title: Can Text Messages Increase Empathy and Prosocial Behavior? The Development and Initial Validation of Text to Connect.
abstract: To what extent can simple mental exercises cause shifts in empathic habits? Can we use mobile technology to make people more empathic? It may depend on how empathy is measured. Scholars have identified a number of different facets and correlates of empathy. This study is among the first to take a comprehensive, multidimensional approach to empathy to determine how empathy training could affect these different facets and correlates. In doing so, we can learn more about empathy and its multifaceted nature. Participants (N = 90) were randomly assigned to receive either an empathy-building text message program (Text to Connect) or one of two control conditions (active versus passive). Respondents completed measures of dispositional empathy (i.e. self-perceptions of being an empathic person), affective empathy (i.e. motivations to help, immediate feelings of empathic concern), and prosocial behavior (i.e. self-reports and observer-reports) at baseline, and then again after the 14 day intervention period. We found that empathy-building messages increased affective indicators of empathy and prosocial behaviors, but actually decreased self-perceptions of empathy, relative to control messages. Although the brief text messaging intervention did not consistently impact empathy-related personality traits, it holds promise for the use of mobile technology for changing empathic motivations and behaviors.
authors.affiliation: Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN, United States of America; Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States of America; Department of Psychiatry, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, United States of America.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Konrath
authors.affiliation: Annenberg School of Communication, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States of America.
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Falk
authors.affiliation: Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States of America.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fuhrel-Forbis
authors.affiliation: Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States of America.
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Psychology, and the Center for Human Growth and Development, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States of America.
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Swain
authors.affiliation: School of Social Work, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States of America.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tolman
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States of America; Injury Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States of America.
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cunningham
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Psychology, and the Center for Human Growth and Development, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States of America; Injury Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States of America.
authors.forename: Maureen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Walton
mesh_terms: D004645:Empathy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011897:Random Allocation; D012919:Social Behavior; D060145:Text Messaging