Guilt-proneness, Empathy, and Guilt According to Gender and Age
AUTHOR : 한세영
INFORMATION : page. 65~89 / 2009 Vol.16 No.3
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to investigate the difference of guilt-proneness, guilt, and empathy across both gender and age, to analyze the difference between guilt-proneness and guilt, and to investigate the mediating effect of empathy on the relationship between guilt-proneness and guilt. The subjects of this study were 359 children and early adolescents (187 boys, and 172 girls) in Daejeon city. The results of this research indicated that girls showed higher scores of guilt, perspective-taking, sympathetic interest and emotional resonation than boys, and children reported higher levels of guilt and emotional resonation than adolescents. Regardless of gender or age, the participants showed higher scores of guilt compared to guilt-proneness. The mediating effects of perspective-taking and emotional resonation have been proved to play a significant role in the relationship between guilt-proneness and guilt, but only among girls and children.
Key words : guilt-proneness, empathy, guilt