A Comparative Study of Affective-Cognitive Empathy and Emotion Regulation in Bilingual and Monolingual University Students

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Ph.D. Candidate in Cognitive Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Ferdowsi Mashhad University, Mashhad, Iran.

2 M.A. in Clinical Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Shiraz Universsity, Shiraz, Iran.

3 Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Sistan and Baluchestan, Zahedan, Iran

Abstract

The present study aimed to compare affective-cognitive empathy and emotion regulation among bilingual and monolingual university students. This descriptive and causal-comparative research was conducted among students at the University of Sistan and Baluchestan during the 2024–2025 academic year. A total of 64 students (32 bilingual and 32 monolingual) were selected through purposive sampling. The research instruments included the Basic Empathy Scale by Jolliffe and Farrington (2006) and the short form of the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire by Gross and John (2003). Data analysis was performed using SPSS and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). The results showed that the means of affective-cognitive empathy and its two components—affective empathy and cognitive empathy—as well as the reappraisal strategy in bilingual students, were significantly higher than those of monolingual students. These findings suggest that bilingualism may contribute to enhanced empathy.This study highlights the importance of language learning in the development of empathy and emotional regulation.

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History

  • Receive Date: 14 June 2024
  • Revise Date: 03 October 2024
  • Accept Date: 28 November 2024

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