We Feel More Empathy Towards Citizens Of Countries With Good, Popular Leaders

By Emma Young We could all name groups of people who we know to be suffering right now; some in distant countries, some in our own. Research shows that we feel less empathy for people in other countries — and so are less likely to support them by protesting, say, or donating money. Meital Balmas and Eran Halperin at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem now report a factor that can influence this, however: our feelings about the national leader. The pair’s study in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin suggests that a leader who is perceived as “good” and popular at home elicits more empathy, and even greater tangible help, for their struggling citizens. Across four experiments, participants read fictitious reports about purported leaders in Belgium.  These articles painted the leaders in either a positive or a negative light, focusing on their trustworthiness and warmth (or lack of it), for example. The participants also read about the suffering of Belgian citizens in the wake of a terrorist attack. Initial studies on Israeli citizens found that when the “prime minister” was described in glowing, rather than negative, terms, participants reported feeling more empathy towards Belgian people, and reported being more willing to help families in distress. A subsequent study found that the perceived popularity of the prime minister was important, however: a PM described as being good and popular boosted empathy, while an unpopular ...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: leadership Personality Social Source Type: blogs