in the prediction of empathy.

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How to Cite
Iacovella, J. D., Díaz-Lázaro, C. M., & Richard´s, M. M. (2015). Relationship between empathy and big-five personality factors in a college student sample. Argentinean Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 7(2), 14–21. https://doi.org/10.32348/1852.4206.v7.n2.9038
Issue
Vol. 7 No. 2 (2015): Revista Argentina de Ciencias del Comportamiento
Section
Original Articles

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Author Biographies

Jorge Daniel Iacovella, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Psicología

Docente, Area Investigación.

María Marta Richard´s, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Psicología

CONICET, CIMEPB y CIIPME.

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