Does Empathy Promote or Hinder Creativity? The Evidence from Three-Level Meta-Analysis

doi:10.12139/j.1672-0628.2025.05.011

Abstract

Abstract:

Although previous studies have explored the relationship between empathy and creativity from various theoretical perspectives, their findings remain inconsistent and sometimes contradictory. This study employed a three-level meta-analytic approach to systematically investigate the association between empathy and creativity and examine potential moderating factors. Through comprehensive literature searches and rigorous screening, a total of 29 studies were included, encompassing 50 effect sizes and 21,462 participants. The analysis revealed a moderate positive correlation between empathy and creativity, with this relationship significantly moderated by the dimensions of empathy and types of creativity. Specifically, compared to affective empathy, both total empathy and cognitive empathy exhibited stronger correlations with creativity; similarly, empathy demonstrated a stronger association with team creativity than with individual creativity. These findings underscore the robust link between empathy and creativity while clarifying discrepancies in the strength and direction of their association. Future research should further explore the roles of different dimensions of empathy and types of creativity to deepen our understanding of their interplay.

Key words: empathy, cognitive empathy, affective empathy, creativity, three-level meta-analysis

摘要：

尽管已有研究从不同理论视角探讨了共情与创造力之间的关系，但相关研究结果存在矛盾与不一致。本研究采用三水平元分析方法，系统考察共情与创造力之间的关联，并探讨其潜在的调节因素。通过文献检索和筛选，本研究纳入了29项研究，共包含50个效应量，总样本量达21 462人。结果表明，共情与创造力存在中等程度的正相关，且这一关系受到共情维度和创造力类型的调节。具体而言，相较于情绪共情，共情总分和认知共情与创造力的相关更强；相较于个体创造力，共情与团队创造力之间的关联更为密切。这些发现不仅揭示了共情与创造力之间的紧密联系，还厘清了二者在相关性大小和方向上的分歧。未来研究应进一步关注共情不同维度及创造力类型在这一关系中的作用，以加深对二者交互机制的理解。

关键词: 共情, 认知共情, 情绪共情, 创造力, 三水平元分析

Zhiqiang YAN, Xianglu ZENG, Liqun HUANG, Lin XIAO. Does Empathy Promote or Hinder Creativity? The Evidence from Three-Level Meta-Analysis[J]. Studies of Psychology and Behavior, 2025, 23(5): 662-669.

颜志强, 曾祥路, 黄立群, 肖琳. 共情促进还是阻碍创造力？来自三水平元分析的证据[J]. 心理与行为研究, 2025, 23(5): 662-669.

Figures/Tables 4

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调节变量	k	Intercept(95%CI)	B(95%CI)	Mean r	F	水平2方差	水平3方差
共情维度
情绪共情	7	0.005[−0.186, 0.195]		0.005	7.65***	0.06**	0.05***
认知共情	21	0.402[0.287, 0.518]***	0.397[0.192, 0.604]***	0.402
共情总分	22	0.269[0.143, 0.395]***	0.264[0.039, 0.490]*	0.269
创造力类型
个人	25	0.166[0.062, 0.269]**		0.166	8.59**	0.06**	0.05**
团队	25	0.380[0.276, 0.483]***	0.214[0.067, 0.361]**	0.380
发展阶段
儿童	7	0.441[0.236, 0.647]***		0.441	3.15	0.07	0.06
成人	43	0.245[0.162, 0.329]***	−0.196[−0.418, 0.026]	0.257

调节变量	k	Intercept(95%CI)	B(95%CI)	Mean r	F	水平2方差	水平3方差
共情维度
情绪共情	7	0.005[−0.186, 0.195]		0.005	7.65***	0.06**	0.05***
认知共情	21	0.402[0.287, 0.518]***	0.397[0.192, 0.604]***	0.402
共情总分	22	0.269[0.143, 0.395]***	0.264[0.039, 0.490]*	0.269
创造力类型
个人	25	0.166[0.062, 0.269]**		0.166	8.59**	0.06**	0.05**
团队	25	0.380[0.276, 0.483]***	0.214[0.067, 0.361]**	0.380
发展阶段
儿童	7	0.441[0.236, 0.647]***		0.441	3.15	0.07	0.06
成人	43	0.245[0.162, 0.329]***	−0.196[−0.418, 0.026]	0.257

调节变量		k	B(95%CI)
	Intercept		−0.169[−0.352, 0.015]
共情维度	认知共情	21	0.386[0.186, 0.586]***
	共情总分	22	0.333[0.140, 0.526]**
创造力类型	团队创造力	25	0.187[0.048, 0.326]**
发展阶段	儿童	7	0.276[0.096, 0.457]**
多重回归模型	k=50	F(4, 45)=8.54, p<0.001	水平2方差 0.04***	水平3方差 0.04***

调节变量		k	B(95%CI)
	Intercept		−0.169[−0.352, 0.015]
共情维度	认知共情	21	0.386[0.186, 0.586]***
	共情总分	22	0.333[0.140, 0.526]**
创造力类型	团队创造力	25	0.187[0.048, 0.326]**
发展阶段	儿童	7	0.276[0.096, 0.457]**
多重回归模型	k=50	F(4, 45)=8.54, p<0.001	水平2方差 0.04***	水平3方差 0.04***

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