Abstract
The current study explores whether personal experiences with discrimination are associated with greater ethnocultural empathy, whether greater ethnocultural empathy is then associated with greater support for policies helping marginalized groups, and whether these relationships are moderated by racial or ethnic identity or by resilience. Participants, 384 adult students recruited from introductory psychology courses at a large university in the southern region of the United States, completed an online Qualtrics survey that included measures assessing the variables of interest. Moderated mediation analyses revealed that for racial or ethnic minorities, discrimination experiences were positively related to ethnocultural empathy, which was positively related to support for Black-targeted affirmative action policies and for policies helping stigmatized groups (e.g., sexual or gender minorities, homeless individuals). Resilience did not moderate any of the relationships. This study’s findings suggest that by fostering ethnocultural empathy, we have the potential to build a more harmonious and socially engaged society of people wanting to help others who are most in need.
Public significance
Given the finding that empathy for other cultural groups is associated with greater support for policies helping marginalized groups, policymakers should attempt to influence others by highlighting injustices and inequities faced by the marginalized groups (providing facts and emotional testaments as evidence), by encouraging others to imagine facing those injustices and inequities themselves, and by contending that equity-focused policies will help overcome the wrongs in our collective society.