Batson et al. (1981)

Critical thinking: alternative explanations

individual variability - due to the way in which people are raised, some individuals are automatically more or less prone to expressing prosocial behavior - some people grow up in households in which parents place heavy emphasis on empathy whereas other households do not (depends on relationships between parents and children)

Critical thinking: methodological considerations

strengths: - cause and effect relationship - increased control and accuracy - objectivity - standardization - internal validity limitations: - total control = impossible - artificial (lacks mundane realism, low ecological validity) - biased results - low external validity --> construct validity (is it possible to measure an emotion?)

Background

the empathy-altruism model claims that *empathic emotions can motivate altruistic behavior*. factors such as similarity, friendship, kinship ,and kinship can foster empathic emotions.

Aim

to test whether altruistic behavior is more likely to occur when participants have been made to believe that a victim is similar to them to investigate *if empathy produces genuinely altruistic (unselfish) motivation to help*

Critical thinking: cultural considerations

as the study was conducted in the western world, it does not take into account potential cultural discrepancies between the ability to express emotions (some cultures place more or less emphasis on empathy)

Participants

*44 female introductory psychology students* - randomly sampled from students who had completed a personal value and interest questionnaire

Results

*perceived similarity between participants and Elaine affected the willingness to replace Elaine*. they also found that as participants perceived themselves to be similar to Elaine, willingness to take her place was *not affected by difficulty in escaping from the situation* (91% in the easy condition, 82% in the difficulty in escaping condition would swap) *when Elaine had dissimilar attitudes, 18% would swap with her in the easy to escape condition and 64% in the difficult to escape condition*

Critical thinking: gender considerations

as all participants were female, the findings have low generalizability due to gender differences between the expression of empathy (as women are considered to be more emotionally expressive, it is not certain that the same results would apply to men)

Title

is empathic emotion a source of altruistic motivation?

Method

lab experiment manipulation of similarity (IV): the participant was shown Elaine's answers to the personal value and interest questionnaire. it was either very *similar or very dissimilar to the answers given by the participant*. manipulation of difficulty of escaping (IV): in one condition, subjects read 'Although the worker will be completing between two and ten trials, it will be necessary for you to observe only the first two.' in the second condition: 'The worker will be completing between two and ten trials, all of which you will observe.' the participant saw Elaine being given electrical shocks. what she actually saw was videotaped. she also saw GSR monitor that showed Elaine's presumed galvanic skin response.

Conclusion

since participants were willing to replace Elaine in the easy to escape condition when they perceived themselves to be similar to her, the researhers concluded that *similarity results in empathy and empathy leads to altruistic behavior*

Critical thinking: ethical considerations

the participants were deceived, thus raising the question of informed consent. they were not completely protected from harm (may have experienced emotional distress or guilt). they were presumably debriefed, their identities remained confidential, and they were most likely aware of their right to withdraw.

Procedure

this experiment used a *2x2 independent samples design*. *similarity was one manipulated variable*. the other was *difficulty in escaping* from the situation. all participants were tested individually by a female experimenter. on arrival at the laboratory, they were informed that two participants were to take two different parts in the experiment. one was to be *administered electrical shocks* (victim) and the other to *perceive the victim* in order to make assessments of the impressions of the victim. the role of each participant was determined by the drawing of lots. the drawing was rigged and the true participant was always assigned the *observer role*, while Elaine (a confederate) was to take the role of he victim. the participant was placed in a room and was *asked to observe the victim on a closed-circuit television*. Elaine was to perform digit-recall trials, and at random intervals, she was to receive electrical shocks. as the first trial progressed, Elaine's facial expressions, body movement, and the GSR monitor all indicated that she was finding the shocks extremely unpleasant. by midway through the second trial, her reactions were so strong that the assistant interrupted the procedure to ask if Elaine was okay. as Elaine informs the experimenter that she has had a very bad experience with the shocks earlier, the participant is asked whether she would like to replace Elaine.

How does this study demonstrate the components of the empathy-altruism hypothesis?

this study clearly demonstrates the empathy-altruism hypothesis because it supports the notion that empathic concern for a person in need produces an altruistic motive for helping. as the participants were more likely to help the victim when comparable on the basis of similarity, the findings imply that similarity leads to empathy and empathy leads to altruism. therefore, seeing that the true participants were more willing to take Elaine's place to receive the electrical shocks when it was difficult to escape, the findings further suggest that potential guilt motivates empathic concern, thus leading to the desire to help someone in need (altruistic attitude)

Critical thinking: applications

this study has important applications to how to promote prosocial behavior, implying how to create connections between individuals in order to create a more balanced society focused on unison and helping behavior. the findings can be used to explain historical events, famous examples of altruism in society (e.g. Holocaust, why strangers help other strangers)