Abstract

The purpose of the present study is to examine the moderator effects of meta-mood on the relationship between repressive coping style and empathy. The Emotional Empathy Scale, the TMMS (Trait Meta-Mood Scale), the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale, and the Manifest Anxiety Scale were administered to 248 university students (96 males, 156 females). Using both the average scores on the Social Desirability Scale and the Manifest Anxiety Scale as the cut-off scores, the subjects were divided into four groups: high anxiety-high defensiveness, high anxiety, repression, and low anxiety. Hierarchical regression was used to examine the effects of repressive coping style and trait meta-mood on empathy. The results showed that trait meta-mood exerted significant effects on the relationship between repressive coping style and empathy. Based on these findings, the relationships among anxiety, defensiveness, empathy, and self- perceived emotional intelligence were discussed.