Research article summary (published 29 Jun 1988):

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

Full Abstract

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.

Author information

Author/s: Batson, C D (CD); Dyck, J L (JL); Brandt, J R (JR); Batson, J G (JG); Powell, A L (AL); McMaster, M R (MR); Griffitt, C (C);

Affiliation: University of Kansas, Lawrence 66045.

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

Journal: Journal of personality and social psychology (J Pers Soc Psychol), published in UNITED STATES. (Language: eng)

Reference: 1988-Jul; vol 55 (issue 1) : pp 52-77

Dates: Created 1988/10/20; Completed 1988/10/20; Revised 2006/11/15;

PMID: 3418490, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 2/18/2009, IMS Date: )

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adult Affect Altruism Defense Mechanisms Empathy Female

Helping Behavior Humans Male Motivation Rationalization Reward

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