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Excited to share my latest paper (w/ Andy Todd), now in press at JPSP!
Empathy is widely seen as a virtue, but what do people think of empathizers—those expressing empathy toward others? The answer isn’t as simple as you might think!
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧵" title="Thread" aria-label="Emoji: Thread"> 1/15
https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2020-69773-001">https://psycnet.apa.org/record/20...
Empathy is widely seen as a virtue, but what do people think of empathizers—those expressing empathy toward others? The answer isn’t as simple as you might think!
https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2020-69773-001">https://psycnet.apa.org/record/20...
1/15 https://psycnet.apa.org/record/20..." title="Excited to share my latest paper (w/ Andy Todd), now in press at JPSP!Empathy is widely seen as a virtue, but what do people think of empathizers—those expressing empathy toward others? The answer isn’t as simple as you might think! https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧵" title="Thread" aria-label="Emoji: Thread"> 1/15 https://psycnet.apa.org/record/20..." class="img-responsive" style="max-width:100%;"/>
Empathy is discussed A LOT these days. Just look at news headlines: empathy of political leaders, public figures, teenagers, the American people, etc. all is in the mix. 2/15
(forgot to mention—full pdf of my paper is on http://yilinandrewang.com"> http://yilinandrewang.com if you can& #39;t access link above)
(forgot to mention—full pdf of my paper is on http://yilinandrewang.com"> http://yilinandrewang.com if you can& #39;t access link above)
The premise is obvious: Empathizers should be liked. But is that always true? It turns out we know little about effects of empathy on *observers*.
Here is what I mean: Research typically focuses on the intradyadic level. What about the effects of empathy beyond the dyad? 3/15
Here is what I mean: Research typically focuses on the intradyadic level. What about the effects of empathy beyond the dyad? 3/15
How observers evaluate empathizers matters! Just look at social media, or ask readers of this NYT profile (which in part inspired this research).
People seem to readily form impressions of empathizers, & these impressions are not uniformly positive. 4/15 https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/26/reader-center/readers-accuse-us-of-normalizing-a-nazi-sympathizer-we-respond.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/2...
People seem to readily form impressions of empathizers, & these impressions are not uniformly positive. 4/15 https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/26/reader-center/readers-accuse-us-of-normalizing-a-nazi-sympathizer-we-respond.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/2...
So we put this idea to the test! Across 7 experiments (4 w/ publicly pre-reg’ed analysis plans) and 3000+ participants, we found that observers’ evaluations of empathizers reliably depended on the target of empathy (hence our paper title). 5/15
First, empathizers (vs. nonempathizers) of a stressful experience were respected/liked more when target was https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👍" title="Thumbs up" aria-label="Emoji: Thumbs up"> (e.g., hospital worker, pro-vaccination), but not when target was https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👎" title="Thumbs down" aria-label="Emoji: Thumbs down"> (e.g., White supremacist, anti-vax). Interestingly, empathizers were still seen as warmer. 6/15
(e.g., hospital worker, pro-vaccination), but not when target was https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👎" title="Thumbs down" aria-label="Emoji: Thumbs down"> (e.g., White supremacist, anti-vax). Interestingly, empathizers were still seen as warmer. 6/15" title="First, empathizers (vs. nonempathizers) of a stressful experience were respected/liked more when target was https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👍" title="Thumbs up" aria-label="Emoji: Thumbs up"> (e.g., hospital worker, pro-vaccination), but not when target was https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👎" title="Thumbs down" aria-label="Emoji: Thumbs down"> (e.g., White supremacist, anti-vax). Interestingly, empathizers were still seen as warmer. 6/15" class="img-responsive" style="max-width:100%;"/>
Were there circumstances where empathizing with a negative target *lowered* respect/liking for the empathizer? Yes, when the negative target was having a good time (see crossover interaction on the left panel of this figure): 7/15
Was this simply about empathic responses being positive? Not quite. Response positivity did matter, but it did not fully account for these effects. When we compared an empathic response with an equally positive but nonempathic response, we still saw differences. 8/15
Lastly, we examined whether actively withholding empathy—specifically, condemning a negative target—affected evaluations of the responder. Generally, giving a condemning (vs. empathic) response to a negative target *increased* respect/liking but reduced warmth. 9/15
But this effect flipped when target& #39;s disclosed experience was unrelated to *why* target was negatively viewed (e.g., a White supremacist experiencing stress from cancer treatment vs. her White supremacist job; see left panel of figure below). 10/15
In other words, evaluations of empathizers do not just depend on the valence of the target, but also on the connection between target experience and target valence ("is she having a hard time *because* she’s a bad person?"). 11/15
Finally, we also examined how evaluations of empathizers varied as a function of the inferences participants drew (i.e., whether Ps believed empathizers liked the target). In a nutshell: Inferences did matter, especially when the target was positive. 12/15
Takehome https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="📨" title="Eingehender Umschlag" aria-label="Emoji: Eingehender Umschlag">:
If you show empathy, observers *do* evaluate you, even if they aren’t on the receiving end of it. And these impressions are nuanced and attuned to the target of your empathy. 13/15
If you show empathy, observers *do* evaluate you, even if they aren’t on the receiving end of it. And these impressions are nuanced and attuned to the target of your empathy. 13/15
This also poses a conundrum: People are often encouraged to empathize with disliked others, but our findings suggest that they are not always viewed favorably for doing so.
Insofar as empathy is seen as an affiliative act, it might not always bridge social divides… 14/15
Insofar as empathy is seen as an affiliative act, it might not always bridge social divides… 14/15
…b/c the social evaluative benefits of empathy might accrue more readily *within* groups than across them, potentially reifying the very social divides empathy is touted to bridge.
Data, materials, codebook, analysis code: https://osf.io/s4ab3/
Thoughts">https://osf.io/s4ab3/&qu... welcome!https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😊" title="Lächelndes Gesicht mit lächelnden Augen" aria-label="Emoji: Lächelndes Gesicht mit lächelnden Augen"> 15/15
Data, materials, codebook, analysis code: https://osf.io/s4ab3/
Thoughts">https://osf.io/s4ab3/&qu... welcome!