Examining Physiological and Self-Report Indicators of Empathy During Learners' Interaction With a Queer History App

• In Event: 67.020 - Promises and Challenges of Studying Physiological Processes in Academic Settings

Abstract

Objectives and Theoretical Framework. Mobile apps take advantage of the ubiquity of mobile phones and opportunities for both formal and informal learning (Harley et al., 2016; Wu et al., 2013). Moreover, research has found evidence that students learn better with mobile apps than low or no-tech control conditions (Chang et al., 2015; Chiang et al., 2014; Efstathiou et al., 2018; Li et al., 2013; Yoon et al., 2017). This abstract shares preliminary results from an ongoing study that used a mobile app, the Edmonton Queer History App (EQH app), to teach students about queer history. We hypothesized that learning about queer history would increase students’ empathy toward LGBTQ+ people by acknowledging the importance of past and ongoing struggles for equality and life quality as well as provide a perspective many students won’t have within their family or social circles given current population estimates (LGBTQ+ comprise 3% of population; Stats Canada, 2015). Given that empathy involves both cognitive (perspective taking) and affective (emotional expression) components (Wang et al., 2003), assessing empathy from a multi-componential perspective (Harley et al., 2015) stands to enrich our understanding of this psychological state. This study examines learners’ empathy by analyzing physiological and self-report data.

Methods. Data from an ongoing study were collected and analyzed from 57 undergraduate students (42 female; 26 Caucasian) from a North American university. The study was conducted in one two-hour session. Consenting students interacted with the EQA app and completed a pre and post-app interaction survey that included self-reported empathy toward LGBTQ+ individuals. Empathy was assessed pre and post app interaction using a modified version of Wang and colleagues (2003) scale. 26 of 31 items were retained and modified for two versions: (1) empathy directed toward sexual orientation minorities (e.g., lesbians) and (2) gender identity minorities (e.g., transgender). Cronbach’s Alpha indicated that scale reliability was good or better for both scales (1, α = 0.90; 2, α = .93). Skin conductance was collected using an Empatica E4 bracelet and normalized to yield average skin conductance levels (SCL; Harley et al., 2017) from learners during their interaction with the EQH app.

Results. A median split was used to group students into high versus low SCL (Harley et al., 2015). As expected, those in the high SCL group had higher proportional increases in empathy pre-to-post than those in the low SCL group (see Table 1), though results were not statistically significant. Ongoing analyses will examine if this is also the case with skin conductance response (SCR); a second component of the electrodermal activation complex and thought to convey different information about emotional activation (Dawson et al., 2001).

Significance. The full paper will provide the first direct comparison of SCL and SCR physiological data in an educational context and in relation to empathy. Using physiological data to measure the emotional expression component of empathy stands to help advance learning analytics in this area by tracing the development of learner empathy during learning sessions to help improve and individualize educational interventions and resources.

Authors

• Jason Matthew Harley, University of Alberta

• Yang Liu, University of Alberta

• Byunghoon Tony Ahn, McGill University

• Susanne P. Lajoie, McGill University

• Andre P. Grace, University of Alberta

• Chayse Haldane, University of Alberta

• Andrea Whittaker, University of Alberta