Others’ emotions matter most when their states predict one’s own
Evidence
Correlated shared experiences heighten vicarious arousal because they make what happens to others predictive of what might happen to oneself. That is, when individuals are in high spirits, they treat others amiably, which generates positive feelings for those around them. Through correlated experiences, the happiness of others comes to signify positive experiences for oneself. Conversely, when individuals are dejected, ailing, distressed, or angry, the people around them are likely to suffer in one way or another. — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 641
Categorization
Category: Causal Relationships
- XREF: Connects to social-cognitive accounts of emotional contagion and the ecological rationale for altruistic emotions — aligns with kin-selection and reciprocal-altruism logic in evolutionary psychology.
Related
- Empathic arousal is stronger toward those whose fate predicts one’s own. (similarity 0.92)
- Learning shapes which people evoke empathy and how strongly (similarity 0.78)