The effects of racial group membership and cognitive load on empathy and helping behaviour

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dc.contributor.advisorThomas, Kevinen_ZA
dc.contributor.advisorFourie, Melike Maretheen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorSubramoney, Sivenesien_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2017-01-23T12:06:21Z
dc.date.available2017-01-23T12:06:21Z
dc.date.issued2016en_ZA
dc.description.abstractResearch suggests that people feel more empathy for racial in-group compared to racial outgroup members, and in some circumstances, are more likely to help racial in- than out-group members. Furthermore, there is evidence that cognitive load may also attenuate helping behavior. Research is yet to establish the influence of both racial group membership and cognitive load on empathy and helping, however. In this study, a sample of 104 women (52 Black and 52 White) completed either a Low or a High cognitive load task and then viewed video clips depicting racial in- and out-group members in distress. I measured participants' selfreported empathy, physiological activity, and willingness to help those in distress. The results did not show the expected racial bias in empathic responding, but rather, indicated heightened empathy (seen in both self-reported and physiological responses) for the Black target individual, regardless of participant race. Secondly, although cognitive load did not influence empathic responding, participants in the High Load condition were less likely to offer help than participants in the Low Load condition. Finally, correlation data suggest that racial group membership and cognitive load contributed to the associations between individual differences (i.e., in ethnic identification, motivations to respond without prejudice, and trait empathy), empathic responding, and helping behavior. Overall, the findings contribute to a growing literature on cross-racial empathy, and highlight the complex physiology underlying our empathy for others.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationSubramoney, S. (2016). <i>The effects of racial group membership and cognitive load on empathy and helping behaviour</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Psychology. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/22949en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationSubramoney, Sivenesi. <i>"The effects of racial group membership and cognitive load on empathy and helping behaviour."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Psychology, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/22949en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationSubramoney, S. 2016. The effects of racial group membership and cognitive load on empathy and helping behaviour. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Subramoney, Sivenesi AB - Research suggests that people feel more empathy for racial in-group compared to racial outgroup members, and in some circumstances, are more likely to help racial in- than out-group members. Furthermore, there is evidence that cognitive load may also attenuate helping behavior. Research is yet to establish the influence of both racial group membership and cognitive load on empathy and helping, however. In this study, a sample of 104 women (52 Black and 52 White) completed either a Low or a High cognitive load task and then viewed video clips depicting racial in- and out-group members in distress. I measured participants' selfreported empathy, physiological activity, and willingness to help those in distress. The results did not show the expected racial bias in empathic responding, but rather, indicated heightened empathy (seen in both self-reported and physiological responses) for the Black target individual, regardless of participant race. Secondly, although cognitive load did not influence empathic responding, participants in the High Load condition were less likely to offer help than participants in the Low Load condition. Finally, correlation data suggest that racial group membership and cognitive load contributed to the associations between individual differences (i.e., in ethnic identification, motivations to respond without prejudice, and trait empathy), empathic responding, and helping behavior. Overall, the findings contribute to a growing literature on cross-racial empathy, and highlight the complex physiology underlying our empathy for others. DA - 2016 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2016 T1 - The effects of racial group membership and cognitive load on empathy and helping behaviour TI - The effects of racial group membership and cognitive load on empathy and helping behaviour UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/22949 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/22949
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationSubramoney S. The effects of racial group membership and cognitive load on empathy and helping behaviour. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Psychology, 2016 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/22949en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Psychologyen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Humanitiesen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherClinical Neuropsychologyen_ZA
dc.titleThe effects of racial group membership and cognitive load on empathy and helping behaviouren_ZA
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationnameMAen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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