| Abstract |
| Empathy has been observed to be pivotal in enhancing both social relations and the efficiency of task performance. Empathetic interaction has been shown to begin with individuals mirroring each other's facial expressions, vocal tone, actions, and so on. The internal responses of the cardiovascular activity of people engaged in empathetic interaction are also known to be synchronized. This study attempted to objectively and quantitatively define the rules of empathy with regard to the synchronization of cardiac rhythm between persons. Seventy-four subjects participated in the investigation and were paired to imitate the facial expressions of their partner. An electrocardiogram (ECG) measurement was taken as the participants conducted the task. Quantitative indicators were extracted from the heart rhythm pattern (HRP) and the heart rhythm coherence (HRC) to determine the difference of synchronization of heart rhythms between two individuals as they pertained to empathy. Statistical significance was confirmed by an independent sample t-test. The HRP and HRC correlation(r) between persons increased significantly with empathy in comparison to an interaction that was not empathetic. A difference of the standard deviation of NN intervals (SDNN) and the dominant peak frequency decreased. Therefore, significant parameters to evaluate empathy have been proposed through a step-wise discrimination analysis. Empathic interactions may thus be managed and monitored for high quality social interaction and communication. |
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| Key Words |
| Empathy, Emotion Recognition, Synchronization, Electrocardiogram, Imitation, 공감, 감성 인식, 동기화, 심전도, 모방 |
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