Journal of Personality and Social Psycholology, 1992 Dec;63(6):969-77

Empathy: a physiological substrate.*

Levenson RW, Ruef AM
Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley 94720.

The relation between empathy (defined as the ability to perceive accurately how another person is feeling) and physiology was studied in 31 Ss. Ss viewed 15-min martial interactions and used a rating dial to indicate continuously how they thought a designated spouse was feeling. Rating accuracy was determined by comparing Ss' ratings with identical self-ratings obtained previously from the target spouse. Physiological linkage between S and target was determined using bivariate time-series analyses applied to 5 autonomic and somatic measures obtained from the S during the rating task and from the target spouse during the original conversation. Accuracy of rating negative emotion was greatest when S and target evidenced high levels of physiological linkage across time. Accuracy of detecting positive emotion was related to a state of low cardiovascular around in the S, but not to physiological linkage between S and target.

* Reproduced with permission of the APA - Journal of Personality and Social Psychology