Empathy in Relation to Prosocial Behaviour among College Students

Background:  Empathy is the capacity of an individual to understand other’ condition or situation by putting themselves in their shoes. Prosocial behavior is the act of helping of others with the intention of benefiting others or the society. Aim: The present study was carried out to understand the empathy in relation to prosocial behavior among college students. Methods: For this study a sample of 120 students (60 males and 60 females) were taken from the various colleges of Thrissur district. Prosocial Behavior Battery (PSB) and the Toronto Empathetic Questionnaire was used to collect the data. The obtained result was analyzed using Pearson’s coefficient of correlation and independent t-test. Results: The study revealed that prosocial behavior and empathy are negatively correlated (r= 0.298**). There is significant age difference in the level of empathy (t=0.019). The independent t- test (t= 0.001) between men and women reveals that there is a significant difference in the level of empathy. The independent t- test (t= 0.001) between men and women reveals that there is a significant difference in the level of empathy. Conclusion: This study showed that when a person has high level of empathy, they would be more prosocial. This study also shows that students of age 17-19 years are more empathetic than the students of age 20-23 years and women have higher level of empathy than men.