For compassionate helping, must we first feel understood? The role of felt understanding in facilitating intragroup and intergroup empathy and prosocial responding

Prior research demonstrates consistent ingroup bias in empathy and prosocial behaviour. However, the process through which shared social identity facilitates greater empathy and helping is less well-studied. We investigate the mediating role of intergroup felt understanding: the perception that ingroup perspectives, identity, culture, intentions, and motivations are understood. Five studies (Studies 1a – 1e; N = 703) manipulated shared vs. non-shared social identity with targets in a variety of contexts (e.g., following a disaster). Meta-analyses indicated that shared (vs. non-shared) social identity resulted in greater felt understanding, and via felt understanding, participants reported greater empathy and prosocial intentions towards ingroup (vs. outgroup targets. However, in contrast to prior research, direct effects of shared social identity on prosocial outcomes were either null or showed a slight outgroup preference. Studies 2a and 2b (N = 362) manipulated felt (mis)understanding of ingroup perspectives by outgroup targets. Meta-analyses demonstrated that those in the understood (vs. misunderstood) condition reported greater empathy and prosocial intentions toward outgroup targets. Studies 3a – 3c studies (N = 749) manipulated intergroup felt (mis)understanding in a competitive ingroup vs. outgroup context. We observed suppression effects, such that via self-reported felt understanding, the understood (vs. misunderstood) conditions resulted in reduced ingroup bias in empathy and prosocial responding, while adjusting for measured felt understanding allowed an oppositional direct effect to emerge. Interestingly, participants reported greater ingroup bias in the understood (vs. misunderstood) condition, indicative of backlash effects. Study 4 (N = 226) also manipulated intergroup felt (mis)understanding and included a behavioural donation measure. The same pattern of effects as Studies 3a – 3c were observed. Overall, results provide some support for the positive role of intergroup felt understanding in facilitating empathy and prosociality, though more research is needed to investigate the cause of apparent backlash effects. Implications for theory and future research are discussed.<p></p>

Author dc:creator

• Summer Lea Bedford (21050252)

• social identity
• felt understanding
• empathy
• prosocial behaviour
• prosociality
• intergroup
• intragroup

Statement dc:rights

• All rights reserved
• Open Access after 2027-03-30

Identifier

10779/exe.31890886.v1

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:figshare.com:article/31890886