The limits of empathy共情的局限性
Diana Kwon 文/BPS《心理学家》
mints 译
Snapshots of the horrifying aftermath of terrorist attacks, refugees fleeing their war-torn homes, and families mourning a victim of police brutality can be gut-wrenching. Many people consider this ability to understand and feel what others are feeling, or empathy, as a primary source of morality and the glue that holds societies together. President Barack Obama has described empathy as the ‘heart of my moral code’ and has suggested that an empathy deficit is at the heart of many of our society’s problems.
共情——是道德的主要来源和凝聚社会的胶水。奥巴马总统已经将共情描述为“我的道德准则的核心”,并且认为共情亏空是我们社会许多问题的核心。
恐怖袭击的可怕后果,逃离战争的难民,以及哀悼受害者的家属,这些快照都是令人揪心的。许多人认为这种能够理解和感受别人感受的能力——或者说,Empathy is a key component in our relationships, and in many situations, it does motivate people to help others in need. However, this is not always the case. Recent psychological studies suggest that empathy is not quite the societal cure-all we often believe it to be. While it can help promote cooperation and motivate prosocial behavior, in some cases, empathy can actually deepen divisions been groups and inspire aggression against others.
共情是人际关系中至关重要的组成部分。在许多情况下,它确实能够激励人们帮助那些需要帮助的人。然而,并非总是如此。最近的心理学研究表明,共情并不如我们相信的那样——是治疗社会的良方。尽管它有助于促进合作,并激发亲社会行为。但在某些情况下,共情可能会加深分歧,激发对其他团体的侵略。
A force for good? 共情是一种好的力量么?
Most people see empathy as a good thing. Thinking about the absence of empathy conjures up an image of a cold-blooded killer or ruthless con-artist with no regard for other’s emotions or well-being. And indeed, a long line of studies has shown that empathy can evoke prosocial behavior. Some of the earliest experiments were conducted in the 90s by the social psychologist C. Daniel Batson, one of the leaders of empathy research, and his colleagues. In one study, they asked participants to imagine how a person from a stigmatised group – such as a person with AIDS, a homeless man, and even a convicted murderer – was feeling, finding that this experimental manipulation could improve attitudes towards such individuals. Other groups have also shown that feeling empathy can help reduce the will to harm others and improve intergroup relations.
情感和幸福的冷血杀手或无情骗子的形象。事实上,一系列的研究表明,共情可以唤起亲社会行为。最早的一批实验是社会心理学家C. Daniel Batson(一位共情研究的领导者)和他的同事们在90年代进行。在其中的一项研究中,他们要求参与者想象一个被污名化群体(比如艾滋病患者、无家可归的人,甚至是一个被定罪的凶手)的情绪感受,研究发现,这种实验操作可以改善对这些人的态度。其他小组的研究也表明,共情有助于降低伤害他人的意愿,有助于改善群体间的关系。
大多数人认为共情是一件好事。一想到缺乏共情心,就可能想到一个不关心别人‘Considerable evidence supports the idea that empathic concern motivates helping directed toward reducing the empathy-inducing need,’ says Batson. In fact, he points out, many novels were written with the goal of inducing concern for outgroup members by putting the reader in their shoes. ‘Often what [the writers] are trying to do is create this caring for, this valuing of the other’s welfare to induce concern,’ says Batson. ‘The reader knows this is a fictitious character, but those feelings can then generalise [to others].’
Batson指出,事实上,许多小说的写作目的是让读者进入角色以引起对外部群体的关注。Batson说:“作家经常试图创造这种关怀,以引起对他人福利的关注。”读者知道这是一个虚构的人物,但如此的感觉可以推广到其他人身上。
One notable example he points to is Uncle Tom’s Cabin, a widely-read abolitionist novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe published in 1852. ‘[This book] is probably considered to be the work of fiction written in English that has had more impact in changing public policy than any other,’ Batson told me. Stowe’s highly influential book helped raise awareness about the harms of slavery, and some historians have even argued that it acted as a catalyst for the Civil War that came less than a decade later.
一个著名例子是《汤姆叔叔的小屋》,这是哈丽叶特·比切·斯托在1852出版的一部广泛阅读废除努力制的小说。Batson告诉我,(这本书)在改变公共政策方面的影响,可能比其他任何英语小说都来得大。斯托这本具有高度影响力的书籍有助于提高对奴隶制危害的认识,一些历史学家甚至认为它是十年后内战的催化剂。
In the same way, contemporary artists use various forms of media to cultivate awareness and concern for mistreated groups of people. For example, the popular television show Orange is the New Black allows viewers to delve deeply into the lives of trans, homosexual and minority inmates while shedding light on the real issues facing these groups in the American criminal justice system.