Relations between personality traits and empathy for social pain and physical pain

Empathy for social pain (e.g., that caused by social exclusion) may be crucial for social bonding because it allows to understand others' feeling and facilitate pro-social behavior such as consolation. Studies have indicated the relationship between personality traits and empathy for physical pain. However, few studies have addressed the personality traits that are related to empathy for social pain. The present study examined how personality traits would be related to social and physical empathy. Participants observed social exclusion (i.e., Cyberball movies) and photographs of painful situations of another person, which increased empathetic responses to the depicted person. The correlation analyses revealed that female participants with more extravert trait and/or more other-oriented feelings of sympathy and concern for unfortunate others tended to show greater empathy for physical pain. This result may suggest that attention toward other persons is a factor for physical empathy. Additionally, female participants with agreeableness trait tended to exhibit social empathy. Since agreeableness is related to general concern for social harmony, the tendency to avoid social conflicts may be related to social empathy.