Altruistic or fair? The influence of empathy on third-party punishment: an event-related potential study.

ABSTRACT: Although most individuals strongly prefer social fairness and punish behaviours that violate fairness norms, recent psychological studies have shown that empathy towards 'perpetrators' who violate fairness norms can affect people's fairness decision-making, resulting in tolerance for unfair behaviour, even as direct 'victims' of unfair behaviour. However, in real life, people more often view unfair events from a third-party perspective, and little is known about how empathy affects fairness decisions by third parties whose self-interests are not threatened and their neurocognitive mechanisms. The present study examined effects of empathy directed towards a 'perpetrator' on third-party punishment using event-related potentials. The results suggest that, in the nonempathy condition, unfair o

SUBMITTER: Zhang G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12079038 | biostudies-literature | 2025 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature