The effect of infant-like characteristics on empathic concern for adults in need |
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| Authors: | David A Lishner Luis V Oceja E L Stocks Kirstin Zaspel |
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| Institution: | (1) Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, 800 Algoma Blvd., Oshkosh, WI 54901, USA;(2) Despacho 83, Módulo 4, Departamento de Psicología Social y Metodología, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain;(3) Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Tyler, Office 212B SCI, 3900, University Blvd., Tyler, TX 75799, USA |
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| Abstract: | Three experiments tested the hypothesis that empathic concern for adults in need is enhanced by the degree of target infant-like
characteristics. Participants reported feeling more empathic concern for an adult target with a more infant-like face than
for an adult with a more adult-like face in a Spanish sample (Experiment 1) and in an American sample (Experiment 2). A similar
effect was found when participants were presented with either an adult with a more infant-like voice or an adult with a more
adult-like voice in a second American sample (Experiment 3). Additional analyses suggest that the infant-like characteristic
effect on empathic concern is not mediated by observer perceptions of target attractiveness, target age or youthfulness, target
vulnerability, or observer similarity to the target. These results support the proposition that infant-like cues enhance empathic
concern in human observers and that the phenomenon generalizes across stimulus modality, gender, and nationality.
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| Keywords: | Empathy Empathic concern Infant-like characteristics Babyfacedness Similarity Vulnerability Attractiveness Age |
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