Empathy and Altruism

Abstract

Do we humans ever, in any degree, care about others for their sakes and not simply for our own? Psychology has long assumed that everything humans do, no matter how nice and noble, is motivated by self-interest. However, research over the past three decades suggests that this assumption is wrong. This research has focused on the empathy—altruism hypothesis, which claims that empathic concern—an other-oriented emotional response elicited by and congruent with the perceived welfare of a person in need—produces altruistic motivation—motivation with the ultimate goal of increasing another's welfare. Results of the over 30 experiments designed to test this hypothesis against various egoistic alternatives have proved remarkably supportive, leading to the tentative conclusion that feeling empathic concern for a person in need does indeed evoke altruistic motivation to see that need relieved. Sources of altruistic motivation other than empathy also have been proposed, but as yet, there is not compelling research evidence to support these proposals. Two additional forms of prosocial motivation have also been proposed: collectivism and principlism. Collectivism—motivation with the ultimate goal of benefiting some group or collective as a whole—has been claimed to result from group identity. Principlism—motivation with the ultimate goal of upholding some moral principle—has long been advocated by religious teachers and moral philosophers. Whether either is a separate form of motivation, independent of and irreducible to egoism, is not yet clear. Research done to test for the existence of empathy-induced altruism may serve as a useful model for future research testing for the existence of collectivism and principlism. Theoretical and practical implications of the empathy-altruism hypothesis are briefly considered.

Healing Dysfunctional Identity: Bridging Mind-Body Intervention to Brain Systems

“…The child learns to control the caregiver "self-object" in a manner that is similar to that of learning to control his or her own mind and body, which is different from that of an adult seeking to seize control over another person [20]. In adulthood, a healthy person develops a cohesive self that can connect to others as a person independent of self's needs rather than self-objects, and hence is enabled to relate to others for the sake of others [21], taking interests in others' success and welfare (i.e., empathy) [22] [23], which may decrease self-oriented identity-grasping.…”

Perspective taking as a means to overcome motivational barriers in negotiations: When putting oneself into the opponent's shoes helps to walk toward agreements.

“…In particular, research on the empathy-altruism hypothesis (Batson, 1991;Batson, Ahmad, & Lishner, 2009) seems to suggest a direct link between perspective taking and social motivation. However, as has been pointed out by Batson et al (1995), the effect of perspective taking on altruistic motivation is mediated by empathic emotion.…”

The Development and Growth of Empathy Among Engineering Students

“…28 In particular, Batson 30 , Hoffman 19 , and Decety and Jackson 29 described affective empathy types to be key motivators for helping others. Further, Hoffman 19 considered perspective-taking (defined as some combination of items 1, 4, 5, and 6 above) to be the most advanced form of empathy (in a developmental sense), which makes it possible to affectively empathize with others not present or with whom one does not know be enabling one to imagine those others.…”