“How can you help me if you are not from here?” Helper's familiarity with the context shapes interpretations of prosocial intergroup behaviors

Ingroup norms shape understanding of outgroup prosocial behaviors

This research investigated whether ingroup norm moderates the effect of positive or prosocial interactions on the understanding of intergroup prosocial behaviors. Among four experiments in three different cultural samples (U.S. Americans, Kosovan Serbs, and Kosovan Albanians; N = 808), results showed that participants attributed fewer prosocial motives and reported less willingness to accept help when the helper was an outgroup than an ingroup member. However, these effects were weaker or nonsignificant in the tolerant norm condition, as compared to the intolerant norm or control conditions. In addition, participants were more willing to interact with the outgroup (vs. ingroup) helper in the tolerant norm condition, as compared to the intolerant norm or control conditions. Finally, normative expectations, the attribution of prosocial motives to the helper, and the anticipated quality of the interaction with the helper sequentially explained the observed effects. The theoretical and practical implications of these results for intergroup help and intergroup contact literature are discussed.

Meta-humanization enhances positive reactions to prosocial cross-group interaction

The present research investigated whether learning that an outgroup humanizes the ingroup (i.e., meta-humanization) enhances how people react to intergroup prosocial behaviours and their willingness to engage in intergroup contact. In three experiments conducted in two cultural contexts (Kosovo and North Macedonia; n = 601), we manipulated meta-humanization by informing participants that their ingroup is perceived to be as human as the outgroup by outgroup members. We compare this meta-humanization condition with a meta-dehumanization condition in which the participant's ingroup is perceived to be less human than the outgroup (Experiments 1 and 3), a meta-liking condition in which the participant's ingroup is liked as much as the outgroup (Experiment 2), and a control condition (Experiments 1 and 2). Overall, results showed that participants in the meta-humanization condition attributed more empathy and prosocial motives to a potential outgroup helper and were more willing to accept outgroup help and engage in future intergroup contact than participants in the other conditions. In addition, positive perceptions of the outgroup helper mediated the effect of meta-humanization on willingness to accept outgroup help and engage in intergroup contact. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings for intergroup relations and reconciliation efforts.

Strategic Regulation of Empathy

Empathy is an integral part of socioemotional well-being, but recent research has highlighted some of its downsides. Here we examine literature that establishes when, how much, and what aspects of empathy promote specific outcomes. After reviewing a theoretical framework that characterizes empathy as a suite of separable components, we examine evidence showing how dissociations of these components affect important socioemotional outcomes and describe emerging evidence suggesting that these components can be independently and deliberately regulated. Finally, we advocate for an approach to a multicomponent view of empathy that accounts for the interrelations among components. This perspective advances scientific conceptualization of empathy and offers suggestions for tailoring empathy to help people realize their social, emotional, and occupational goals.