群体共情对群际关系的影响:基于社会冲突解决的视角

Influences of Group Empathy on Intergroup Relationships: From the Perspective of Social Conflict Resolution

群体共情是指群体成员内化和间接体验另一群体成员的认知和情绪情感的过程。群体共情与个体共情不同,表现在身份感、共情偏好和文化影响的差异等方面。群体共情对群际关系具有促进作用,有助于减少群际冲突,促进群际亲社会行为。共情动机和文化框架转换是分析群体共情对群际关系促进机制的两个视角。未来研究可以探索群体共情与个体共情神经机制的差异,建立群体共情对群际关系影响的综合模型,探索群体共情在群际关系改善中的作用机制。

Group empathy refers to the process in which a group membership internalizes and indirectly experiences another group member＇s cognition and emotion. Group identity or label is the basis of group empathy. The empathy subjects＇ state of self-perception determines the group identity, while the number of people involved in empathy is not important. This article proposes that group empathy is another form of empathy that differs from individual empathy, and analyzes the differences. Group empathy and individual empathy differ in the sense of identity, empathy preference and cultural influence. First, group empathy and individual empathy are born out of different backgrounds： The former is produced at a group level, activating group identity, while the latter is produced at an individual level, activating individual identity. Second, the empathy preference between individuals is influenced by interpersonal distances, while the group empathy level mainly lies in whether the empathy object belongs to a group, whether the empathy subject has common experience with the empathy object, etc. Third, the expression, influenced by culture, of group empathy is different from that of individual empathy. Group empathy can promote intergroup relations. In reducing negative factors, group empathy contributes to the emergence of unfairness feeling, and reduces intergroup bias through unfairness feeling. It helps to reduce intergroup aversion, and reduces the intergroup aggressive behavior and intergroup conflicts. In increasing positive factors, group empathy makes the subjects show more positive attitude to outgroup members, and increases contact intention with outgroup members. It enhances more intergroup interaction and intergroup prosocial behavior by promoting intergroup attitudes. Empathy motivation and cultural frame switch are two perspectives from which to analyze how group empathy promotes intergroup relationships. Empathy is a motivation account which means individuals can choose to approach empathy or avoid empathy according to different circumstances. Individuals are prone to have group empathy if the group empathy can make him/her acquire positive emotional experiences, or the target group has a cooperative or congeneric relationship with his/her own group, or under the influence of social desirability effect. In addition, for bicultural individuals, they can moderate their cognition system to guide their behaviors according to cultural clues they know as intergroup or outgroup members. They have internalized not only intergroup culture, but outgroup culture. Therefore, when they are in the perspective of outgroup culture, they may have more empathy toward outgroup members. In the end of this article, we propose the future research direction as follows： Firstly, exploring the differences between group empathy and individual empathy from the perspective of neural mechanism. Secondly, establishing a comprehensive model of how group empathy influences intergroup relationships, combined with intergroup anxiety, meta-stereotype, common group identity and other factors. Thirdly, finding out the mechanism of how group empathy promotes intergroup relationships. Because the intergroup preference can be accumulated in each group member, contradictions will be mitigated through the empathy intervention, knowledge impartment and other ways according to each member＇s individual circumstances.