Attentional mechanisms in the generation of sympathy

dc.contributor.authorDickert, Stephan
dc.contributor.authorSlovic, Paul
dc.date.accessioned2017-01-24T23:53:12Z
dc.date.available2017-01-24T23:53:12Z
dc.date.issued2009-06
dc.description10 pagesen_US
dc.description.abstractEmpathic responses, such as sympathy towards others,are a key ingredient in the decision to provide help to those in need. The determinants of empathic responses are usually thought to be the vividness, similarity, and proximity of the victim. However, recent research highlights the role that attention plays in the generation of feelings. We expanded on this idea by investigating whether sympathy depends on cognitive mechanisms such as attention. In two studies we found that sympathy responses were lower and reaction times were longer when targets were presented with distractors. In addition, online sympathy judgments that allow attentional focusing on a target lead to greater affective responses than judgements made from memory. We conclude that attention is an ingredient in the generation of sympathy, and discuss implications for research on prosocial behavior and the interaction between attention and emotions.en_US
dc.identifier.citationDickert, S., & Slovic, P. (2009). Attentional mechanisms in the generation of sympathy. Judgment and Decision Making, 4, 297-306.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1794/22048
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.publisherSociety for Judgment and Decision Makingen_US
dc.rightsCreative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0-USen_US
dc.subjectEmotionsen_US
dc.subjectAttentionen_US
dc.subjectpro-social behavioren_US
dc.titleAttentional mechanisms in the generation of sympathyen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US

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