Is empathy-induced helping due to self–other merging?

Abstract

IWo experiments tested the idea that empathy-induced helping is due to self-other merging. To manipulate empathy, half of the participants in each experiment received instructions to remain objective while hearing about a young woman in need (low-empathy condition), and half received instructions to imagine her feelings (high-empathy condition). Tb check generality of the empathyhelping relationship, half in each empathy condition learned that the young woman was a student at their university (shared group membership), and half learned that she was a student at a rival university (unshared group membership). Self-reported empathy for and willingness to help the young woman were assessed, and 3 measures of self-other merging were taken. In each experiment, an empathy-helping relationship was found, unqualified by group membership, that could not be accounted for by any of the merging measures.

The Friendly Taking Effect: How Interpersonal Closeness Leads to Seemingly Selfish Yet Jointly Maximizing Choice

“…We show the conditions under which people take more from close others, which may appear to contradict the well-researched and intuitively plausible notion that interpersonal closeness should decrease taking because people care more about close versus distant others (Batson et al 1997;Cross, Bacon, and Morris 2000). Indeed, past research has shown increased closeness can lead people to treat others better, which seems to imply increased giving and decreased taking (Clark 1983;Rusbult et al 2004).…”

“…At the emotional level, closeness is shown as an increased liking of the relationship partner (Rubin 1970). At the cognitive level, closeness manifests as the overlapped mental representation of self and other (Aron et al 1991) that goes by various names in the literature, including self-other merging (Batson et al 1997), cognitive interdependence (Kelley and Thibaut 1978), and oneness (Cialdini et al 1997). Aron, Aron, and Smollan (1992) measured the self-other overlap via a set of Venn-like diagrams, each of which consists of two circles-one representing the self and one representing the other-that overlap to different degrees, from not at all to completely.…”

“…As Wegner (1980) commented, willingness to give to others may "stem in part from a basic confusion between ourselves and others" (p. 133). Consequently, giving to a close other can feel like giving to the self (Aron et al 1991;Batson et al 1997;Cialdini et al 1997;Clark 1983;Jarymowicz 1992). Indeed, research on communal versus exchange relationships documents that people are less concerned with reciprocity in communal relationships (in which the norm is to give to meet others' needs, or to show concern for the other person) than in exchange relationships (where the norm is to give with the expectation of getting comparable repayment in the future; Mills 1979, 1993).…”

Lying because we care: Compassion increases prosocial lying.

“…Compassion is evoked by witnessing or learning about others' physical or emotional pain (Batson et al, 1997;Condon & DeSteno, 2011;Eisenberg et al, 1989;Stellar, Cohen, Oveis, & Keltner, 2014;Stellar, Feinberg, & Keltner, 2014;Stellar, Manzo, Kraus, & Keltner, 2012;Van Kleef et al, 2008) or victimization (Cameron & Payne, 2011;Valdesolo & DeSteno, 2011a), and by viewing depictions of suffering others such as homeless or malnourished people (Oveis et al, 2009;Oveis, Horberg, & Keltner, 2010).…”

The dynamics of interminority extended contact: The role of affective and cognitive mediators.

“…In intergroup settings, empathy felt toward outgroup members generalizes into positive outgroup attitudes and helping intentions toward outgroup members (e.g., Batson et al, 1997;Galinsky & Moskowitz, 2000). Trust, on the other hand, is a positive psychological bias INTERMINORITY EXTENDED CONTACT 6 toward others (Yamagishi & Yamagishi, 1994).…”