Empathy Could Stop This Pandemic
The ability to understand another person can do a lot of good. Perhaps even stop a spreading virus.
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In March, as the pandemic spread its roots worldwide and public health experts began touting the benefits of social distancing, Stefan Pfattheicher, PhD, an associate professor in the department of psychology and behavioral sciences at Aarhus University in Denmark, wondered how the public could be motivated to adhere to such safety precautions. “We know that empathy toward vulnerable people in general promotes prosocial behavior across many different occasions,” he says. If people empathized enough with those most susceptible to Covid-19 — the elderly, essential workers, those who are immunocompromised — perhaps they would be more likely to stay home, avoid gatherings, and wear a mask.
So Pfattheicher and his team recruited about 300 people each from the U.S., the U.K., and Germany to complete a survey, rating their concern for those most vulnerable to Covid-19 on a scale of one to five, with five being the highest level of concern. The people in the study were also asked to grade their adherence to social distancing, again, rating their efforts from one to five. Regardless of country of origin, participants who were empathetic toward high-risk people were motivated to social distance. Pfattheicher wasn’t at all surprised by the results of the study, recently published in Psychological Science, he says, “because I know what empathy can do, and it can do a lot of good things.” Perhaps even slow the spread of a virus.
Empathy, or the ability to understand another person’s feelings and points of view, is a hardwired trait that humans exhibit as young as six months old. This notion of putting yourself in someone else’s shoes is at the root of debates over lockdowns, masking, limits on gatherings, and social distancing. Critics of these measures have failed to see how public health guidelines affect people outside of their own orbit, arguing they infringe on their freedoms. However, concern for susceptible populations and for overall community well-being have been shown to promote social distancing, according to studies.
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