ABSTRACT This investigation used data from Loehlin and Nichols's (1976) study of over
800 sets of twins to examine evidence for the heritability of three facets of empathy: empathic
concern, personal distress, and perspective taking. Expert judges first identified sets of ...

Abstract The present research was conducted to explore genetic influences on empathic
concern for others. First, an index of empathic concern was created by combining relevant
items from Gough's Adjective Check List (ACL). This index was validated by correlating ...

... Maternal reports of children's prosocial patterns showed evidence of heritability at 14 and
20 months. Several components of observed empathy also were heritable at 14 months,
including hypothesis testing, empathic concern, and prosocial behaviors. ...

... The Psycho- ticism Scale from the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, mea- suring
hostility and a lack of empathy (HJ Eysenck & SBG Eysenck, 1975), has a reported
heritability of .50 (Eaves & HJ Eysenck, 1977; Fulker, 1981). ...

... experiences. It is also possible that aspects of empathy are heritable. Adult ... 1986).
Both studies indicate greater concordance or similarity of responding in mz than in
dz twins, supporting the possibility of a heritability component. ...

... aged 19–25 months toward their mother at .30 (although a model with no heritability had a ... related
at the phenotypic level, and because they are both expected to be heritable to a ... At all ages, a
single factor emerged, on which all four empathy indicators (empathic concern and ...

... Heritability of Empathy ... Although all children are capable of empathy, genetic factors contribute
to individual differences (Hastings, Zahn-Waxler, & McShane, 2006). Some aspects of children's
heritable temperament influence the development of empa- thetic responding. ...

... In this third stage," empathy for another's feelings," children become able to empathize with
a wider range of emotions. ... Davis et al.(1994) examined the heritability of three fac- ets of
empathy: empathic concern, personal distress, and perspective taking. ...

... The chapter concludes that the implementation of remedies for enhancement of empathy
is a mandate that must be acted upon and that any attempt to enhance empathic
understanding among people is a step toward building a better civilization. ...