Empathy showed a pattern of signifi

Empathy showed a pattern of significant associations with measuresof positive development. In particular, empathy was relatedto measures of subjective well-being. Empathic individuals weremore satisfied with their lives and reported more positive affect,less negative affect, and less depressive symptoms than less empathicindividuals. In concert with these hedonic aspects, empathywas positively associated with people’s psychological well-being.People with high empathy were especially more interested inpositive relations with others and their own personal growth. Thismay indicate that although empathic people approach others andare interested in others, they also value the meaning and importanceof social interactions for their own development. Thesefindings support Erikson’s (1968) postulate that empathy is acornerstone of responsive relationships that form a crucial part ofpositive development. The small but significant effects of indicatorsof positive development on the change in empathy suggeststhat positive development also encourages further growth in empathy,because people high in positive affect, high in selfacceptance,and low in depression showed increases in empathyover time. Thus, people who emit warmth and positive self-esteemmay attract social interactions that further their empathic abilities.Indeed, the pattern of findings from the experience-samplingstudy showed that empathy was related to characteristics of persons’positive interactions. As suggested by several researchers(e.g., Eisenberg, 2000; Erikson, 1968; Hoffman, 2000; Singer,2006), empathy is a vital part of fostering and widening socialinteractions. Specifically, people with higher empathy (a) felt morepositive about themselves, (b) thought that their interaction partnersfelt more positive, and (c) reported that their interactionpartners expressed more positive emotions than people with lowerempathy. This was, however, only the case for positive interactions. In contrast, empathy was not significantly associated withany of these variables in negative interactions. This suggests thatempathy may enhance the emotional nature of positive interactionsbut does not necessarily change the emotional quality of negativeinteractions.Overall, these findings suggest that individuals with high empathymay display behaviors that make it easier for others to relateto them. For example, others may perceive empathic individuals asmore understanding, more caring, and more concerned about howthey feel and what they may think. Thus, people with high empathymay send out “positive invitations” to others that others then,in turn, find easy to respond to in equally positive and enjoyableways. These positive invitations may not reduce the negativityfrom others’ negative emotions. However, the finding that empathywas related to the meaningfulness of positive and negativeinteractions suggests that empathic individuals may be better ableto accept negativity in their social interactions than nonempathicindividuals. They seem to develop meaning and personal significanceeven out of negative encounters. Overall, people with highempathy may emanate an appearance that facilitates the cultivationof social interactions. Social interactions may as well foster anddemand empathic competencies leading to reciprocal reinforcementsor empathy and social interactions.