Merely labeling someone as out-group shifts empathy to counter-empathy without shared history.

Evidence

Thus, individuals respond empathetically to the emotional experiences of others who are merely portrayed as in-group members but counterempathically to those portrayed as out-group members without having shared any experiences with them (McHugo, Smith, & Lanzetta, 1982). — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 647

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to vault claims about how group categorization enables rationalized harm toward Muslims/racialized out-groups. The mechanism shows categorization alone — not actual conflict — switches off empathy.
• QUESTION: Does mere labeling require some prior group identification to be activated, or does any salient in/out distinction suffice? The minimal-group-paradigm literature would sharpen this.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement: How People Do Harm…, 647