Kontakt 2006, 8(2):316-328 | DOI: 10.32725/kont.2006.051

Analysis of relationship among prosocial tendencies, empathy and five-factor model of personality in students of helping disciplinesHealth and Social Sciences

Zdeněk Mlčák1,*, Helena Záškodná2
1 Ostravská univerzita v Ostravě, Filozofická fakulta, katedra psychologie a sociální práce
2 Jihočeská univerzita v Českých Budějovicích, Zdravotně sociální fakulta, katedra psychiatrie a psychologie

The article presents the most important results of the pilot study that researched the relationships among prosocial tendencies, empathy and five personality dimensions. The diagnostics of prosocial tendencies was performed with the help of Prosocial Tendencies Measure Questionnaire - PTM by G. Carl and B. A. Randall; the empathy measuring was performed with the help of multi-dimension scale by M. Davis, Interpersonal Reactivity Index - IRI, and the diagnostics of personality dimensions was performed with the help of the NEO Five-Factor Inventory questionnaire - NEO-FFI (Costa, McCrae), which was transformed and standardized for Czech population by M. Hřebíčková and T. Urbánek under the name of NEO pětifaktorový osobnostní inventář (NEO five-factor personality inventory). The research was implemented at a set of 137 university students of social work and educator branch.
The research performed showed that prosocial tendencies are significantly related to all followed aspects of empathy, but they are not related at all with the researched personality factors following from Big Five approach. On the contrary, cognitive and emotional empathy are significantly related to the personality factor of kindness and openness towards experience. Therefore it can be considered that the relation among the basic personality dimensions and the prosocial tendencies can be mediated by the level of cognitive and emotional empathy. It seems that the basic personality features of Big Five approach to the explanation why people show prosocial tendencies do not suffice in themselves, without taking in consideration other psychological constructs, as well as results of processes of social learning.

Keywords: prosocial tendencies; empathy; empathic concern; perspective taking; personal distress; fantasy; neuroticism -extraversion; openness to experience; agreeableness; conscientiousness

Published: December 15, 2006  Show citation

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Mlčák Z, Záškodná H. Analysis of relationship among prosocial tendencies, empathy and five-factor model of personality in students of helping disciplines. Kontakt. 2006;8(2):316-328. doi: 10.32725/kont.2006.051.
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