The Effects of Cognitive and Emotional Empathy on the Perception and Prejudice towards Migrants: An Exploratory Study

Improving intergroup attitudes and relationships have been largely studied. Empathy appears to play a mediational role between perspective taking and prejudices or attitudes towards out-groups (Baston et al., 1997; Finlay & Stephan, 2000; Vescio et al., 2003). The aim of this exploratory study is to examine how cognitive and emotional components of empathy (Jolliffe & & Farrington, 2006) were linked to the perception of immigrant targets who behave depending on the four acculturation strategies (integration, assimilation, separation and marginalization) as defined by Berry (1997). Participants first filled in a French version of the Basic Empathic Scale. Second, they read and evaluated one of the four acculurative migrant profiles (Maisonneuve & Testé; 2007) and third they filled in the blatant and subtle prejudices questionnaire (Pettigrew & Meertens, 1995). The results replicated preference for integration before assimilation and marginalization. Separated profiles were less appreciated than the three others. More interestingly, an interaction effect between conservation and emotional empathy suggests that the more people declare themselves high on the emotional component of empathy, the more they appreciate the target that conserves his culture. On subtle prejudice, no interaction effect was found. But, on blatant prejudice, interaction effects were obtained between acculturative strategies and the two components of empathy. For example, concerning participants who read the scenario of separation, the higher they declared themselves on emotional component of empathy, the less they declare blatant prejudice. More surprisingly, for participants who were in the “assimilation” condition, the higher they declared themselves on cognitive component of empathy, the higher they scored on blatant prejudice. Theoretical contributions of this study are discussed as the importance to distinguish the effects of emotional and cognitive components of empathy on perception of migrants and prejudices, depending on the migrants’ acculturative strategies. Finally, implications of these results are proposed

: Recueil de fiches pédagogiques du réseau MAPS

DoctoralLe réseau thématique MAPS «Modélisation multi-Agent appliquée aux Phénomènes Spatialisés » propose depuis 2009 des évènements scientifiques ayant pour but de diffuser les pratiques de modélisations multi-agents au sein des Sciences de l’Homme et de la Société (SHS). Ce collectif pluridisciplinaire de chercheurs, d’enseignants-chercheurs et de doctorants est labellisé en tant que ≪ réseau thématique » par le Réseau National des Systèmes Complexes (GIS RNSC) et bénéficie du soutien du CNRS au titre de la Formation Permanente. Depuis 2009, plusieurs modèles ont été développés au cours d'événements MAPS. Ces modèles ont fait l'objet de fiches pédagogiques détaillées destinées aux communautés éducatives et universitaires et en particulier aux enseignants qui souhaiteraient faire découvrir la modélisation à leurs étudiants, mais aussi à ceux qui envisagent d’approfondir certains aspects avec un public plus averti. Elles sont également destinées à tous les curieux qui souhaiteraient découvrir ce que la modélisation apporte aux SHS, du point de vue heuristique et du point de vue opérationnel. Enfin, elles sont aussi des supports pour toutes les personnes qui souhaiteraient diffuser les réflexions scientifiques sur la modélisation et la simulation qui ont présidé à la rédaction de ces fiches

Etre ou ne pas être catégorisé comme « personne âgée »: influence des stéréotypes

International audienc

Facteurs explicatifs du décrochage scolaire : rôle des émotions et de l’estime de soi

International audienc

Action positive, discrimination positive un levier efficace contre les discriminations ?

International audienc

Too similar or too different: Effect of acculturation strategies on judgments of a violent act committed by a Vietnamese offender

International audienc

Cognitive and affective empathy effects on perception of migrants and prejudices

International audienceImproving intergroup attitudes and relationships have been largely studied. Empathy appears to play a mediational role between perspective taking and prejudices or attitudes towards out-groups (Baston et al., 1997; Finlay & Stephan, 2000; Vescio et al., 2003). The aim of this exploratory study is to examine how cognitive and emotional components of empathy (Jolliffe & & Farrington, 2006) were linked to the perception of immigrant targets who behave depending on the four acculturation strategies (integration, assimilation, separation and marginalization) as defined by Berry (1997). Participants first filled in a French version of the Basic Empathic Scale. Second, they read and evaluated one of the four acculurative migrant profiles (Maisonneuve & Testé; 2007) and third they filled in the blatant and subtle prejudices questionnaire (Pettigrew & Meertens, 1995). The results replicated preference for integration before assimilation and marginalization. Separated profiles were less appreciated than the three others. More interestingly, an interaction effect between conservation and emotional empathy suggests that the more people declare themselves high on the emotional component of empathy, the more they appreciate the target that conserves his culture. On subtle prejudice, no interaction effect was found. But, on blatant prejudice, interaction effects were obtained between acculturative strategies and the two components of empathy. For example, concerning participants who read the scenario of separation, the higher they declared themselves on emotional component of empathy, the less they declare blatant prejudice. More surprisingly, for participants who were in the “assimilation” condition, the higher they declared themselves on cognitive component of empathy, the higher they scored on blatant prejudice. Theoretical contributions of this study are discussed as the importance to distinguish the effects of emotional and cognitive components of empathy on perception of migrants and prejudices, depending on the migrants’ acculturative strategies. Finally, implications of these results are proposed

Empathy Arousal and Emotional Reactions to Victims of the Gender Pay Gap

Men and women are well aware of the gender pay gap. The present study involved four experiments (N = 341, student sample, N = 203 general population sample) in which we indirectly measured empathy by asking participants to rate the non-complex and complex emotions they felt when reading a scenario in which a woman described her pay situation. Experiments 1 (equal pay vs. unequal pay) and 2, 3 & 4 (angry vs. depressed reaction to pay inequality) investigate differences in empathy arousal between men and women by assessing their emotions. Globally, both men and women identified correctly emotions expressed by the women victim of pay inequity. On complex emotions, women express more other suffering emotions than men, only in Experiment 4. Coupled with expression of guilt/shame for men only, these results are discussed in the perspective of future research

The effects of cognitive and emotional empathy on the perception and prejudice towards migrants: an exploratory study

International audienc

French Attitudes Toward Affirmative Action Programs and Their Beneficiaries

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