Does Empathy Mediate the effect of Theory of Mind on Prosocial Behaviour? An exploratory study on male and female college students.

Prosocial behaviours are a broad category of actions covering behaviours meant to benefit others; for example, helping, volunteering and sharing. Pro-sociality is essential for the well-being of social groups. And hence, identifying factors that could foster pro-sociality is important. Empathy, the ability to feel and share another person's emotions has long been associated with pro-social behaviour. However, a related but distinct construct Theory of Mind, which is also at the core of social cognition, has not been assessed for its possible contributions to prosocial behaviour. Theory of Mind (ToM) refers to the ability to attribute mental states to the self and others. Present study aimed to find out whether the impact of ToM and sex, if any, on prosocial behaviour is mediated by empathy, among college students. Stratified purposive sampling was followed and total 297 undergraduate college students (150 males and 147 females) were selected for the study. Findings of mediated regression analysis reveal that different dimensions of empathy (Perspective taking, Empathic Concern and Personal Distress) mediate the association of Theory of Mind (ToM) with prosocial behaviour. This study provides some preliminary evidences in line of research concerning how social cognition might influence prosocial behaviour.