Work

Build better relationships: Positive empathy and capitalization.

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: When individuals share positive events with others, they can experience benefits beyond the positive event itself, a phenomenon known as capitalization. However, the perceived quality of the responder’s reaction to a capitalization attempt shapes the impact it will have for the capitalizer. Here, we examined how different dimensions of empathy (e.g., compassion, perspective taking, emotion sharing) in listeners predict perceived responses to capitalization attempts by sharers. We recruited 103 stranger dyads (N = 206) who engaged in naturalistic conversations about a meaningful positive event. Participants watched video recordings of their interactions and continuously rated their own and their partner's emotions using a sliding scale. Results revealed that co-experienced positive affect—moments when both the listener and sharer simultaneously experienced positive emotions—was a key predictor of perceived responses to capitalization attempts. Specifically, more moments of shared positive affect predicted greater active-constructive responses (enthusiastic, supportive reactions) and fewer passive-destructive responses (disinterested, unsupportive reactions). These associations remained robust controlling for individual moments of positive and negative affect, disclosure depth, and other empathy dimensions. These findings suggest that feeling positive emotions with others, more so than understanding or caring for their emotions, is associated with effective responses to capitalization attempts. This research bridges empathy and capitalization literatures by demonstrating that positive emotion sharing underpins supportive responses to shared good news, with important implications for understanding how to build stronger relationships through effective responses to others' positive experiences.

Source: Emotion

DOI: 10.1037/emo0001707

Authors: Gregory John Depow, Amie M. Gordon, Yumeng Gu, Christopher Oveis

Institutions: University of California San Diego, University of Michigan

Language: English

Topic: Attachment and Relationship Dynamics

Subfield: Social Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Funder: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada

Award: G6969762787