PPBS

Empathy [2016]

A Politico-Psychological Analysis

Report generated

March 23, 2026

1 Study Characteristics

1.1 Items: Empathy

1.2 Sample

N=1500

To conduct a exploratory and a confirmatory large surveys during the general election, we hired a professional survey firm (SSI, a US-based market research company that recruits participants from a panel of 7,139,027 American citizens; more information can be found at www.surveysampling.com (now https://www.dynata.com/) to recruit a nationally representative sample of 1,500 Americans (50.7% women) who completed study materials during the general election from August 16-September 9, 2016. (Information about sampling and exclusion criteria is included in the Supplement). The age distribution was as follows: 18-24 (12.9%), 25-34 (17.6%), 35-44 (17.5%), 45-54 (19.5%), 55-65 (15.6%) and older than 65 (16.9%). The ethnic breakdown was: White/European American (82.5%), Black/African American (7.7%), Latino (5.9%) and “Other” (4.0%). Concerning religion, 67.6% identified as Christian, 17.1% as religiously affiliated but not Christian, and 15.3% as Atheist/Agnostic. With respect to education 35.1% indicated “high school only or lower,” 31.4 % indicated “some college,” and 33.6% indicated having received a “Bachelor” or “Graduate” degree. 2424 participants were directed to the survey, 1885 of which finished the survey (attrition rate 22%).

We followed recommendations to minimize the problem of careless responding in online studies. Specifically, we employed 10 random attention questions and time controls to check for data quality. There were 385 participants who failed more than one attention check or finished the survey in under ~22 minutes and were therefore excluded from the sample. For the 1500 participants who successfully finished the survey, completion time was 67 minutes on average (MD: 51min).

2 Descriptives

2.1 Means, SD, Range, & SE

Table 1: Descriptives
Descriptives for Empathy
mean sd median
Empathic_Concern_mean 3.79 0.71 3.86
Perspective_Taking_mean 3.62 0.71 3.57
Personal_Distress_mean 2.63 0.74 2.71
Note:
n = 1500, min = 1, max = 5, se = 0.02
Table 2: Descriptives – Item Level
Descriptives for Empathy at Item Level
mean sd median
Empathic_Concern1 3.80 1.11 4.00
Empathic_Concern2 3.45 1.20 3.00
Empathic_Concern3 3.99 1.02 4.00
Empathic_Concern4 3.67 1.10 4.00
Empathic_Concern5 4.02 1.10 4.00
Empathic_Concern6 3.83 1.01 4.00
Empathic_Concern7 3.78 1.08 4.00
Perspective_Taking1 3.66 1.12 4.00
Perspective_Taking2 3.94 1.01 4.00
Perspective_Taking3 3.77 1.05 4.00
Perspective_Taking4 3.09 1.16 3.00
Perspective_Taking5 3.99 0.99 4.00
Perspective_Taking6 3.27 1.11 3.00
Perspective_Taking7 3.59 1.07 4.00
Personal_Distress1 2.93 1.21 3.00
Personal_Distress2 3.19 1.20 3.00
Personal_Distress3 2.78 1.11 3.00
Personal_Distress4 2.95 1.22 3.00
Personal_Distress5 2.36 1.04 2.00
Personal_Distress6 2.08 1.05 2.00
Personal_Distress7 2.14 1.07 2.00
Empathic_Concern_mean 3.79 0.71 3.86
Perspective_Taking_mean 3.62 0.71 3.57
Personal_Distress_mean 2.63 0.74 2.71
Note:
All items: n = 1500, min = 1, max = 5, se = 0.03. Empathic_Concern_mean: min = 1, max = 5, se = 0.02. Perspective_Taking_mean: min = 1, max = 5, se = 0.02. Personal_Distress_mean: min = 1, max = 5, se = 0.02

2.2 Response Distribution

Figure 1: Proportion of each facet of Empathy at item level: Empathic_Concern
Figure 2: Proportion of each facet of Empathy at item level: Perspective_Taking
Figure 3: Proportion of each facet of Empathy at item level: Personal_Distress
Figure 4: Empathic_Concern
Figure 5: Perspective_Taking
Figure 6: Personal_Distress

2.3 Correlations

2.3.1 Correlation Plots

Figure 7: Bivariate Spearman correlations: Empathy
Figure 8: Bivariate Spearman correlations: Empathic_Concern
Figure 9: Bivariate Spearman correlations: Perspective_Taking
Figure 10: Bivariate Spearman correlations: Personal_Distress

Note. Upper triangle shows Spearman’s rank-order correlations. *** p < .001, ** p < .01, * p < .05.

2.3.2 PIDF

Figure 11: Bivariate Spearman correlations by party identity: Empathy
Figure 12: Bivariate Spearman correlations by party identity: Empathic_Concern
Figure 13: Bivariate Spearman correlations by party identity: Perspective_Taking
Figure 14: Bivariate Spearman correlations by party identity: Personal_Distress

Note. Upper triangle shows Spearman’s rank-order correlations by party identity. *** p < .001, ** p < .01, * p < .05.

2.3.3 Correlation Matrix

3 Demographics

3.1 Social Class

Figure 15: Empathic_Concern
Figure 16: Perspective_Taking
Figure 17: Personal_Distress
Figure 18: Empathic_Concern
Figure 19: Perspective_Taking
Figure 20: Personal_Distress

Note on the Raincloud Plots

  • Statistical summary (top): Welch’s t-test (or ANOVA) results, effect size, confidence intervals, p-values, and sample sizes are shown above each plot.
  • Bayesian analysis (bottom): Log Bayes factor and credible intervals are reported below each plot.
Table 3
Table 4: Personal_Distress as grouped by SES
(a)
SES N Mean SD
Poor 38 -0.06 1.12
Lower Middle Class 298 0.06 0.99
Middle Middle Class 679 0.07 1.02
Upper Middle Class 395 -0.07 0.92
Rich 90 -0.41 1.04
(b)
SES N Mean SD
Poor 38 0.03 1.23
Lower Middle Class 298 -0.01 1.01
Middle Middle Class 679 0.04 1.01
Upper Middle Class 395 -0.02 0.92
Rich 90 -0.17 1.11
(c)
SES N Mean SD
Poor 38 0.26 1.17
Lower Middle Class 298 0.35 1.04
Middle Middle Class 679 0.00 0.96
Upper Middle Class 395 -0.19 0.92
Rich 90 -0.46 1.00

3.2 Gender

Figure 21: Empathy Facets, as grouped by Gender: Empathic_Concern
Figure 22: Empathy Facets, as grouped by Gender: Perspective_Taking
Figure 23: Empathy Facets, as grouped by Gender: Personal_Distress
Figure 24: Empathic_Concern
Figure 25: Perspective_Taking
Figure 26: Personal_Distress
Table 5
Table 6: Personal_Distress as grouped by Gender
(a)
Gender N Mean SD
Female 760 0.27 0.98
Male 740 -0.28 0.95
(b)
Gender N Mean SD
Female 760 0.16 0.97
Male 740 -0.17 1.00
(c)
Gender N Mean SD
Female 760 0.19 1.03
Male 740 -0.19 0.93

3.3 Age

Figure 27: Empathic_Concern
Figure 28: Perspective_Taking
Figure 29: Personal_Distress
Figure 30: Empathic_Concern
Figure 31: Perspective_Taking
Figure 32: Personal_Distress
Table 7
Table 8: Personal_Distress as grouped by Age
(a)
Age N Mean SD
18-24 years 193 -0.29 1.05
25-34 years 264 0.06 1.05
35-44 years 263 0.05 1.06
45-54 years 292 0.11 0.98
55-64 years 234 0.12 0.92
65+ 254 -0.13 0.88
(b)
Age N Mean SD
18-24 years 193 -0.17 1.04
25-34 years 264 0.04 1.00
35-44 years 263 -0.02 1.05
45-54 years 292 0.08 1.01
55-64 years 234 0.20 0.89
65+ 254 -0.17 0.95
(c)
Age N Mean SD
18-24 years 193 0.25 0.93
25-34 years 264 0.28 0.92
35-44 years 263 0.05 1.00
45-54 years 292 -0.11 1.08
55-64 years 234 -0.11 0.99
65+ 254 -0.31 0.93

3.4 Education

Figure 33: Empathic_Concern
Figure 34: Perspective_Taking
Figure 35: Personal_Distress
Figure 36: Empathic_Concern
Figure 37: Perspective_Taking
Figure 38: Personal_Distress
Table 9
Table 10: Personal_Distress as grouped by Education
(a)
Education N Mean SD
Less than High School 51 0.01 0.91
High School 475 -0.03 1.03
Some College 471 0.18 1.00
Bachelor 310 -0.08 0.92
Graduate 193 -0.23 1.03
(b)
Education N Mean SD
Less than High School 51 -0.07 1.06
High School 475 -0.07 1.02
Some College 471 0.14 1.01
Bachelor 310 -0.03 0.90
Graduate 193 -0.12 1.05
(c)
Education N Mean SD
Less than High School 51 0.40 1.06
High School 475 0.21 0.97
Some College 471 -0.05 1.02
Bachelor 310 -0.15 0.92
Graduate 193 -0.24 1.01

3.5 Income Levels

Figure 39: Empathic_Concern
Figure 40: Perspective_Taking
Figure 41: Personal_Distress
Figure 42: Empathic_Concern
Figure 43: Perspective_Taking
Figure 44: Personal_Distress
Table 11
Table 12: Personal_Distress as grouped by Income Levels
(a)
Income Levels N Mean SD
Less than $15,000 178 -0.03 1.02
$15,000-$24,999 180 0.10 1.05
$25,000-$34,999 176 0.06 0.97
$35,000-$49,999 227 0.10 1.03
$50,000-$74,999 292 0.01 0.97
$75,000-$99,999 192 -0.03 0.93
$100,000-$149,999 160 -0.06 0.99
$150,000 + 95 -0.34 1.02
(b)
Income Levels N Mean SD
Less than $15,000 178 -0.10 1.03
$15,000-$24,999 180 0.19 0.97
$25,000-$34,999 176 0.01 1.07
$35,000-$49,999 227 -0.04 1.03
$50,000-$74,999 292 0.04 0.97
$75,000-$99,999 192 -0.02 0.92
$100,000-$149,999 160 -0.02 1.01
$150,000 + 95 -0.14 0.99
(c)
Income Levels N Mean SD
Less than $15,000 178 0.38 1.05
$15,000-$24,999 180 0.21 1.04
$25,000-$34,999 176 0.09 0.98
$35,000-$49,999 227 -0.01 0.96
$50,000-$74,999 292 -0.01 0.93
$75,000-$99,999 192 -0.12 0.94
$100,000-$149,999 160 -0.26 0.99
$150,000 + 95 -0.51 0.95

3.6 Ethnicity

Figure 45: Empathic_Concern
Figure 46: Perspective_Taking
Figure 47: Personal_Distress

Note on the Okabe-Ito color palette. The Okabe-Ito color palette (seen above) is a set of colorblind-friendly categorical colors available in R. We are using this palette for graphs with non-ordered variables (e.g., groups, categories) for accessibility.

Figure 48: Empathic_Concern
Figure 49: Perspective_Taking
Figure 50: Personal_Distress
Table 13
Table 14: Personal_Distress as grouped by Ethnicity
(a)
Ethnicity N Mean SD
Caucasian/European origin 1237 -0.02 1.00
Black/African American 115 0.17 0.94
Latino 88 0.08 0.95
Asian/Pacific Islander 29 -0.36 1.04
Native American 13 0.09 1.45
Other 18 0.52 1.10
(b)
Ethnicity N Mean SD
Caucasian/European origin 1237 -0.02 1.01
Black/African American 115 0.22 0.90
Latino 88 -0.01 0.96
Asian/Pacific Islander 29 -0.16 1.11
Native American 13 0.28 0.70
Other 18 0.08 0.93
(c)
Ethnicity N Mean SD
Caucasian/European origin 1237 -0.06 1.00
Black/African American 115 0.26 1.02
Latino 88 0.19 0.90
Asian/Pacific Islander 29 0.41 0.90
Native American 13 0.66 0.69
Other 18 0.06 1.04

3.7 Occupation

Figure 51: Empathic_Concern
Figure 52: Perspective_Taking
Figure 53: Personal_Distress
Figure 54: Empathic_Concern
Figure 55: Perspective_Taking
Figure 56: Personal_Distress
Table 15
Table 16: Personal_Distress as grouped by Occupation
(a)
Occupation N Mean SD
Employed 768 -0.04 1.00
Retired 268 -0.02 0.90
Unemployed 146 -0.05 1.09
Parent 104 0.32 1.05
Disabled 98 0.19 0.99
Student 85 -0.09 1.04
Full-time caregiver 31 0.02 0.95
(b)
Occupation N Mean SD
Employed 768 0.00 0.99
Retired 268 -0.09 0.95
Unemployed 146 0.04 1.04
Parent 104 0.16 1.18
Disabled 98 0.08 1.01
Student 85 -0.12 0.99
Full-time caregiver 31 0.02 0.83
(c)
Occupation N Mean SD
Employed 768 -0.09 0.96
Retired 268 -0.21 0.95
Unemployed 146 0.35 1.04
Parent 104 0.19 1.04
Disabled 98 0.24 1.18
Student 85 0.22 0.94
Full-time caregiver 31 0.25 0.90

3.8 Area

Figure 57: Empathic_Concern
Figure 58: Perspective_Taking
Figure 59: Personal_Distress
Figure 60: Empathic_Concern
Figure 61: Perspective_Taking
Figure 62: Personal_Distress
Table 17
Table 18: Personal_Distress as grouped by Area
(a)
Area N Mean SD
Urban 955 -0.01 1.01
Rural 545 0.01 0.99
(b)
Area N Mean SD
Urban 955 0 0.99
Rural 545 0 1.01
(c)
Area N Mean SD
Urban 955 0.00 1.01
Rural 545 -0.01 0.98

3.9 Religious Affiliation

Figure 63: Empathic_Concern
Figure 64: Perspective_Taking
Figure 65: Personal_Distress
Figure 66: Empathic_Concern
Figure 67: Perspective_Taking
Figure 68: Personal_Distress
Table 19
Table 20: Personal_Distress as grouped by Religious Affiliation
(a)
Religious Affiliation N Mean SD
Christian 1014 0.06 0.94
Muslim 9 -0.04 1.07
Jewish 52 -0.15 1.08
Atheist/Agnostic 230 -0.18 1.13
Not listed, No religion 195 -0.04 1.10
(b)
Religious Affiliation N Mean SD
Christian 1014 0.02 0.98
Muslim 9 0.00 1.00
Jewish 52 -0.05 1.10
Atheist/Agnostic 230 -0.06 1.06
Not listed, No religion 195 -0.03 0.99
(c)
Religious Affiliation N Mean SD
Christian 1014 -0.05 0.97
Muslim 9 0.28 1.01
Jewish 52 -0.25 1.19
Atheist/Agnostic 230 0.06 1.04
Not listed, No religion 195 0.25 1.00

3.10 Section Summary

  Empathy
Predictors Estimates CI p
(Intercept) 3.94 3.84 – 4.03 <.001
Age 0.01 -0.01 – 0.02 .465
Income -0.02 -0.04 – -0.01 <.001
Education -0.02 -0.05 – 0.00 .067
Gender (Male) -0.29 -0.34 – -0.25 <.001
Observations 1500
R2 / R2 adjusted .118 / .116

4 Political Behavior

4.1 Political Orientation

Correlation with General Conservatism, Economic Conservatism, Social Conservatism

Figure 69: Empathic_Concern
Figure 70: Perspective_Taking
Figure 71: Personal_Distress
Figure 72: Empathic_Concern
Figure 73: Perspective_Taking
Figure 74: Personal_Distress
Figure 75: Empathic_Concern
Figure 76: Perspective_Taking
Figure 77: Personal_Distress

Note. The y-axis shows residuals after regressing the outcome on demographics (Age, Income, Education, Gender). This illustrates how much the focal construct explains beyond demographic factors.

Table 21: Empathy and Political Orientation
Table 22: Empathy models and Demographics

4.2 Partisanship

Figure 78: Empathic_Concern
Figure 79: Perspective_Taking
Figure 80: Personal_Distress
Table 23: Mean Empathic_Concern by Party Identity (raw means)
Party Identity N Mean SD
Strong Democrat 351 4.04 0.69
Democrat 223 3.80 0.67
Leaning Democrat 124 3.89 0.67
Independent 84 3.60 0.80
Leaning Republican 111 3.62 0.72
Republican 255 3.65 0.65
Strong Republican 318 3.72 0.69
Table 24: Mean Perspective_Taking by Party Identity (raw means)
Party Identity N Mean SD
Strong Democrat 351 3.73 0.71
Democrat 223 3.66 0.65
Leaning Democrat 124 3.77 0.69
Independent 84 3.46 0.66
Leaning Republican 111 3.56 0.67
Republican 255 3.53 0.75
Strong Republican 318 3.54 0.71
Table 25: Mean Personal_Distress by Party Identity (raw means)
Party Identity N Mean SD
Strong Democrat 351 2.73 0.75
Democrat 223 2.74 0.66
Leaning Democrat 124 2.72 0.76
Independent 84 2.76 0.74
Leaning Republican 111 2.46 0.71
Republican 255 2.56 0.74
Strong Republican 318 2.50 0.72
Table 26: Empathy & Party Identity (7-point)
Table 27: Empathy & Party Identity with Controls

4.3 Religiosity

Figure 81: Empathic_Concern
Figure 82: Perspective_Taking
Figure 83: Personal_Distress
Figure 84: Empathic_Concern
Figure 85: Perspective_Taking
Figure 86: Personal_Distress

Note. The y-axis shows residuals after regressing the outcome on demographics (Age, Income, Education, Gender). This illustrates how much the focal construct explains beyond demographic factors.

Figure 87: Empathic_Concern
Figure 88: Perspective_Taking
Figure 89: Personal_Distress

4.4 Candidate Preferences

Figure 90: Empathic_Concern
Figure 91: Perspective_Taking
Figure 92: Personal_Distress
Table 28: Candidate Preference and Empathic_Concern [centered]
Candidate Preference N Mean SD
Donald Trump 444 -0.13 0.97
Hillary Clinton 371 0.13 0.96
Bernie Sanders 362 0.23 1.01
Ted Cruz 122 -0.20 0.99
Jeb Bush 83 -0.22 0.86
Gary Johnson 68 -0.39 1.13
Rand Paul 44 -0.10 1.03
Table 29: Candidate Preference and Perspective_Taking [centered]
Candidate Preference N Mean SD
Donald Trump 444 -0.12 1.01
Hillary Clinton 371 0.09 0.94
Bernie Sanders 362 0.13 0.99
Ted Cruz 122 -0.07 1.09
Jeb Bush 83 -0.10 0.96
Gary Johnson 68 -0.17 1.19
Rand Paul 44 -0.04 0.83
Table 30: Candidate Preference and Personal_Distress [centered]
Candidate Preference N Mean SD
Donald Trump 444 -0.17 1.02
Hillary Clinton 371 0.10 1.00
Bernie Sanders 362 0.22 0.99
Ted Cruz 122 -0.09 0.91
Jeb Bush 83 -0.17 0.99
Gary Johnson 68 -0.10 0.83
Rand Paul 44 -0.12 1.04
Table 31: Candidate Preference and Empathic_Concern [raw means]
Candidate Preference N Mean SD
Donald Trump 444 3.70 0.69
Hillary Clinton 371 3.89 0.68
Bernie Sanders 362 3.95 0.72
Ted Cruz 122 3.65 0.70
Jeb Bush 83 3.63 0.61
Gary Johnson 68 3.51 0.80
Rand Paul 44 3.72 0.73
Table 32: Candidate Preference and Perspective_Taking [raw means]
Candidate Preference N Mean SD
Donald Trump 444 3.53 0.71
Hillary Clinton 371 3.68 0.66
Bernie Sanders 362 3.71 0.70
Ted Cruz 122 3.57 0.77
Jeb Bush 83 3.55 0.67
Gary Johnson 68 3.49 0.84
Rand Paul 44 3.59 0.59
Table 33: Candidate Preference and Personal_Distress [raw means]
Candidate Preference N Mean SD
Donald Trump 444 2.51 0.75
Hillary Clinton 371 2.70 0.74
Bernie Sanders 362 2.80 0.73
Ted Cruz 122 2.57 0.67
Jeb Bush 83 2.51 0.73
Gary Johnson 68 2.56 0.61
Rand Paul 44 2.55 0.77

4.5 Party Preferences

Figure 93: Empathic_Concern
Figure 94: Perspective_Taking
Figure 95: Personal_Distress
Table 34: Party Preference and Empathic_Concern [centered]
Party Preference N Mean SD
Democratic Party 560 0.22 0.96
Republican Party 508 -0.13 0.94
Libertarian Party 100 -0.04 1.07
Green Party 40 0.45 0.96
Tea Party 68 -0.12 0.98
Constitution Party 14 -0.19 1.34
None 120 -0.30 1.06
Don't know 90 -0.30 1.09
Table 35: Party Preference and Perspective_Taking [centered]
Party Preference N Mean SD
Democratic Party 560 0.12 0.98
Republican Party 508 -0.07 1.02
Libertarian Party 100 0.02 1.08
Green Party 40 0.45 0.87
Tea Party 68 -0.11 1.02
Constitution Party 14 -0.31 1.13
None 120 -0.13 0.93
Don't know 90 -0.29 0.90
Table 36: Party Preference and Personal_Distress [centered]
Party Preference N Mean SD
Democratic Party 560 0.14 0.98
Republican Party 508 -0.15 0.98
Libertarian Party 100 -0.12 0.97
Green Party 40 0.12 1.09
Tea Party 68 -0.58 1.01
Constitution Party 14 -0.15 0.81
None 120 0.10 0.90
Don't know 90 0.40 1.08
Table 37: Party Preference and Empathic_Concern [raw means]
Party Preference N Mean SD
Democratic Party 560 3.95 0.68
Republican Party 508 3.70 0.67
Libertarian Party 100 3.76 0.76
Green Party 40 4.11 0.68
Tea Party 68 3.70 0.70
Constitution Party 14 3.65 0.95
None 120 3.58 0.76
Don't know 90 3.58 0.77
Table 38: Party Preference and Perspective_Taking [raw means]
Party Preference N Mean SD
Democratic Party 560 3.70 0.69
Republican Party 508 3.57 0.72
Libertarian Party 100 3.63 0.77
Green Party 40 3.94 0.61
Tea Party 68 3.54 0.72
Constitution Party 14 3.40 0.80
None 120 3.53 0.66
Don't know 90 3.41 0.64
Table 39: Party Preference and Personal_Distress [raw means]
Party Preference N Mean SD
Democratic Party 560 2.73 0.72
Republican Party 508 2.52 0.72
Libertarian Party 100 2.54 0.71
Green Party 40 2.72 0.80
Tea Party 68 2.21 0.74
Constitution Party 14 2.52 0.60
None 120 2.71 0.66
Don't know 90 2.93 0.79

4.6 Voting

Table 40
Figure 96: Empathic Concern
Figure 97: Perspective Taking
Figure 98: Personal Distress

4.7 Voting & Party Identity

Figure 99: Empathic_Concern
Figure 100: Perspective_Taking
Figure 101: Personal_Distress
Table 41: Empathic_Concern and Party Identity
Donald Trump Hilary Clinton
Strong Republican 282 7
Republican 166 24
Leaning Republican 58 7
Independent 17 16
Leaning Democrat 10 65
Democrat 27 129
Strong Democrat 4 323
Table 42: Perspective_Taking and Party Identity
Donald Trump Hilary Clinton
Strong Republican 282 7
Republican 166 24
Leaning Republican 58 7
Independent 17 16
Leaning Democrat 10 65
Democrat 27 129
Strong Democrat 4 323
Table 43: Personal_Distress and Party Identity
Donald Trump Hilary Clinton
Strong Republican 282 7
Republican 166 24
Leaning Republican 58 7
Independent 17 16
Leaning Democrat 10 65
Democrat 27 129
Strong Democrat 4 323
Table 44
Figure 102: Empathic_Concern
Figure 103: Perspective_Taking
Figure 104: Personal_Distress

4.8 Likeability

Figure 105: Empathic_Concern
Figure 106: Perspective_Taking
Figure 107: Personal_Distress
Figure 108: Empathic_Concern
Figure 109: Perspective_Taking
Figure 110: Personal_Distress

Note. The y-axis shows residuals after regressing the outcome on demographics (Age, Income, Education, Gender). This illustrates how much the focal construct explains beyond demographic factors.

Figure 111: Empathic_Concern
Figure 112: Perspective_Taking
Figure 113: Personal_Distress
Figure 114: Empathic_Concern
Figure 115: Perspective_Taking
Figure 116: Personal_Distress

Note. The y-axis shows residuals after regressing the outcome on demographics (Age, Income, Education, Gender). This illustrates how much the focal construct explains beyond demographic factors.

Figure 117: Empathic_Concern
Figure 118: Perspective_Taking
Figure 119: Personal_Distress
Figure 120: Empathic_Concern
Figure 121: Perspective_Taking
Figure 122: Personal_Distress

Note. The y-axis shows residuals after regressing the outcome on demographics (Age, Income, Education, Gender). This illustrates how much the focal construct explains beyond demographic factors.

5 Politico-Psychological correlates of Empathy


5.1 Ideologies and Partisanship

Figure 123: Empathic_Concern
Figure 124: Perspective_Taking
Figure 125: Personal_Distress

5.2 Populism, Nationalism, Nativism, and Patriotism

Figure 126: Empathic_Concern
Figure 127: Perspective_Taking
Figure 128: Personal_Distress



5.3 Political Psychology

Figure 129: Empathic_Concern
Figure 130: Perspective_Taking
Figure 131: Personal_Distress

5.4 Social Justice Concerns, Empathy, and Prejudice

Figure 132: Empathic_Concern
Figure 133: Perspective_Taking
Figure 134: Personal_Distress



5.5 Values

Figure 135: Empathic_Concern
Figure 136: Perspective_Taking
Figure 137: Personal_Distress



5.6 Pot-Pourri

Figure 138: Empathic_Concern
Figure 139: Perspective_Taking
Figure 140: Personal_Distress



5.7 Positive and Negative correlates of Empathy

Figure 141: Empathic_Concern
Figure 142: Perspective_Taking
Figure 143: Personal_Distress
Figure 144: Empathic_Concern
Figure 145: Perspective_Taking
Figure 146: Personal_Distress

6 Elastic Net Analysis

Figure 147: Elastic net predicting Empathy: Political Psychology
Figure 148: Elastic net predicting Empathy: Ideology & Partisanship
Figure 149: Elastic net predicting Empathy: Demographics
Figure 150: Elastic net predicting Empathy: Attitudes
Figure 151: Elastic net predicting Empathy: Everything
Table 45: Elastic Net Summary
Elastic Net R² for predicting Empathy
Variable Group # Predictors R²
Political Psychology 5 .232
Ideology & Partisanship 5 .107
Demographics 5 .118
Attitudes 6 .256
Everything 21 .329
PPBS
Psychology of Political Behavior Studies PI: Flavio Azevedo