Compassion, Pride, and Social Intuitions of Self–Other Similarity
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
Short Title:
J Pers Soc Psychol
Format:
Journal Article
Publication Date:
Nov 30, 2009
Pages:
618 - 630
Sources ID:
114406
Collection:
Social Connection and Well-being
Visibility:
Public (group default)
Abstract:
(Show)
Compassion and pride serve contrasting social functions: Compassion motivates care-taking behavior, whereas pride enables the signaling and negotiation of rank within social hierarchies. Across 3 studies, compassion was associated with increased perceived self-other similarity, particularly to weak or vulnerable others. In contrast, pride was associated with an enhanced sense of similarity to strong others, and a decreased sense of similarity to weak others. These findings were obtained using trait measures (Study 1) and experimental inductions (Studies 2 and 3) of compassion and pride, examining the sense of similarity to strong or weak groups (Studies 1 and 2) and unfamiliar individuals (Study 3). The influences of compassion and pride on perceived self-other similarity could not be accounted for by positive mood, nor was this effect constrained by the ingroup status of the target group or individual. Discussion focuses on the contributions these findings make to an understanding of compassion and pride.