We all know that elections bring a lot of pent up tensions to the surface. Elections tend to distance people from opposite parties. Have we ever considered why this may be? Could clashing political affiliations really influence our ability to empathize with one another?
A recent study at the University of Michigan took a look at factors that contribute to our ability to empathize with others. The construct of focus in this study was political affiliation. Dr. Decety defines empathy as an "affective response stemming from the understanding of another's emotional state or condition similar to what the other person is feeling or would be expected to feel in a given situation" (Decety & Svetlova, 2011). He goes on to explain that empathy is deeply rooted in evolution and the way in which humans have adapted over time. He elaborates on several factors that influence empathy such as oxytocin, caregiving and especially the way we develop.
In the first experiment of this Michigan study, half of the participants were interviewed in the cold and the other half in a comfortable environment, a library. The participants were given a short story describing a hiker who was either a Democrat or Republican. In order to decrease confounding variables, females were given stories describing females and vice versa. They were then asked which condition, being thirsty, hungry or cold, was most unpleasant for the hiker as well as what item he or she most regretted not packing.
The results of study were as follows. If a person believed that the hiker in the story was similar to them, then the location that they were interviewed, their physical state, influenced their response. In other words, if a person was interviewed in the cold and held congruent political beliefs to that of the hiker, they were far more likely to stress that the hiker was cold. However, if the hiker belonged to the opposite political party, their physical state did not influence their perceptions of the other person's state (i.e. people focused on the cold condition equally, regardless of the location of interview).
When the participants' political affiliations matched the hiker's and they stood in the cold, they much more frequently said that the hiker regretted not bringing more clothing. However, if a Democrat read the story about a Republican, their personal state did not contribute to their response about what they thought would be the most regretted item.
These findings alongside Dr. Decety's comments about how similarities to others become much greater factors in interpersonal relationships as we develop, suggest that prejudices have large effects on our ability to empathize with others. It is much harder for us to put our differences aside when we are trying to put ourselves in another person's shoes.
In the political world, this has poor implications because it suggests reasons for why compromise and seeing eye to eye becomes much more difficult even if both sides suggest policies that an outsider could see as extremely similar. In our daily life, this questions other unconscious discrimination we may make when empathizing or communicating with others.
http://healthland.time.com/2012/04/04/why-republicans-and-democrats-cant-feel-each-others-pain/
A recent study at the University of Michigan took a look at factors that contribute to our ability to empathize with others. The construct of focus in this study was political affiliation. Dr. Decety defines empathy as an "affective response stemming from the understanding of another's emotional state or condition similar to what the other person is feeling or would be expected to feel in a given situation" (Decety & Svetlova, 2011). He goes on to explain that empathy is deeply rooted in evolution and the way in which humans have adapted over time. He elaborates on several factors that influence empathy such as oxytocin, caregiving and especially the way we develop.
In the first experiment of this Michigan study, half of the participants were interviewed in the cold and the other half in a comfortable environment, a library. The participants were given a short story describing a hiker who was either a Democrat or Republican. In order to decrease confounding variables, females were given stories describing females and vice versa. They were then asked which condition, being thirsty, hungry or cold, was most unpleasant for the hiker as well as what item he or she most regretted not packing.
The results of study were as follows. If a person believed that the hiker in the story was similar to them, then the location that they were interviewed, their physical state, influenced their response. In other words, if a person was interviewed in the cold and held congruent political beliefs to that of the hiker, they were far more likely to stress that the hiker was cold. However, if the hiker belonged to the opposite political party, their physical state did not influence their perceptions of the other person's state (i.e. people focused on the cold condition equally, regardless of the location of interview).
When the participants' political affiliations matched the hiker's and they stood in the cold, they much more frequently said that the hiker regretted not bringing more clothing. However, if a Democrat read the story about a Republican, their personal state did not contribute to their response about what they thought would be the most regretted item.
These findings alongside Dr. Decety's comments about how similarities to others become much greater factors in interpersonal relationships as we develop, suggest that prejudices have large effects on our ability to empathize with others. It is much harder for us to put our differences aside when we are trying to put ourselves in another person's shoes.
In the political world, this has poor implications because it suggests reasons for why compromise and seeing eye to eye becomes much more difficult even if both sides suggest policies that an outsider could see as extremely similar. In our daily life, this questions other unconscious discrimination we may make when empathizing or communicating with others.
http://healthland.time.com/2012/04/04/why-republicans-and-democrats-cant-feel-each-others-pain/
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