Attentional Focus, Empathy and Gratitude: An Experimental Analysis

Empathy and gratitude are distinct but related prosocial constructs that may be shaped by attentional processes. This study examined whether attentional orientation influences situational empathic responding and whether dispositional gratitude moderates this effect. A sample of 198 undergraduate students completed a 20-item Gratitude questionnaire (G-20) and later participated in a cooperative task under other-focused, self-focused, or control instructions. Both active attentional conditions were associated with greater odds of reporting empathy than the control condition, whereas they did not differ from each other. Expression of Gratitude was negatively associated with empathic responding. Gratitude in the Face of Suffering significantly interacted with attentional condition, although none of the condition-specific associations reached significance. These findings suggest that directing attention either toward others or toward one's own internal experience may facilitate situational empathic responding.