title: Empathic concern and perspective taking: linear and quadratic effects of age across the adult life span.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We investigated linear and quadratic effects of age on self-reported empathy in three large cross-sectional samples of American adults aged 18-90 years.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants completed subscales of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (Davis, 1983), allowing us to independently assess an emotional component of empathy ("empathic concern") and a cognitive component of empathy ("perspective taking") across the adult life span.
  
  
  RESULTS
  For both measures and in all three samples, we found evidence for an inverse-U-shaped pattern across age: Middle-aged adults reported higher empathy than both young adults and older adults. We also found a consistent gender difference: Women reported more empathy than men. We did not find systematic differences by ethnicity. However, neither gender nor ethnicity interacted with age effects.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We discuss the inverse-U-shaped age pattern, in terms of aging versus cohort influences, and how it complements and extends the existing literature on empathy and age.
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Group Dynamics, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, 426 Thompson Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48106, USA. obrieneh@umich.edu
authors.forename: Ed
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: O'Brien
authors.forename: Sara H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Konrath
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Grühn
authors.forename: Anna Linda
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Hagen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D001213:Asian / Q000523:psychology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004645:Empathy; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011581:Psychological Tests; D012737:Sex Factors; D055815:Young Adult