University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Does the caged bird sing? Outgroup empathy and the politics of cooperation
Abstract
dc:descriptionOutgroup empathy scholars argue that the trait-based empathy exhibited by members of a social ingroup towards outgroups mitigates reactions to existential threats, counteracts ingroup self-interest, reduces intergroup conflict, increases opposition to punitive politics, and strengthens support for civil rights protections. While important work has examined how dispositional outgroup empathy builds trust and maintains stable intergroup norms in pluralistic societies, little is known about its development, operation, or potential limitations. I argue that (1) outgroup empathy can be developed in adulthood through repeated, positive, and substantive intergroup contact, that (2) this development mediates the effects of contact on intergroup attitudes and behaviors, that (3) outgroup empathy influences the correspondence between intergroup attitudes and behaviors by increasing the accessibility and stability of attitudes toward outgroups, and that (4) outgroup empathy remains a powerful predisposition even when group differences are not informed by pre-existing social contexts. To test the first three arguments, I conducted a field experiment (N = 223) with the assistance of immigrant-serving organizations during a spring 2024 8-week online citizenship course. Pre- and post-intervention surveys, including a modified Group Empathy Index (GEI), attitudinal measures, and behavioral observations, were used to assess the impact of the contact intervention. The results show that outgroup empathy can develop in adulthood through repeated outgroup interactions, especially under optimal contact conditions. The outgroup empathy so developed consistently influences intergroup attitudes and behaviors, and affects the stability and accessibility of such attitudes. However, the increase in attitude stability and accessibility does not substantially impact the correspondence between attitudes and behaviors. These findings demonstrate not only that interventions can successfully cultivate outgroup empathy in society, but also that the development of outgroup empathy promotes normatively desirable intergroup outcomes. To test the fourth argument, I conducted a survey experiment (N = 1362) during the Fall of 2023, whereby participants were randomly assigned to minimal group conditions or a control. The main minimal group condition assigned participants to arbitrary personality groups, and additional conditions involved group assignments with cues for ingroup loyalty, intergroup competition, intergroup equality, and identity salience. Outcome measures included group bias indices, feeling thermometers, voting intentions, and quasi-dictator games. The findings provide mixed support across outcomes for the argument that outgroup empathy reduces outgroup discrimination in minimal settings. In addition, outgroup empathy plays a limited role in reducing ingroup favoritism, and can sometimes even enhance it. These effects are variously reduced, nullified, or reinforced by the presence of norms or identity salience. These findings demonstrate that outgroup empathy is a favorable predisposition with effects that extend beyond known outgroups to unknown ones. However, its effectiveness can be attenuated by societal norms and heightened ingroup favoritism.
Degree
thesis:*- Name thesis:degree_name
- Ph.D.
- Level thesis:degree_level
- Dissertation
- Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
- Political Science
- Grantor
- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Year dc:date
- 2024
Author and committee
dc:creator, dc:contributor.*- Author dc:creator
-
- Moreira, Jair Alexander
- Contributors dc:contributor
-
- Wong, Cara J
- Gaines, Brian J
- Ksiazkiewicz, Aleksander
- Winters, Matthew S
Subjects
dc:subject × 5Rights
dc:rights- Statement dc:rights
-
- Copyright 2024 Jair Moreira
- Language dc:language
- en, eng
Identifiers
dc:identifier.*- Handle dc:identifier
- https://hdl.handle.net/2142/127139