@article{BreilKanskePittigetal.2021,
  author    = {Breil, Christina and Kanske, Philipp and Pittig, Roxana and B{\"o}ckler, Anne},
  title     = {A revised instrument for the assessment of empathy and Theory of Mind in adolescents: Introducing the EmpaToM-Y},
  series = {Behavior Research Methods},
  volume    = {53},
  journal   = {Behavior Research Methods},
  doi       = {10.3758/s13428-021-01589-3},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-302877},
  pages     = {2487-2501},
  year      = {2021},
  abstract  = {Empathy and Theory of Mind (ToM) are two core components of social understanding. The EmpaToM is a validated social video task that allows for independent manipulation and assessment of the two capacities. First applications revealed that empathy and ToM are dissociable constructs on a neuronal as well as on a behavioral level. As the EmpaToM has been designed for the assessment of social understanding in adults, it has a high degree of complexity and comprises topics that are inadequate for minors. For this reason, we designed a new version of the EmpaToM that is especially suited to measure empathy and ToM in youths. In experiment 1, we successfully validated the EmpaToM-Y on the original EmpaToM in an adult sample (N = 61), revealing a similar pattern of results across tasks and strong correlations of all constructs. As intended, the performance measure for ToM and the control condition of the EmpaToM-Y showed reduced difficulty. In experiment 2, we tested the feasibility of the EmpaToM-Y in a group of teenagers (N = 36). Results indicate a reliable empathy induction and higher demands of ToM questions for adolescents. We provide a promising task for future research targeting inter-individual variability of socio-cognitive and socio-affective capacities as well as their precursors and outcomes in healthy minors and clinical populations.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{CarolusWienrichToerkeetal.2021,
  author    = {Carolus, Astrid and Wienrich, Carolin and T{\"o}rke, Anna and Friedel, Tobias and Schwietering, Christian and Sperzel, Mareike},
  title     = {'Alexa, I feel for you!' Observers' empathetic reactions towards a conversational agent},
  series = {Frontiers in Computer Science},
  volume    = {3},
  journal   = {Frontiers in Computer Science},
  doi       = {10.3389/fcomp.2021.682982},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-258807},
  year      = {2021},
  abstract  = {Conversational agents and smart speakers have grown in popularity offering a variety of options for use, which are available through intuitive speech operation. In contrast to the standard dyad of a single user and a device, voice-controlled operations can be observed by further attendees resulting in new, more social usage scenarios. Referring to the concept of 'media equation' and to research on the idea of 'computers as social actors,' which describes the potential of technology to trigger emotional reactions in users, this paper asks for the capacity of smart speakers to elicit empathy in observers of interactions. In a 2 × 2 online experiment, 140 participants watched a video of a man talking to an Amazon Echo either rudely or neutrally (factor 1), addressing it as 'Alexa' or 'Computer' (factor 2). Controlling for participants' trait empathy, the rude treatment results in participants' significantly higher ratings of empathy with the device, compared to the neutral treatment. The form of address had no significant effect. Results were independent of the participants' gender and usage experience indicating a rather universal effect, which confirms the basic idea of the media equation. Implications for users, developers and researchers were discussed in the light of (future) omnipresent voice-based technology interaction scenarios.},
  language  = {en}
}