Altruistic personality in the context of the empathy–altruism hypothesis

2004 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 351-365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans‐Werner Bierhoff ◽  
Elke Rohmann
Keyword(s):  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Emotional Response ◽  
Empathic Concern ◽  
Prosocial Behaviour ◽  
Personal Distress ◽  
Personality Variables ◽  
Altruistic Motivation ◽  
Self Reports ◽  
Escape Condition ◽  
Responsibility Scale

In this study the influence of the altruistic personality in general and social responsibility in particular on prosocial behaviour were investigated in the context of the empathy–altruism hypothesis. In an experiment 56 female participants had an opportunity to help a person in distress. In this setting, ease of escape without helping was manipulated. In addition, on the basis of their self‐reports of situation‐specific emotions, participants were divided into an empathic‐concern and a personal‐distress group. The results of the 2 (ease of escape) × 2 (predominant emotional response) design were in agreement with the empathy–altruism hypothesis. Further results indicated that in the easy‐escape condition an altruistic motivation prevailed, whereas in the difficult‐escape condition an egoistic motivation was more dominant. Besides the full scale, two subscales of social responsibility were formed: Moral Fulfilment of the Justified Expectations of Others and Adherence to Social Prescriptions. The full social responsibility scale was significantly related to helpfulness only in the difficult‐escape condition. Further analyses including the subscales showed that the component Moral Fulfilment of the Justified Expectations of Others correlated positively with helping in the easy‐escape condition. Results were interpreted as showing that specific profiles of personality variables are associated with helpfulness in the easy‐escape and difficult‐escape conditions. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Premature Release of the Prime

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Daniel Batson
Keyword(s):  
Empathic Concern ◽  
Altruistic Motivation ◽  
The Third ◽  
Physical Exposure ◽  
Helping Relationship ◽  
Premature Release

The third new possibility returned attention to the first egoistic hypothesis: remove–empathy. Perhaps people feeling high empathy think that even if they escape physical exposure to the need, they will continue to feel empathic concern. If so, psychological escape is still difficult, and the results previously reported (see Chapter 4) are as consistent with remove–empathy as with the empathy–altruism hypothesis. Contrary to this possibility, some research suggested physical escape did provide psychological escape in the experiments in Chapter 4. Further, Eric Stocks conducted two experiments that manipulated psychological escape directly, and results of each supported the empathy–altruism hypothesis, not remove–empathy. Based on these data, it was necessary to reject the last of the three new possibilities. Left with no plausible egoistic account of the empathy–helping relationship—this time, nobody else had one either—there was no alternative but to conclude that empathic concern produces altruistic motivation. Our search was over.

A Scientific Search for Altruism

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Daniel Batson
Keyword(s):  
Human Nature ◽  
Scientific Method ◽  
Laboratory Experiments ◽  
Fundamental Question ◽  
Empathic Concern ◽  
Altruistic Motivation ◽  
The Past ◽  
Past Half Century ◽  
Series Of Experiments ◽  
Past Half

This book provides an example of how the scientific method can be used to address a fundamental question about human nature. For centuries—indeed for millennia—the egoism–altruism debate has echoed through Western thought. Egoism says that the motivation for everything we do, including all of our seemingly selfless acts of care for others, is to gain one or another self-benefit. Altruism, while not denying the force of self-benefit, says that under certain circumstances we can care for others for their sakes, not our own. Over the past half-century, social psychologists have turned to laboratory experiments to provide a scientific resolution of this human nature debate. The experiments focused on the possibility that empathic concern—other-oriented emotion elicited by and congruent with the perceived welfare of someone in need—produces altruistic motivation to remove that need. With carefully constructed experimental designs, these psychologists have tested the nature of the motivation produced by empathic concern, determining whether it is egoistic or altruistic. This series of experiments has provided an answer to a fundamental question about what makes us tick. Framed as a detective story, the book traces this scientific search for altruism through the numerous twists and turns that led to the conclusion that empathy-induced altruism is indeed part of our nature. It then examines the implications of this conclusion—negative implications as well as positive—both for our understanding of who we are as humans and for how we might create a more humane society.

scholarly journals Understanding the Links between Inferring Mental States, Empathy, and Burnout in Medical Contexts

Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 158
Author(s):  
Naira Delgado ◽  
Helena Bonache ◽  
Moisés Betancort ◽  
Yurena Morera ◽  
Lasana T. Harris
Keyword(s):  
Adverse Effects ◽  
Patient Care ◽  
Emotional Exhaustion ◽  
Mental State ◽  
Perspective Taking ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Empathic Concern ◽  
Personal Accomplishment ◽  
Personal Distress

It is generally accepted that empathy should be the basis of patient care. However, this ideal may be unrealistic if healthcare professionals suffer adverse effects when engaging in empathy. The aim of this study is to explore the effect of inferring mental states and different components of empathy (perspective-taking; empathic concern; personal distress) in burnout dimensions (emotional exhaustion; depersonalization; personal accomplishment). A total of 184 healthcare professionals participated in the study (23% male, Mage = 44.60; SD = 10.46). We measured participants’ empathy, the inference of mental states of patients, and burnout. Correlation analyses showed that inferring mental states was positively associated with perspective-taking and with empathic concern, but uncorrelated with personal distress. Furthermore, emotional exhaustion was related to greater levels of personal distress and greater levels of inferences of mental states. Depersonalization was associated with greater levels of personal distress and lower levels of empathic concern. Personal accomplishment was associated with the inference of mental states in patients, lower levels of personal distress, and perspective-taking. These results provide a better understanding of how different components of empathy and mental state inferences may preserve or promote healthcare professionals’ burnout.

Changes Over Time in Compassion-Related Variables in the United States

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sasha Zarins ◽  
Sara Konrath
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Emotional Response ◽  
The United States ◽  
Empathic Concern ◽  
Actual Data ◽  
Risk Spreading ◽  
Changes Over Time ◽  
Over Time

Compassion, or empathic concern, is an emotional response to another’s suffering, coupled with the desire to take action to alleviate that suffering. Throughout history, older generations have been critical of younger generations, often arguing that they are more self-focused than previous generations. However, it is important to examine actual data with respect to changes over time in such variables. Without doing so, we risk spreading potentially harmful and inaccurate stereotypes about young Americans. The goal of this chapter is to review research examining changes over time in compassion-related variables in the United States. Research suggests that compassion-related variables have indeed been declining over time, while self-focused variables have been increasing. However, we will also discuss counter-arguments and counter-evidence, and present possible implications of this research.

The Empathy-Altruism Hypothesis

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Daniel Batson
Keyword(s):  
Strong Support ◽  
Affirmative Answer ◽  
Empathic Concern ◽  
Motivational State ◽  
Altruistic Motivation ◽  
Parental Nurturance ◽  
The Past ◽  
Practical Implications

Do we humans ever, in any degree, care for others for their sakes and not simply for our own? The empathy-altruism hypothesis offers an affirmative answer to this question. It claims that empathic concern (defined as “other-oriented emotion elicited by and congruent with the perceived welfare of another in need”) produces altruistic motivation (“a motivational state with the ultimate goal of increasing the other’s welfare”). Research over the past 40 years testing this hypothesis against egoistic alternatives has provided quite strong support. Empathy-induced altruistic motivation does seem to be within the human repertoire. This empathy-induced altruism may have its biological roots in generalized parental nurturance. Practical implications of the empathy-altruism hypothesis include both benefits and liabilities—for the targets of empathy, for others, and for the person feeling empathic concern. Implications of the empathy-altruism research for the content and conduct of compassion science are suggested.

General Corporate Social Responsibility Scale

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karsten Mueller ◽  
Kate Hattrup ◽  
Sven-Oliver Spiess ◽  
Nick Lin-Hi
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
Responsibility Scale

Perceived Corporate Social Responsibility Scale

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald R. Lichtenstein ◽  
Minette E. Drumwright ◽  
Bridgette M. Braig
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
Responsibility Scale

Predicting Substance Use from Childhood Aggression and Prosocial Behaviour

2014 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danielle Quigley ◽  
Stefania Maggi
Keyword(s):  
Substance Use ◽  
Alcohol Use ◽  
Emerging Adulthood ◽  
Relational Aggression ◽  
Longitudinal Design ◽  
Marijuana Use ◽  
Childhood Aggression ◽  
Prosocial Behaviour ◽  
Self Reports ◽  
Maternal Reports

This research uses a longitudinal design to examine aggression and prosocial behaviour as early predictors of substance use behaviours in emerging adulthood. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY), self- and maternal reports of early engagement in relationally and physically aggressive behaviours and prosocial behaviours are examined as predictors of cigarette smoking, marijuana use, and alcohol use in emerging adulthood. Using multinomial regression analyses we found that maternal reports of relational aggression significantly predicted daily smoking whereas self-reports did not. Maternal reports of relational and physical aggression did not predict alcohol use and marijuana use; however, self-reports of relational aggression and prosocial behaviour predicted weekly marijuana use in this representative Canadian sample.

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