| This dissertation is concerned with the emotional responses evoked in observers by the emotional expressions of coactors. A conditioning-expectancy theory is proposed to account for the development of both empathetic and counter-empathetic patterns of response. The theory proposes that repeated association of discordant emotional experiences for an observer in continguity with the emotional displays of a conspecific other leads to the acquisition of counter empathy. While the child's early experiences are generally expected to promote empathetic responding, later exposure to competitively structured situations provides the necessary conditions for the acquisition of counter empathy. At the same time the child learns to discriminate situations involving discordant versus concordant emotional experiences, and to discriminate among others who have been associated with such experiences.;(1) The results of the first experiment indicate that a discordance between the displays of a coactor and observers' own emotional experiences led to the acquisition of counter-empathetic responses. (2) In a second experiment, subjects led to expect a competitive encounter responded counter-empathetically (or indifferently), but responded empathetically when expecting a cooperative encounter. As in the first experiment, these response patterns were evident in the absence of direct reinforcement for observers. (3) In the third experiment, subjects displayed the greatest degree of empathy in response to the expressive displays of an in-group member, followed by a somewhat attenuated response toward a coactor for whom no group membership information was provided. . . . (Author's abstract exceeds stipulated maximum length. Discontinued here with permission of author.) UMI.;Four experiments are presented as tests of propositions derived from the proposed theoretical model. The experiments employed a common paradigm which included the use of autonomic, facial expressive, and self-report measures of observers' vicarious emotional responses. Videotaped performances of confederates were used in all experiments; these stimuli were shown to subjects over a closed-circuit TV system that permitted microcomputer control of events occurring to experimental subjects. Thus, the impression was created that a coactor was actually present during each session, and was involved in a decision-making task which resulted in reward (coactor smiles) and punishment (coactor grimaces). In addition, experimental subjects could themselves be presented with reward (money) and punishment (shock) as ostensible outcomes during decision trials. |
