Justice Across Group Boundaries: Extending Empathy-Motivated Helping to Out-Groups

<p>This research integrates the theoretical perspectives of three separate but related areas of social-psychological research to hypothesize about relationships between the emotion of empathy and an individual's effort to extend helping behaviors to out-groups. The literatures on social justice, prosocial behavior, and group stereotypes are reviewed. An experimental study manipulated empathic concern for an out-group by varying the perspective through which participants interpret an experience that is had by a fictional immigrant group to America. In addition, the study manipulated the stereotypes that characterized the immigrant group. The effects of these independent variable manipulations on psychometric measures of empathic concern, helping behaviors, identity considerations, and personal distress were assessed. Findings suggest that instructions to take the perspective of an out-group described as socially cold and incompetent results in significantly less helping compared to a control group. Results are discussed in reference to the theory and practice of intergroup relations.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Psychology

Year dc:date.available

2011

Author dc:creator

• Jacobs, Elizabeth K.

• Empathy
• Justice
• Out groups
• Social Psychology

Repository record dc:identifier

https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss/246

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:ecommons.luc.edu:luc_diss-1245