An Informational Theory of Empathy

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An Informational Theory of Empathy

• Luciano Fadigaa, Laila Craigheroa,
• Ovidiu Lungub, Aldo Rustichinib
• a University of Ferrara,
• b University of Minnesota

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Informational Theory of Empathy

• Empathy To understand another person, that is,
  to imitate his feelings in ourselves
• The informational theory is based on the idea
  that we empathize with someone to extract the
  information that he has.
• In this view, empathy is not necessarily
  increasing with the affinity between observer and
  observed, but rather with the value of the
  information

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Empathy Gain

• The empathy gain is the difference between the
  expected utility of the observer if he can
  observe the empathic signal and if he cannot.
• The gain follows from the better choice of action
  that the observer can make after he has observed
  the other. This action is not the reproduction of
  the observed subjects movement.
• For example the action may be better because the
  observer can better predict the future action of
  the observed

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Support for the theory

• Mirror Neurons
• An earlier view on this is from

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Theory of Moral Sentiments (1756)
Chapter 1, On Sympathy 1.1.1. How selfish
soever man may be supposed, there are evidently
some principles in his nature, which interest him
in the fortune of others... Of this kind is pity,
the emotion which we feel for the misery of
others
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Sympathy as simulation

• It is the impressions of our own senses only,
  not those of his, which our imaginations copy.
  TMS, 1.1.2.
• The mob, when they are gazing at a dancer on
  the slack rope, naturally writhe and twist and
  balance their own bodies, as they see him do, and
  as they feel that they themselves must do if in
  his situation. TMS, 1.1.3
• Simulation Theory to understand the others we
  reproduce in us their internal state

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Is Sympathy symmetric?

• The word sympathy, in its most proper and
  primitive signification, denotes our
  fellow-feeling with the sufferings, not with the
  enjoyments, of others. TMS, I.III.1

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Why Not?

• a sentiment of envy commonly prevents us from
  heartily sympathizing with his joy. TMS,
  I.II.32

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Sympathy and Envy
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Small joys and great sorrows

• There is, however, this difference between
  grief and joy, that we are generally most
  disposed to sympathize with small joys and great
  sorrows.
• The man who, by some sudden revolution of
  fortune, is lifted up all at once into a
  condition of life, greatly above what he had
  formerly lived in, may be assured that the
  congratulations of his best friends are not all
  of them perfectly sincere. TMS, 1.II.32

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• You still have reasons to want to learn from the
  friend who had a sudden revolution of fortune,
  (and sympathize with him), to learn how you can
  do it yourself.

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Informational Theory of Envy

• this suggests

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Two explanations on envy

• Envy is the social correspondent of regret
• It teaches you that the choice that you could
  have made and someone else made was probably
  better (counterfactual thinking)
• Envy keeps track of your social rank
• When someone else succeeds, you are losing
  ground

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Main prediction of the informational theory of
sympathy

• The main prediction of the theory is that the
  intensity of the empathic process is proportional
  to the value of the information provided by the
  empathic signal
• The value of the information is inverse-U shaped
  with respect to the affinity of the two subjects

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Hypothesis

• When a subject observes another one, an effort is
  automatically made to understand the intention of
  the other
• This process is a based on an empathic
  reproduction
• The intensity of the activation is proportional
  to the value of the information that can be
  derived from it

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You and the others

• In the experiment we contrast the brain activity
  of the empathic process when you are looking at
• yourself (high affinity, but also low novelty) or
• someone else (lower affinity, but higher novelty)

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Areas involved in interaction with the other

• Superior Temporal Sulcus (STS) provides a visual
  description of the observed action
• BA44-45 code the goal of the action
• Insula, which connects both centers above to the
  limbic system, decodes the emotional implications
  of the action representation

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Hypotheses

• The interaction will activate areas involved in
  communication and empathy
• Candidate regions
• BA44, BA45 (corresponding to Monkeys F5),
• Insula
• Superior temporal Sulcus (STS)
• Anterior Cingulate, BA6
• BUT how does the activation differ in different
  conditions?

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Experiment Design

• Basic idea analyze brain activity when two
  subjects are exchanging gazes, in different
  conditions
• Implementation

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Experiment Design

• Basic idea analyze brain activity when two
  subjects are exchanging gazes, in different
  conditions
• Implementation

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Scanners bore
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Subject
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mirror
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mirror
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self
other
Large mirror
Face, real or photograph
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Experimental design

• The subject goes through different stages,
  interrupted by breaks
• In each stage he looks at the experimenter, or is
  looked at, or he is looking at a fixed picture,
  or is looking at himself.
• 21 subjects, 3T MRI scanner

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Conditions

• Each condition is described by a pair
• (What the subject does, what the experimenter
  does)
• For example
• (Look, Not Look)
• describes the condition in which
• the subject is looking into the eye of the
  experimenter, and the
• experimenter is not looking back

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Five Conditions

• Look, Look
• Look, Not Look
• Not Look, Look
• Look at yourself
• Look at a fix picture
• Eyes Closed Break

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Five Conditions

• Look, Look (L,L)
• Look, Not Look (L,NL)
• Not Look, Look (NL,L)
• Look at yourself (LYS)
• Look at a fix picture (LFP)
• Eyes Closed Break

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Hypotheses

• The activation will be stronger when
  communication is either active of possible for
  the observing subject, and the information is
  new.
• Strong activation in (L, L)
• The activation will be smaller when the other is
  not watching (L,NL)
• The activation will be smaller when the other
  is.. yourself (LYS)
• What when the subject is not watching, but the
  other is? (NL,L)

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(Look, Look) - (Look Fix Picture)

• Three main clusters
• Right BA44
• Bilateral Insula
• BA6 and Cingulate Gyrus

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L,L-LFP, FDR0.02, p0.0008
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LL-LFP, FDR0.02, p0.0008
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LL-LFP, FDR0.02, p0.0008
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The information from yourself

• The informational value of LL is higher than LYS
• Therefore BA44 activated less in LYS than in LL

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Evidence

• L,L- L,NL the visual stimuli are now very close
  the only difference if the angle in the eyes of
  the experimenter
• The contrast is virtually identical to the one in
  L,L LFP, with the only difference of STG, in
  the section devoted to representation of eye
  movements

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Evidence

• The contrast LNL LFP informational value is
  similar, the live individual face moves
• STG to detect and code face-eye movements

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STS in the contrast LNL LFP
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Emotional decoding

• The pattern in Insula is similar to the one in
  BA44

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Is the Left BA44 (Brocas Area) active?
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The sense of self
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NLLLL, Parahippocampal Gyrus, Right
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LYS-LL, Parahippocampal Gyrus, Left
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Conclusions

• The interaction activates areas involved in
  communication and empathy (BA44, CG, Insula).
• The activation is stronger when communication is
  active or possible for the observing subject.
• In particular
• The activation is smaller when the other is not
  watching
• The activation is smaller when the other is
  yourself
• The activation is stronger when the subject is
  not watching and the other is, then in the
  symmetric situation.