“It Was My Story”: Perceived Similarity and Empathic Motivations

• In Event: Thursday Roundtable Session 12:40 pm
  In Roundtable Session: Qualitative and Mixed-Methods Approaches to Motivation Research (Table 31)

Abstract

The motivation to empathize with another is related to many factors, including perceived self-other overlap – how much another is viewed within the self. Interested in empathic motivation and self-other overlap, in this mixed-methods study we measured empathy and emotional transportation to qualitatively and quantitatively capture participants’ identity, feelings of connectedness, and motivations. Our analysis suggested that perceived similarity with a protagonist in a story was associated with increased empathic motivations. Specifically, matching pronouns with the protagonist moderated the relationship between cognitive empathy and transportation. DSMRI analysis of the interviews suggested that alignment of reader’s self-perception and beliefs about sharing lived experience with the protagonist afforded more transportation and empathy.

Authors

• Joseph Eisman, Purdue University

• Benjamin M. Torsney, Temple University

• Timothy Patterson, Temple University