The role of empathic positive emotions in the social behavior of Argentinean teenagers
Abstract
The purpose of the present investigation was to analyze if the empathic po- sitive emotions, sympathy and gratitude influence teenager’s social behavior. The sample was composed of 255 participants of both sexes (109 women and 146 men), aged 14-18 (M =15.97, DE = 1.18), who attended different schools in Buenos Aires province. In order to get the information, it was used: a) the Index of Empathy for children and teenagers (Frías, Mestre, Perez and Samper, 1999); b) the gratitude scale corresponding to the Questionnaire of Positive Emotions for teenagers (Schmidt, 2005) and c) the Assertive Behavior scale (Michelson, Sugay, Wood and Kasdin, 1987). The results from MANO-VAs (Multivariate analysis of variance) show that both sympathy and gratitude influence signifi- cantly teenager’s social behavior. Participants with high sympathy and gratitude show more assertive behaviors and less aggressive strategies in their social re- lationships. It corroborates the hypothesis that empathic emotion can enhance the development and performance of socially skilled behavior. Nevertheless, is important to note that this relation may not be unidirectional, but those positive emotions can enhance assertive behavior and this, in turn, provide feedback for positive emotional experience as it is expressed by the model of rising spiral by Fredrickson (Fredrickson, 2002).
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