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“I help because I want to, not because you tell me to”: empathy increases autonomously motivated helping
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-08, 11:54 authored by Louisa Jane Pavey, Tobias Greitemeyer, Paul SparksEmpathetic arousal has been found to be a strong predictor of helping behavior. However, research has neglected the motivational mechanisms whereby empathetic concern elicits help giving. Three studies examined the extent to which autonomous and controlled motives for helping mediated the relationship between empathy and helping. Study 1 found that state empathy predicted willingness to offer time and money to help a person in need, with this relationship mediated by autonomous motivation for helping. Study 2 demonstrated that dispositional, empathetic concern predicted prosocial intentions and behavior via the mediation of autonomous motivation. Study 3 revealed that participants who focused on the emotions of another person in distress reported greater willingness to help than did participants who remained emotionally detached, with this effect mediated by autonomous motivation to help. Controlled motivation had no positive effects on helping in any of the studies. The results suggest that empathy encourages prosocial behavior by increasing autonomous motivation to help.
History
Publication status
- Published
Journal
Personality and Social Psychology BulletinISSN
0146-1672Publisher
SAGE PublicationsExternal DOI
Issue
5Volume
38Page range
681-689Department affiliated with
- Psychology Publications
Full text available
- No
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2012-06-29Usage metrics
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