Five studies testing two new egoistic alternatives to the empathy-altruism hypothesis.

The empathy-altruism hypothesis claims that prosocial motivation associated with feeling empathy for a person in need is directed toward the ultimate goal of benefiting that person, not toward some subtle form of self-benefit. We explored two new egoistic alternatives to this hypothesis. The empathy-specific reward hypothesis proposes that the prosocial motivation associated with empathy is directed toward the goal of obtaining social or self-rewards (i.e., praise, honor, and pride). The empathy-specific punishment hypothesis proposes that this motivation is directed toward the goal of avoiding social or self-punishments (i.e., censure, guilt, and shame). Study 1 provided an initial test of the empathy-specific reward hypothesis. Studies 2 through 4 used three procedures to test the empathy-specific punishment hypothesis. In Study 5, a Stroop procedure was used to assess the role of reward-relevant, punishment-relevant, and victim-relevant cognitions in mediating the empathy-helping relationship. Results of these five studies did not support either the empathy-specific reward or the empathy-specific punishment hypothesis. Instead, results of each supported the empathy-altruism hypothesis. Evidence that empathic emotion evokes altruistic motivation continues to mount.

[1]  R. A. Wicklund.  Objective Self-Awareness , 1975 .

[2]  C. Batson,et al.  The Religious Experience , 1983 .

[3]  S. Milgram.  Obedience to Authority: An Experimental View , 1975 .

[4]  S. Moscovici.  Social influence and conformity , 1985 .

[5]  D Krebs.  Empathy and altruism. , 1975, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[6]  S. Milgram.  BEHAVIORAL STUDY OF OBEDIENCE. , 1963, Journal of abnormal psychology.

[7]  H. Clayton Foushee,et al.  The role of dispositional empathy and social evaluation in the empathic mediation of helping. , 1981 .

[8]  P. Salovey,et al.  The joys of helping: Focus of attention mediates the impact of positive affect on altruism. , 1981 .

[9]  D. Thissen,et al.  The development of automatic word recognition and reading skill , 1981, Memory & cognition.

[10]  Linda Silka,et al.  Perceived difficulty, energization, and the magnitude of goal valence ☆ , 1983 .

[11]  P. Shaver,et al.  Cognitive consequences of self-awareness , 1976 .

[12]  C. Batson,et al.  Empathic mediation of helping: A two-stage model. , 1978 .

[13]  Robert P. Abelson,et al.  The semantics of asking a favor: How to succeed in getting help without really dying. , 1972 .

[14]  A. Eagly,et al.  Gender and helping behavior: A meta-analytic review of the social psychological literature. , 1986, Psychological bulletin.

[15]  James M. Weyant.  Effects of mood states, costs, and benefits on helping. , 1978 .

[16]  J. Dovidio,et al.  Helping behavior and altruism: an empirical and conceptual overview , 1984 .

[17]  G. Āllport,et al.  Personal religious orientation and prejudice. , 1967, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[18]  Y. Yinon,et al.  On the reinforcing value of helping behavior in a positive mood , 1987 .

[19]  C. Daniel Batson,et al.  Is Empathic Emotion a Source of Altruistic Motivation , 1981 .

[20]  R. L. Archer,et al.  The farmer and the cowman should be friends: An attempt at reconciliation with Batson, Coke, and Pych. , 1984 .

[21]  Karen O'Quin,et al.  Influence of self-reported distress and empathy on egoistic versus altruistic motivation to help. , 1983 .

[22]  R. Abelson.  Psychological status of the script concept. , 1981 .

[23]  R. E. Warren,et al.  Association, directionality, and stimulus encoding. , 1974 .

[24]  J. Stroop,et al.  Factors affecting speed in serial verbal reactions. , 1938 .

[25]  A. L. Beaman,et al.  Empathy-based helping: is it selflessly or selfishly motivated? , 1987, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[26]  B. J. Winer,et al.  Statistical Principles in Experimental Design, 2nd Edition. , 1973 .

[27]  J. Dovidio,et al.  Specificity of empathy-induced helping : evidence for altruistic motivation , 1990 .

[28]  C. Daniel Batson,et al.  More evidence that empathy is a source of altruistic motivation. , 1982 .

[29]  Robert B. Cialdini,et al.  The economics of empathic helping: Support for a mood management motive , 1988 .

[30]  Michael A. Wallach,et al.  Psychology's sanction for selfishness : the error of egoism in theory and therapy , 1983 .

[31]  S. Schwartz,et al.  A Normative Decision Making Model of Altruism , 1981 .

[32]  C. Daniel Batson,et al.  Prosocial Motivation: Is it ever Truly Altruistic? , 1987 .

[33]  M. Lerner,et al.  The heroic motive: Some experimental demonstrations , 1983 .

[34]  B. Latané,et al.  Bystander intervention in emergencies: diffusion of responsibility. , 1968, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[35]  E. Pedhazur.  Multiple Regression in Behavioral Research: Explanation and Prediction , 1982 .

[36]  C. Daniel Batson,et al.  Where is the altruism in the altruistic personality , 1986 .

[37]  S. Kassouf.  Normative Decision Making , 1970 .

[38]  W. Thompson,et al.  Focus of Attention Mediates the Impact of Negative Affect on Altruism. , 1980 .

[39]  M. Orne.  On the social psychology of the psychological experiment: With particular reference to demand characteristics and their implications. , 1962 .

[40]  C. Batson,et al.  Social evaluation and the empathy-altruism hypothesis. , 1986, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[41]  D. A. Kenny,et al.  The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. , 1986, Journal of personality and social psychology.