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The Impact of Exclusion Reasons and Trait Empathy on Third-Party Compensatory Behavior in Vicarious Exclusion

Received: 9 September 2024     Accepted: 25 October 2024     Published: 29 October 2024
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Abstract

Social exclusion is a widespread phenomenon that not only negatively impacts the individuals directly excluded but also deeply affects bystanders who witness such exclusion. This study aims to investigate how bystanders' levels of trait empathy and their perception of the reasons for exclusion shape their third-party compensatory behaviors. Specifically, we examined whether bystanders with higher empathy levels are more likely to engage in compensatory actions when they perceive the exclusion as unjust. Using a 2x2 between-subjects experimental design, participants were divided into groups based on trait empathy (high vs. low) and the perceived appropriateness of the exclusion (appropriate vs. inappropriate). An online experiment was conducted to simulate social exclusion scenarios, and participants' responses were analyzed to understand how these factors influenced their behavior. The results demonstrated that bystanders with higher trait empathy were significantly more likely to offer compensation when the exclusion was perceived as inappropriate, highlighting the role of empathy in driving supportive actions. Conversely, bystanders with lower empathy showed less variation in their responses, regardless of the exclusion reason. These findings provide new insights into the interaction between personal traits and contextual factors in shaping bystander behavior during social exclusion. This study also offers practical implications for designing interventions aimed at reducing the negative effects of exclusion, promoting empathy, and creating a more inclusive and supportive social environment.

Published in Humanities and Social Sciences (Volume 12, Issue 5)
DOI 10.11648/j.hss.20241205.18
Page(s) 172-178
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Vicarious Exclusion, Bystander, Trait Empathy, Exclusion Reasons, Third-party Compensatory Behavior

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Ci, F., Wang, Y. (2024). The Impact of Exclusion Reasons and Trait Empathy on Third-Party Compensatory Behavior in Vicarious Exclusion. Humanities and Social Sciences, 12(5), 172-178. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20241205.18

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    ACS Style

    Ci, F.; Wang, Y. The Impact of Exclusion Reasons and Trait Empathy on Third-Party Compensatory Behavior in Vicarious Exclusion. Humanit. Soc. Sci. 2024, 12(5), 172-178. doi: 10.11648/j.hss.20241205.18

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    AMA Style

    Ci F, Wang Y. The Impact of Exclusion Reasons and Trait Empathy on Third-Party Compensatory Behavior in Vicarious Exclusion. Humanit Soc Sci. 2024;12(5):172-178. doi: 10.11648/j.hss.20241205.18

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  • @article{10.11648/j.hss.20241205.18,
      author = {Fengjie Ci and Yan Wang},
      title = {The Impact of Exclusion Reasons and Trait Empathy on Third-Party Compensatory Behavior in Vicarious Exclusion
    },
      journal = {Humanities and Social Sciences},
      volume = {12},
      number = {5},
      pages = {172-178},
      doi = {10.11648/j.hss.20241205.18},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20241205.18},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.hss.20241205.18},
      abstract = {Social exclusion is a widespread phenomenon that not only negatively impacts the individuals directly excluded but also deeply affects bystanders who witness such exclusion. This study aims to investigate how bystanders' levels of trait empathy and their perception of the reasons for exclusion shape their third-party compensatory behaviors. Specifically, we examined whether bystanders with higher empathy levels are more likely to engage in compensatory actions when they perceive the exclusion as unjust. Using a 2x2 between-subjects experimental design, participants were divided into groups based on trait empathy (high vs. low) and the perceived appropriateness of the exclusion (appropriate vs. inappropriate). An online experiment was conducted to simulate social exclusion scenarios, and participants' responses were analyzed to understand how these factors influenced their behavior. The results demonstrated that bystanders with higher trait empathy were significantly more likely to offer compensation when the exclusion was perceived as inappropriate, highlighting the role of empathy in driving supportive actions. Conversely, bystanders with lower empathy showed less variation in their responses, regardless of the exclusion reason. These findings provide new insights into the interaction between personal traits and contextual factors in shaping bystander behavior during social exclusion. This study also offers practical implications for designing interventions aimed at reducing the negative effects of exclusion, promoting empathy, and creating a more inclusive and supportive social environment.
    },
     year = {2024}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - The Impact of Exclusion Reasons and Trait Empathy on Third-Party Compensatory Behavior in Vicarious Exclusion
    
    AU  - Fengjie Ci
    AU  - Yan Wang
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    T2  - Humanities and Social Sciences
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    JO  - Humanities and Social Sciences
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    PB  - Science Publishing Group
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    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20241205.18
    AB  - Social exclusion is a widespread phenomenon that not only negatively impacts the individuals directly excluded but also deeply affects bystanders who witness such exclusion. This study aims to investigate how bystanders' levels of trait empathy and their perception of the reasons for exclusion shape their third-party compensatory behaviors. Specifically, we examined whether bystanders with higher empathy levels are more likely to engage in compensatory actions when they perceive the exclusion as unjust. Using a 2x2 between-subjects experimental design, participants were divided into groups based on trait empathy (high vs. low) and the perceived appropriateness of the exclusion (appropriate vs. inappropriate). An online experiment was conducted to simulate social exclusion scenarios, and participants' responses were analyzed to understand how these factors influenced their behavior. The results demonstrated that bystanders with higher trait empathy were significantly more likely to offer compensation when the exclusion was perceived as inappropriate, highlighting the role of empathy in driving supportive actions. Conversely, bystanders with lower empathy showed less variation in their responses, regardless of the exclusion reason. These findings provide new insights into the interaction between personal traits and contextual factors in shaping bystander behavior during social exclusion. This study also offers practical implications for designing interventions aimed at reducing the negative effects of exclusion, promoting empathy, and creating a more inclusive and supportive social environment.
    
    VL  - 12
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