Empathy and Concern with Negative Evaluation in Intergroup Relations

This Element examines the link between belief in the benefits of empathy and concerns with negative evaluation.

This Element examines the link between belief in the benefits of empathy and concerns with negative evaluation causing adverse effects on individuals' intergroup attitudes and behavior. It recommends when and how to encourage empathy in intergroup contexts, to realize its potential to foster stronger social bonds across group boundaries.Widespread belief in the benefits of empathy and its healing power is evident in public discourse and across diverse news and social media outlets around the world. Yet research reveals that empathy can sometimes have adverse effects on individuals' intergroup attitudes and behavior. A link between empathy and concerns with negative evaluation helps explain why empathy can backfire. Accordingly, using the minimization of evaluative concerns as an organizing principle, the author makes recommendations regarding when and how to encourage empathy in intergroup contexts, so that its potential to foster stronger social bonds across group boundaries can be fully realized.