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Published on: November 21, 2019
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Dispositional compassion shifts social preferences in systematic ways
Joseph Ocampo1, Dacher Keltner1
1Department of Psychology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA.
Journal of Personality
|December 19, 2023
Summary
Dispositional compassion promotes preference for equality in social decision-making, independent of situational emotions. This trait influences how individuals value outcomes for themselves and others.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Social Psychology
- Behavioral Economics
Background:
- Social preferences, how individuals value outcomes for self versus others, are fundamental to social behavior.
- The influence of dispositional (trait-based) and state (situational) emotions on social preferences is an emerging area of research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the predictive power of dispositional and state compassion on social preferences.
- To examine whether compassion influences preferences for equality in resource allocation.
Main Methods:
- Employed four samples: two correlational and two experimental studies.
- Assessed dispositional compassion and social preferences using established measures.
- Manipulated state compassion and state pride in experimental conditions.
Main Results:
- Dispositional compassion consistently predicted a preference for equality, manifesting as a dispreference for both monetary advantage over others and monetary disadvantage relative to others.
- These dispositional effects remained significant after controlling for other prosocial traits.
- Experimental inductions of state compassion and state pride did not systematically alter social preferences.
Conclusions:
- Individual differences in dispositional compassion are a robust predictor of social preferences for equality.
- State emotions, such as induced compassion or pride, showed limited impact on these social preferences in the experimental settings.
- Future research should continue exploring the interplay between dispositional traits and emotional states in shaping social behavior.
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