AN EXPERIMENTAL PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF EMPATHY FOR PAIN IN HEALTHY OLDER ADULTS.

Abstract

The analysis of empathy in the elderly population has often been approached through third-person methodologies (e.g., neuroimaging), which have yielded inconsistent results. Some research indicates an increase in empathy at this stage of life, while others suggest a decrease. However, there are few studies that explore how the elderly experience empathy. This research aims to describe the experience of empathy for pain in healthy older adults, using an experimental phenomenological methodology. The study involved 16 healthy older adults who watched a video of people suffering accidents while practicing extreme sports. After viewing the video, a phenomenological interview was conducted with each participant. The data were analyzed using Giorgi's phenomenological method. The results revealed that the empathic experience of pain encompasses five main themes: bodily resonance, motivation, sense of property, thoughts, and temporality of the experience. Furthermore, three experiential structures were identified: empathy with body transparency, self-centered empathy, and other-centered empathy. In the discussion, it is argued how phenomenological findings enrich the understanding of empathy for pain in the context of social neuroscience. Additionally, this study provides comparative insights into the empathic experience of pain between healthy older adults and younger individuals, highlighting variations in empathy across the lifespan.

Key words: pain empathy, older adult, experience, social cognition, phenomenology.