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Full-Text Articles in Psychology
Effects Of Mindfulness Training On Prosocial Responses In Intergroup Relations: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial, Denise Yiran Zheng
Effects Of Mindfulness Training On Prosocial Responses In Intergroup Relations: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial, Denise Yiran Zheng
Theses and Dissertations
Based on social identity theory and intergroup emotions theory, individuals feel for and act toward others based on their group-based social identities. Recent research shows that mindfulness can enhance prosocial responses toward others across group divides. The current research examined the effects of mindfulness training on prosocial behavior in intergroup relations where such behavior is difficult (e.g., with marginalized or devalued social groups). The study also examined potential mechanisms, namely state empathic concern and appraisal, that may explain how mindfulness increases prosocial behavior toward outgroups. This study compared the effects of a 2-week mindfulness training to a matched coping training …
The Role Of Mindfulness And Compassion In Parochial Empathy And Prosocial Behavior Toward Out-Groups, Denise Zheng
The Role Of Mindfulness And Compassion In Parochial Empathy And Prosocial Behavior Toward Out-Groups, Denise Zheng
Theses and Dissertations
As opposed to the tendency to empathize with and help one’s in-group members, there are often barriers to responding altruistically toward out-group members. Little is known about people’s capacity to cultivate intergroup prosocial responses through contemplative practices. This experiment examined the role of mindfulness instruction in parochial empathy and prosocial behavior toward an out-group, relative to compassion and relaxation instruction. A national sample of U.S. residents (N = 450) was recruited online through the on-line Prolific platform. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the three brief, structurally equivalent instruction conditions: mindfulness meditation, compassion meditation, or progressive muscle relaxation. …
Empathic Anger And Personal Anger In Response To Fairness Violations: Relations To Self And Other-Oriented Motivation And Behavior, Athena H. Cairo
Empathic Anger And Personal Anger In Response To Fairness Violations: Relations To Self And Other-Oriented Motivation And Behavior, Athena H. Cairo
Theses and Dissertations
Prosocial behavior research has shown that empathy-elicited compassionate concern often motivates actions performed with an ultimate goal of helping others even at cost to oneself, whereas empathic distress motivates low-cost help with an ultimate goal of helping oneself. Less is known about the motivational outcomes of empathic anger felt when witnessing injustice or harm to others. Though empathic anger predicts third-party compensation and punishment, it is unclear whether this motivation is ultimately self or other-oriented. Three experimental studies examined the empathic anger-altruism hypothesis, that empathic anger evoked when witnessing another being treated unjustly would evoke altruistic motivation to help the …
When Empathy Only Goes So Far: Development Of A Trait Parochial Empathy Scale, Anna Maria C. Behler
When Empathy Only Goes So Far: Development Of A Trait Parochial Empathy Scale, Anna Maria C. Behler
Theses and Dissertations
Empathy, the ability to feel and/or understand another’s emotional state, plays a significant role in interpersonal interactions, mitigating hostility and enhancing affiliation and helping. However, empathy also biases interpersonal reactions. For example, at the group level empathy can become amplified towards members of their ingroup and blunted towards individuals in outgroups, a term called parochial empathy. Currently, no validated measures of parochial empathy at the dispositional level exist, and development of such a scale would be important to understanding the role of group-based emotions in prejudice and discrimination against outgroups. I conducted five studies to develop and validate a …
Bridging The Empathy Gap: Effects Of Brief Mindfulness Training On Helping Outgroup Members In Need, Daniel R. Berry
Bridging The Empathy Gap: Effects Of Brief Mindfulness Training On Helping Outgroup Members In Need, Daniel R. Berry
Theses and Dissertations
Witnessing others in need can be felt similarly to experiencing it oneself (empathy) and motivates assistance of those in need (prosocial action). It is well-documented that empathy can occur automatically, but when those in need are not members of a social ingroup, empathy and prosocial action are undermined. One major ingroup—outgroup division in American and in other countries is based on race. Although most condemn racial discrimination, empathy and prosocial action are often lower, however unintentionally, in interracial contexts. In light of this empathy gap, it is important to identify psychological factors that could bolster empathy and prosocial action toward …
Curiosity And Compassion: Curiosity And Attachment Security's Relationship With Empathic Responding To Hardship, Athena H. Cairo
Curiosity And Compassion: Curiosity And Attachment Security's Relationship With Empathic Responding To Hardship, Athena H. Cairo
Theses and Dissertations
Compassion requires both attention and motivation to engage with another person’s experience. Two studies examined whether curiosity—the interest and motivation to explore new or complex information—promotes empathic concern and suppresses personal distress. These studies also examined whether attachment insecurity moderates curiosity’s effect on empathy. Study 1 identified correlations among curiosity, attachment security, empathic concern, and personal distress traits. In Study 2, participants were primed with high or low curiosity before watching a video of a peer experiencing hardship, then reported state curiosity, empathic concern, personal distress, and prosocial motivation. Trait and state curiosity predicted greater empathic concern and prosocial motivation. …