Investigating the relationship between altruism and empathy

Full Answer Section

Hypotheses:

• Alternative Hypothesis (H1): Presenting information about a person in need with a focus on their feelings will lead to greater feelings of empathy and a higher willingness to help compared to presenting information focused on the person's thoughts.
• Null Hypothesis (H0): There is no difference in empathy or willingness to help between the two conditions (feelings vs. thoughts).

Experimental Design:

This experiment will utilize a between-subjects design. Here's why:

• We are manipulating one independent variable (information presentation focus) with two levels (feelings vs. thoughts).
• We are measuring the dependent variables (empathy and willingness to help) at one point in time.
• By using separate groups of participants for each condition, we avoid potential carryover effects that might occur in a within-subjects design.

Independent Variable:

• Information Presentation Focus (2 levels):
  • Feelings Focus: The information about the person in need will emphasize their emotions and feelings associated with their situation.
  • Thoughts Focus: The information about the person in need will emphasize their thoughts and thought processes related to their situation.

Dependent Variables:

• Empathy:
  • Operational Definition: We will measure empathy using a self-reported empathy scale where participants rate their level of emotional understanding and compassion for the person in need.
  • Quantification: The empathy scale will use a Likert scale format (e.g., 1 = Not empathetic at all; 7 = Very empathetic).
• Willingness to Help:
  • Operational Definition: We will measure willingness to help by presenting participants with a hypothetical scenario where they can choose to donate to a charity that supports the person in need. The amount donated will serve as an indicator of their willingness to help.
  • Quantification: The amount of money donated to the charity will be recorded.

Procedures:

1. Participants: Recruit volunteers through online platforms or university subject pools. Aim for a sufficient sample size in each group to ensure generalizability.
2. Random Assignment: Randomly assign participants to either the Feelings Focus group or the Thoughts Focus group.
3. Manipulation: Develop a written scenario describing a person in need. For the Feelings Focus group, the scenario will be written to emphasize the person's emotions and feelings. For the Thoughts Focus group, the scenario will be written to emphasize the person's thoughts and thought processes.
4. Presentation: Present the scenario to each participant individually. Ensure they understand the information before proceeding.
5. Empathy Measure: Administer the self-reported empathy scale to each participant after reading the scenario.
6. Willingness to Help Measure: Present the hypothetical donation scenario to each participant. Explain that any donation amount is appreciated. Record the amount donated by each participant.
7. Debriefing: Thank participants for their time and provide a brief explanation of the study's objectives.

Control of Extraneous Variables:

• Demographics: Collect demographic information (age, gender, etc.) and statistically control for any potential influences on the dependent variables.
• Scenario Clarity: Ensure the scenarios are clear and well-written to minimize confusion. Pre-test the scenarios with a small group to ensure they effectively manipulate the independent variable.
• Demand Characteristics: Instruct participants not to guess the purpose of the study and emphasize the importance of their honest responses.

Within-Subjects Design:

While a between-subjects design is chosen here, the experiment could potentially be adapted to a within-subjects design. However, addressing carryover effects would be crucial.

• Matching Variables: Participants could be matched on empathy scores from a pre-test to create comparable groups before manipulation.
• Carryover Effects: To minimize carryover effects, a long washout period between conditions could be implemented, or a counterbalancing design could be used where participants experience both conditions in a random order. However, order effects might still be a concern.
• Participant Fatigue: The experiment would need to be concise to minimize participant fatigue, which could impact responses.

Sample Solution

Scenario: Empathy and Altruism

This scenario investigates the relationship between how information about a person in need is presented (focusing on feelings vs. thoughts) and its impact on empathy and willingness to help.

Research Question:

Does focusing on the feelings of a person in need lead to greater feelings of empathy and more willingness to help than focusing on that person's thoughts?