Title

Empathy constrained: Prejudice predicts reduced mental simulation of actions during observation of outgroups.

Summary

This paper explores the concept of perception-action coupling, which involves the activation of neural systems associated with action when observing others’ actions and its relationship to empathy and group identity. The researchers hypothesized that this coupling occurs primarily within ingroups, meaning that individuals would activate their motor networks when observing actions performed by ingroup members but not by outgroup members. Through electroencephalographic measurements, the findings confirmed that participants exhibited motor cortex activity while acting and observing ingroup actions, but not when observing outgroup actions, with the effect intensified by existing prejudices towards specific outgroups, highlighting a neurological basis for the limitations of empathy across social divides.

 

َAuthor

Gutsell, J. N., & Inzlicht, M

Year

2010

َThematic Area

Communication Studies

Topic

Misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation

Country

Global

Region

Global

Misinformation Combatting

Misinformation Source

Place Published

APA 7th End Text Citation

Gutsell, J. N., & Inzlicht, M. (2010). Empathy constrained: Prejudice predicts reduced mental simulation of actions during observation of outgroups. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 46(5), 841-845. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2010.03.011