Recieved: 04/23/2024
Accepted: 05/27/2024
Published: 06/24/2024
Keywords: Actor training; actor psychology; Big Five; Dark Triad; empathy
Pages: 143-149
DOI: 10.11621/npj.2024.0212
Available online: 24.06.2024
Sobkin, V.S., Savchenko, N.L. , Siyan, M.V., Yakovleva, M.A. (2024). Gender Differences in the Relationships Between Empathic Tendencies, Dark Triad Traits and Personality Traits in Student Actors. National Psychological Journal, 19(2) , 143-149. https://doi.org/10.11621/npj.2024.0212
Copied to Clipboard
CopyBackground. There is a contradiction in the results of acting research: empathy plays an important role in the process of artistic transformation, but some anti-empathic traits, such as narcissism and machiavellianism, may also be useful for stage performance. The identification of gender specificity is particularly interesting when examining these personal features in the context of student actors’ professional growth.
Objectives. The focus is on exploring gender differences in the relationships of empathy and Dark Triad traits with personality traits in student actors.
Study Participants. The study involved 43 second-year students of the Acting major, aged 19 to 29 years (21 men, 22 women).
Methods. Short Portrait Big Five Questionnaire by M.S. Egorova and O.V. Parshikova, Short questionnaire of the Dark Triad adapted by M.S. Egorova, M.A. Sitnikova, O.V. Parshikova Empathy Questionnaire by A.A. Mehrabian adapted by E.F. Zeer and O.N. Shakhmatova.
Results. Openness to experience among student actors is associated with narcissism, and neuroticism is associated with emotional empathy, which describes the ability to understand other people’s emotions. At the same time, gender differences were found in the specific relationships between empathic tendencies and personality traits. In boys, behavioral empathy, aimed at showing support and help, is associated with extraversion, while in girls, neuroticism is associated with machiavellianism.
Conclusions. Several interpretations of the results are presented. Actors who are open to new experiences and experiments in creating images can be narcissistic, since they do not yet have a formed “sense of truth”, and therefore are forced to focus more on external assessment. Also, student actors may feel somewhat exceptional compared to their peers due to the experience gained through their professional activities. The connection between the emotional level of empathy in student actors of both sexes and neuroticism is explained by the fact that good social insight is accompanied by increased anxiety. Gender specific correlations (Machiavellianism with neuroticism in girls and behavioral empathy with extraversion in boys) may reflect the chosen strategies in developing the emotional component of the image, as well as in building relationships in a team.
Benesh, N.L. (2007). The importance of empathy in the actor’s (director’s) creativity. Al’manakh sovremennoi nauki i obrazovaniya (Almanac of Modern Science and Education), 1(1), 47–49. (In Russ.).
Dikiy, I., Dikaya, L., Karpova, V., Lavreshina, A., Kagramanyan, M. (2018). Psychological characteristics of art specialists with a highly productive creative imagination. Psychology of Russia: State of Art, 11(2), 134–147.
Dufner, M., Egloff, B., Hausmann, C., Wendland, L.-M., Neyer, F., Back, M. (2014). Narcissistic Tendencies Among Actors: Craving for Admiration, But Not at the Cost of Others. Social Psychology and Personality Science, 6(4), 447–454. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550614564224
Egorova, M.S., Sitnikova, M.A., Parshikova, O.V. (2015). An adaptation of the Dark Triad Short Questionnaire. Psikhologicheskie Issledovaniya (Psychological Research), 8(43). https://doi.org/10.54359/ps.v8i43.1052 (In Russ.).
Egorova, M.S., Parshikova, O.V. (2016). Psychometric characteristics of the Big Five Short Portrait Questionnaire (B5-10). Psikhologicheskie Issledovaniya (Psychological Research), 9(45). https://doi.org/10.54359/ps.v9i45.492 (In Russ.).
Groisman, A.L. (2007). Psychology of success of professional training and creative activity of an actor. Moscow: Cogito Center. (In Russ.).
Rozhdestvenskaya, N.V. (2005). Diagnostics of acting abilities. St. Petersburg: Rech.
Sobkin, V.S. (1984). Psychological and pedagogical aspects of training students of creative universities. In: A.L. Groisman (Ed.), Experience in the study of personality characteristics of student-actors (pp. 22–37). Moscow: GITIS.
Sobkin, V.S., Lykova, T.A. (2014). Personal characteristics in the professional selection of student-actors: gender aspect. National Psychological Journal, (3), 74–83. (In Russ.).
Sobkin, V.S., Lykova, T.A. (2015). Psychotechniques of giftedness development in theater pedagogy. Psikhologicheskie Issledovaniya (Psychological Research), 8(40). https://doi.org/10.54359/ps.v8i40.559 (In Russ.).
Sobkin, V.S., Lykova, T.A. (2019). To the question of psychological features of the actor’s personality development: the experience of typological analysis. Konsul’tativnaya psikhologiya i psikhoterapiya (Counseling Psychology and Psychotherapy), 27(2), 129–146. https://doi.org/10.17759/cpp.2019270209 (In Russ.).
Sobkin, V.S., Lykova, T.A., Sobkina, A.V. (2021). Psychology of the actor: the beginning of the professional path. Moscow: Institute of Education Managment RAE. (In Russ.).
Stanislavsky, K.S. (2008). The actor’s work on himself in the creative process of experiencing. Diary of a pupil. Saint-Petersburg: Prime Euroznak. (In Russ.).
Stanislavsky, K.S. (1988). Collected works: in 9 vols. Vol. 1. My life in art. Moscow: Art. (In Russ.).
Vygotsky, L.S. (1984). To the question of the psychology of the actor’s creativity. Collected works: in 6 vols. Vol. 6. Scientific inheritance (pp. 319–328). Moscow: Pedagogy. (In Russ.).
Sobkin, V.S., Savchenko, N.L. , Siyan, M.V., Yakovleva, M.A. . Gender Differences in the Relationships Between Empathic Tendencies, Dark Triad Traits and Personality Traits in Student Actors. // National Psychological Journal 2024. 2. Pages143-149. doi: 10.11621/npj.2024.0212
Copied to Clipboard
Copy