We conducted 3 studies to test Cialdini et al.'s (1987) suggestion that the motivation to help associated with empathic emotion is directed toward the egoistic goal of negative-state relief, not toward the altruistic goal of relieving the victim's distress. To test this suggestion, we led empathically aroused Ss to anticipate an imminent mood-enhancing experience. We reasoned that if the motivation to help associated with empathy were directed toward the goal of negative-state relief, then empathically aroused individuals who anticipate mood enhancement should help less than those who do not. Study 1 verified the effectiveness of our anticipated mood-enhancement manipulation; results indicated that this manipulation could serve as an effective source of negative-state relief. Results of Studies 2 and 3, in which empathy was either measured or manipulated, indicated that the rate of helping among high-empathy Ss was no lower when they anticipated mood enhancement than when they did not. Regardless of anticipated mood enhancement, high-empathy Ss helped more than low-empathy Ss. These results failed to support a negative-state relief explanation of the empathy-helping relation; instead, they supported the empathy-altruism hypothesis.
CITATION STYLE
Batson, C. D., Batson, J. G., Griffitt, C. A., Barrientos, S., Brandt, J. R., Sprengelmeyer, P., & Bayly, M. J. (1989). Negative-State Relief and the Empathy-Altruism Hypothesis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56(6), 922–933. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.56.6.922
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