Perceived interdependence with others determines whether their suffering moves us or pleases us.

Evidence

People who experience their welfare as linked to the well-being of others respond empathetically to the joys and sufferings of others (Englis, Vaughan, & Lanzetta, 1982; Lanzetta & Englis, 1989). Conversely, competitive experiences, in which another’s gains bring suffering to oneself, generate counter empathy. Displays of joy by competitors distress their rivals, whereas displays of distress by competitors comfort their rivals. Even the belief that others will be cooperative or competitive elicit empathetic or counterempathetic reactions, respectively, to those others’ emotional experiences. — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 646

Categorization

• XREF: Directly explains the psychological substrate for how Cooper’s social-conservative voters can feel relief or pleasure at out-group suffering — competitive framing converts empathy into counter-empathy. Also resonates with theories of moral foundations and in-group favoritism in the vault.
• ADDENDUM: Corroborates the vault’s claims about ordinary people rationally supporting harmful Islamophobic/racist policy: framing out-groups as competitors (for jobs, security, cultural dominance) flips empathy to counter-empathy, which is a precondition for moral disengagement.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement: How People Do Harm…, 646