I want to add a link my partner just passed to me, to some research which shows that people scoring higher in empathy are associated with more polarization and out-group hatred. I suspect that the scales are reflecting the effects of what I call "tribal empathy", which seems far more prevalent today, presumably also within representativ…
I want to add a link my partner just passed to me, to some research which shows that people scoring higher in empathy are associated with more polarization and out-group hatred. I suspect that the scales are reflecting the effects of what I call "tribal empathy", which seems far more prevalent today, presumably also within representative test subjects.
The strong empathetic emotional connection to an ingroup, along with politics which highlight harm to that in-group, can lead more empathy driven people to have more negative emotions about the "harmful" out-group. Or in my own framing, tapping into us/them dynamics to generate weaponized (tribal) empathy will lead to a net increase in overall hostility. Empathize with a few anecdotal stories of harm, then demonize huge groups of people with the emotional rebound.
I want to add a link my partner just passed to me, to some research which shows that people scoring higher in empathy are associated with more polarization and out-group hatred. I suspect that the scales are reflecting the effects of what I call "tribal empathy", which seems far more prevalent today, presumably also within representative test subjects.
The strong empathetic emotional connection to an ingroup, along with politics which highlight harm to that in-group, can lead more empathy driven people to have more negative emotions about the "harmful" out-group. Or in my own framing, tapping into us/them dynamics to generate weaponized (tribal) empathy will lead to a net increase in overall hostility. Empathize with a few anecdotal stories of harm, then demonize huge groups of people with the emotional rebound.
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-political-science-review/article/how-empathic-concern-fuels-political-polarization/8115DB5BDE548FF6AB04DA661F83785E