Empathy gaps for social pain and children's bystander behavior in bullying episodes

Hubbard, Julie A.Individuals often underestimate the severity of painful events (whether physical or social) at both the interpersonal and intrapersonal level when they are in a “cold” state (pain-free). However, when individuals are in a “hot” state (experiencing pain), their pain judgments become much more accurate. This phenomenon is termed the empathy gap. The aims of this study were to: 1) examine whether the empathy gap phenomenon occurs in children and more specifically in bullying situations, 2) investigate whether the empathy gap phenomenon extends to children’s observed prosocial behavioral responses (positive bystander behaviors to bullying) in addition to their self-reported helping behaviors, 3) examine the decay of the empathy gap phenomenon across time, and 4) investigate whether the experience of victimization (a chronic “hot” state) moderates the effects of the empathy gap phenomenon. Participants were 106 fourth- and fifth-grade children who were randomly assigned to one of three experimental conditions: 1) Included, 2) Excluded, and 3) Control. All children played an online ball tossing game designed either to put them in a “hot” state of social exclusion (Excluded), a “cold” state of social inclusion (Included), or a neutral non-social comparison (Control). Children in each group then completed a series of computer and vignette tasks to assess empathy for victims of bullying and bystander behavior in response to bullying. Data on victimization were collected via self-, peer-, and teacher-report. Results did not lend support for the empathy gap phenomenon outlined in each of these aims as expected. However, some unexpected findings did emerge. These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for empathy gaps for social pain in children and directions for future research.University of Delaware, Department of Psychological and Brain SciencesPh.D