Race- and Sex-Based Interactions in the Association Between Self-Reported Empathy and Grade

• In Event: 33.078 - Roundtable Session 11
  In Roundtable Session: 33.078-20 - Gendered Constructions and New Perspectives of Female Leadership

Abstract

This paper examines the association between empathy and grade-level, sex, and race. Using a racially diverse large sample (N=8653) of middle- and high-school students from 33 schools across America, I demonstrate the existence of a curvilinear association between self-reported empathy and grade-level. I also demonstrate that the shape of this curve is different for girls than for boys. Finally, I show that the size of the gap in self-reported empathy between girls and boys is a function of race, and is largest for White students. I interpret these results as reflecting differential pressures for girls and boys of different races to present themselves as empathic.

Author

• Joe McIntyre, Harvard University