title: Aging, empathy, and prosociality.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Although empathy is a well-established motivation in younger adults for helping others, it is not known whether this extends to aging. Prioritization of socioemotional goals with age may increase the salience of helping others (i.e., prosocial behavior), but older adults also experience decreased cognitive empathy. Thus, we investigated age-related differences in relationships among empathy and prosocial behavior.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were 24 younger (M = 19.8 years) and 24 older (M = 77.9 years) healthy adults. Whereas participants believed the study involved playing the dictator game, in reality, state emotional empathy was induced implicitly through a note from an opponent describing their experience with cancer. Prosocial behavior was measured by participants' monetary offers to that opponent.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Older adults showed greater prosocial behavior due to the empathy induction than younger adults. There was a positive association between state emotional empathy ratings and prosocial behavior in older, but not in younger adults, and preliminary evidence for higher state emotional empathy levels in older adults with higher trait cognitive empathy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This suggests that in contexts relevant to socioemotional goals, older adults may be more motivated than younger adults to help others and state emotional empathy may be a potential mechanism for greater prosocial behavior in aging.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA. janelle-beadle@uiowa.edu.
authors.forename: Janelle N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Beadle
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA.
authors.forename: Alexander H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Sheehan
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA.
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Dahlben
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA.
authors.forename: Angela H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Gutchess
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D004645:Empathy / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006379:Helping Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012919:Social Behavior; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Aging; Economic decision making; Empathy; Prosocial.