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http://dx.doi.org/10.14695/KJSOS.2021.24.1.45

The Effect of Empathic Concern and Perspective Taking on the Relationship Between Trait-Anger and Aggression  

Cho, Myung Hyun (서강대학교 심리학과)
Publication Information
Science of Emotion and Sensibility / v.24, no.1, 2021 , pp. 45-58 More about this Journal
Abstract
Aggressive behavior triggered by the tendency to become angry is generating various social problems. To combat these various social issues, it is important to recognize the role that empathy plays in preventing those with trait-anger from becoming aggressive. More specifically, the hypothesis that empathic concern and perspective taking would mitigate the association between trait-anger and aggression was examined through this study. 329 college students participated in a survey containing questions related to trait-anger, aggression, empathic concern and perspective taking. The results showed that empathic concern moderated the association between trait-anger and aggression, whereas perspective taking did not. That is, those who are emotionally empathetic do not act aggressively easily even if their trait-anger is high; while those who are cognitively empathetic struggle to reduce the likelihood of their trait-anger leading to aggressive behavior. The result of this study indicates that emotional empathy was more useful than cognitive empathy in preventing those with trait-anger leading to aggressive behaviors. The implications, limitations and future directions of this study were also considered and presented as well.
Keywords
Trait-Anger; Aggression; Empathic Concern; Perspective Taking;
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