Gender differences in empathy, compassion, and prosocial donations, but not theory of mind in a naturalistic social task.

ABSTRACT: Despite broad interest, experimental evidence for gender differences in social abilities remains inconclusive. Two important factors may have limited previous results: (i) a lack of clear distinctions between empathy (sharing another's feelings), compassion (a feeling of concern toward others), and Theory of Mind (ToM; inferring others' mental states), and (ii) the absence of robust, naturalistic social tasks. Overcoming these limitations, in Study 1 (N = 295) we integrate three independent, previously published datasets, each using a dynamic and situated, video-based paradigm which disentangles ToM, empathy, and compassion, to examine gender differences in social abilities. We observed greater empathy and compassion in women compared to men, but found no evidence that either gender perfor

SUBMITTER: McDonald B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10676355 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature