Empathy for other people’s pain peaks in young adulthood, according to psychologists

Empathy for other people’s pain peaks in young adulthood, according to psychologists


Example stimuli used to depict physical and social pain and their corresponding no-pain images. Credit: Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience (2024). Doi: 10.1093/scan/nsae080

Empathy responses to others in pain peak in young adulthood, according to a new study LED by the University of Kent’s School of Psychology.

Psychologists have discovered that young adults are essentially sensitive to social pain, such as situations of Embarrassment, Grief and Sadness, And Empathy more Strong more Strongly with others Ain Than Adolesents Or older adults do.

Empathy is a critical component of social interaction that enables individuals to understand and share the emotions of others.

The research, Published in the journey Social Cognitive and Affective NeuroscienceExplred How Empathy Responses Difer Between Adolesments (10–19 years old), young adults (20–40 years old) and older adults (60+ years old) Ographs of people in physically or socially painful Situations.

Findings showed that brain responses to painful situations Increased from Adolescence to Young and Older Adulthood. This demonstrates that Empathy responses develops develops

While the research showed that people’s brain empathy responses get stronger as they age, the increased brain activity in older adults comes alongside reduced ratings of pain for others. Professor Heather Ferguson, Lead Researcher on the Paper and Professor of Psychology at Kent, Sugges That This is because is because OLDER Adults are less at experts, good at expert for online for others.

Professor Ferguson Said, “This Study Provides Valuable Insights Into The Complex Nature of Empathic Responses to others in Pain. Ings of pain intensity felt by others. BCCOMES Increasing Reactive to Seeing others in Pain as We age, which sugges that older adults experienced Empathy at the time of Viewing the photographs of pain – beut wi lass acurate latency of this pain. “

More information:
Heather J Ferguson et al, Neural Empathy Mechanisms are shared for Physical and Social Pain, and Increase from AdoLESCENCE to Older Adulthood, Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience (2024). Doi: 10.1093/scan/nsae080

Provided by University of Kent


Citation: Empathy for other people’s pain peaks in young adulthood, according to psychologists (2025, January 28) retrieved 29 January 2025 from

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