Modeling empathy: building a link between affective and cognitive processes

Reliability of Emotion Analysis from Human Facial Expressions Using Multi-task Cascaded Convolutional Neural Networks

Life support robots in care settings must be able to read a person's emotions from facial expressions to achieve empathic communication. This study aims to determine the degree of agreement between Multi-task Cascaded Convolutional Neural Networks (MTCNN) results and human subjective emotion analysis as a function to be installed in this type of robot. Forty university students talked with PALRO robot for 10 minutes. Thirteen area of interest videos were used to assess the validity identified by MTCNN was facial expression was happy or combination of happy and other emotions. Twenty university students and 20 medical professionals identified which of the 7 emotions (angry, disgust, fear, happy, sad, surprise, neutral) were present. Fleiss' kappa coefficient was calculated. Kappa coefficients of the emotion analysis for seven emotions ranged from 0.21 to 0.28. Kappa coefficient for "Happy" was the highest (0.52 to 0.57) with moderate agreement. Among female university students, only "Surprise" had a moderate agreement with Fleiss' kappa coefficient of 0.48. MTCNN emotion analysis and human emotion analysis were in moderate agreement for the identification of "Happy" emotions. The comparison of the agreement between the results of emotion analysis from facial expressions using non-contact MTCNN and subjective human facial expression analysis suggested that the use of MTCNN may be effective in understanding subjects' happy feelings. J. Med. Invest. 72 : 93-101, February, 2025.

Oxytocin receptor control social information about fear expression of others in mice

The social functions of oxytocin are diverse, and the specific aspects of information processing involved in emotional contagion remain unclear. We compared some fear-related behaviors among oxytocin receptor knockout mice and oxytocin-receptor-reduced mice with that of wild-type mice. In the observational fear assay, which reflects fear emotional contagion, mice that observed other individuals receiving electric shocks exhibited vicarious freezing. Mice with reduced or knockout oxytocin receptor expression showed reduced vicarious freezing. In the emotional discrimination assay, which reflects the ability to perceive others' emotional cues, we compared approach and scent-sniffing behaviors toward fear and emotionally neutral individuals. While wild-type mice were able to detect the fear emotion of others, mice with reduced or knocked-out oxytocin receptors showed reduced discrimination ability. In the fear behavior assays, which do not present social cues, we did not find these differences in oxytocin receptor expression in the brain. These findings indicate that oxytocin plays a role in emotional contagion by perceiving the emotions of others.

Empathy's Crucial Role: Unraveling Impact on Students Bullying Behavior - A Scoping Review

Bullying behavior among students is a serious problem in the educational context and has an impact on victims and perpetrators. Bullying has serious impacts, both emotionally and psychologically, especially for victims who are vulnerable to stress, depression, and even in extreme cases, can lead to suicidal tendencies. Empathy is a key factor in responding to bullying situations. So empathy is an important aspect in reducing bullying behavior. The aim of this research is to explore the role of empathy in bullying behavior in students. The scoping review method was used in this research. The keywords used are empathy, bullying, and students. Search for articles in three databases, namely CINAHL, PubMed, and Scopus. The inclusion criteria in the article search were samples are students (elementary schools students until high schools students) English language, discussion of empathy, publication of articles in the last 10 years (2014-2023), and original research. Grey literature excluded in this scoping review. Data analysis using thematic analysis. The authors found 13 articles that discussed the influence of empathy on bullying behavior in students. Findings from the articles analyzed highlight the complexity of the interactions between affective and cognitive empathy and students behavior in the context of bullying. Students with high levels of empathy tend to be more active in defending victims of bullying, while low levels of empathy tend to reinforce bullying behavior or passive bystander attitudes. Intervention programs that include social and emotional skills training, awareness campaigns, and learning approaches that promote tolerance and respect for diversity can have the potential to reduce the incidence of bullying in students. Increasing understanding and empathetic responses can be an effective strategy in addressing bullying problems in schools and communities.

AI and Aphasia in the Digital Age: A Critical Review

Aphasiology has a long and rich tradition of contributing to understanding how culture, language, and social environment contribute to brain development and function. Recent breakthroughs in AI can transform the role of aphasiology in the digital age by leveraging speech data in all languages to model how damage to specific brain regions impacts linguistic universals such as grammar. These tools, including generative AI (ChatGPT) and natural language processing (NLP) models, could also inform practitioners working with clinical populations in the assessment and treatment of aphasia using AI-based interventions such as personalized therapy and adaptive platforms. Although these possibilities have generated enthusiasm in aphasiology, a rigorous interrogation of their limitations is necessary before AI is integrated into practice. We explain the history and first principles of reciprocity between AI and aphasiology, highlighting how lesioning neural networks opened the black box of cognitive neurolinguistic processing. We then argue that when more data from aphasia across languages become digitized and available online, deep learning will reveal hitherto unreported patterns of language processing of theoretical interest for aphasiologists. We also anticipate some problems using AI, including language biases, cultural, ethical, and scientific limitations, a misrepresentation of marginalized languages, and a lack of rigorous validation of tools. However, as these challenges are met with better governance, AI could have an equitable impact.

Exploring medical students' perceptions of empathy after cinemeducation based on Vygotsky's theory

BACKGROUND

Medical students' empathy toward patients with Alzheimer's is rarely found in formal medical curricula. Based on Vygotsky's theory, watching films and reflection can be considered as effective methods to improve empathy. The present study aimed to explore medical students' perceptions of empathy toward patients with Alzheimer after participating in an educational program by using interactive video based on Vygotsky's theory.

METHODS

This qualitative study was conducted at Tehran University of Medical Sciences in 2022. The population included all 40 medical students. Firstly, the Still Alice movie which is about the feelings of a professor who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease was shown to the students. Secondly, the students reflected on their experiences of watching the movie. Thirdly, a session was held for group discussion on the subject of the movie, the patient's feelings, the doctor's attitude, the social environment surrounding the patient shown in the movie, and the necessity of empathy toward patients with Alzheimer's disease. The reflection papers were analyzed using the conventional qualitative content analysis method.

RESULTS

After analyzing 216 codes from 38 reflection papers, four categories, including communication with a patient with Alzheimer's, understanding the patient with Alzheimer's as a whole, medical science development, and the student's individual ideology, were extracted.

CONCLUSION

Reflection and group discussion after watching movie by providing opportunities for social interaction about personal interpretations will lead to active role in enhancing empathy. Based on the perceptions of the medical students, they gained a perspective to consider the patient as a whole and pay attention to establishing a proper relationship with the patient.

Implementation of an Artificially Empathetic Robot Swarm

This paper presents a novel framework for integrating artificial empathy into robot swarms to improve communication and cooperation. The proposed model uses fuzzy state vectors to represent the knowledge and environment of individual agents, accommodating uncertainties in the real world. By utilizing similarity measures, the model compares states, enabling empathetic reasoning for synchronized swarm behavior. The paper presents a practical application example that demonstrates the efficacy of the model in a robot swarm working toward a common goal. The evaluation methodology involves the open-source physical-based experimentation platform (OPEP), which emphasizes empirical validation in real-world scenarios. The paper proposes a transitional environment that enables automated and repeatable execution of experiments on a swarm of robots using physical devices.

Above management: Scale development and empirical testing for public opinion monitoring of marine pollution

The marine eco-environment is receiving increasing attention globally, and the rapid development of network technology has enabled individuals to express their dissatisfaction and appeals for marine pollution through public engagement measures, particularly on network platforms. As a result, chaotic public opinions and information dissemination on marine pollution are becoming more prevalent. Previous studies have mainly focused on practical measures of marine pollution management, with limited exploration of how to prioritize the monitoring of public opinions on marine pollution. This study aims to develop a comprehensive and scientific measurement scale for public opinion monitoring on marine pollution by defining its implications and dimensions, verifying its reliability, validity, and predictive validity. The research defines the implications of public opinion monitoring regarding marine pollution based on previous literature and experience, using empathy theory as an entry point. The study uses text analysis to explore the internal laws of topic data on social media sites (n = 12,653), forming a theoretical conception of public opinion monitoring composed of three Level 1 dimensions (empathy arousal, empathy experience, and empathy memory). Based on research conclusions and related measurement scales, the study compiles the measurement items to develop the initial scale. Finally, the study verifies the scale reliability and validity (n1 = 435, n2 = 465) and predictive validity (n = 257). Results show that the public opinion monitoring scale has good reliability and validity, and the three Level 1 dimensions have a high level of interpretation for public opinion monitoring and good predictive validity. This research expands the application scope of public opinion monitoring theory and emphasizes the significance of public opinion management on the basis of traditional management research, increasing marine pollution managers' attention to the public domain of the network. Furthermore, it provides public opinion monitoring instruments for marine pollution through scale development and empirical research, reducing the occurrence of public trust crises and creating a stable and harmonious network environment.

The effects of empathy by caregivers on healthcare service satisfaction

Healthcare service satisfaction focuses not only on the patients but also on the caregivers' perspectives. This study explored how caregivers' empathy toward patients affects their satisfaction with healthcare services through an electroencephalography (EEG) experiment. EEG mu rhythm was used as the neural indicator to reflect empathy. The results showed that empathy reduces caregivers' evaluation of healthcare service satisfaction because they share suffering with the patients. However, implementing physician-patient communication through a process-based informed consent (IC), compared to an event-based IC, can effectively alleviate such adverse effects.

Who to Observe and Imitate in Humans and Robots: The Importance of Motivational Factors

Imitation is a vital skill that humans leverage in various situations. Humans achieve imitation by observing others with apparent ease. Yet, in reality, it is computationally expensive to model on artificial agents (e.g., social robots) to acquire new skills by imitating an expert agent. Although learning through imitation has been extensively addressed in the robotic literature, most studies focus on answering the following questions: what to imitate and how to imitate. In this conceptual paper, we focus on one of the overlooked questions of imitation through observation: who to imitate. We present possible answers to the who-to-imitate question by exploring motivational factors documented in psychological research and their possible implementation in robotics. To this end, we focus on two critical instances of the who-to-imitate question that guide agents to prioritize one demonstrator over another: outcome expectancies, viewed as the anticipated learning gains, and efficacy expectations, viewed as the anticipated costs of performing actions, respectively.

Effect of Different Types of Empathy on Prosocial Behavior: Gratitude as Mediator

With the development of positive psychology, prosocial behavior has received widespread attention from researchers. Some studies have shown that emotion has a significant influence on individual prosocial behavior, but little research has studied the effect of different types of empathy on college students’ prosocial behaviors. The current study examined the mediating effects of gratitude among the associations between different types of empathy (perspective-taking, fantasy, empathic concern, and personal distress) and prosocial behavior among Chinese college students. For the study, we used the Prosocial Tendency Measurement questionnaire, the Hebrew version of Interpersonal Reactivity Index-C, and The Gratitude Questionnaire that investigated 1,037 participants. The results indicated that gratitude played a mediating role between perspective-taking and prosocial behavior, fantasy and prosocial behavior, empathic concern and prosocial behavior, and personal distress and prosocial behavior, respectively. The current study contributes to a better understanding of the relationship between empathy and prosocial behavior.