Effects Of Cognitive Costs On Empathetic Decision-Making:The Motivating Effect Of Money And Social Rewards

In recent years,empathy has been widely concerned by researchers in the fields of psychology,physiology and sociology,and previous research on empathy has mainly focused on individual differences,neurophysiological mechanisms,influencing factors of empathy,and the promotion of prosocial behavior.Although empathy can enhance interpersonal relationships and promote social interaction,most people are usually reluctant to choose empathy with others in their daily lives.So,what are the reasons why individuals choose to avoid empathy? Cameron et al.argue that empathy imposes a cognitive burden on individuals,explaining this phenomenon.Zaki argues that empathy is influenced by different social motivations,which in turn prompt individuals to choose or avoid empathy.On the basis of previous research,the main purpose of this paper is to explore the phenomenon of avoidance of empathy and the psychological mechanism of its occurrence,and on this basis,to influence the empathy decision-making of individuals by changing the motivation factors.Study 1 used the empathy selection task to explore the phenomenon of avoidance of empathy and the psychological mechanism of its occurrence through two experiments.Experiment 1 under neutral emotional conditions,participants were first allowed to complete the empathy selection task,and then filled in the task load index scale,and the results showed that there was a phenomenon of avoidance empathy,that is,under the condition that empathy could be selected,the proportion of individuals choosing empathy was significantly lower than the probability level;the cognitive cost perceived when completing the empathy task was related to avoidance empathy,that is,the psychological efficiency was significantly positive to predict the proportion of choice empathy.Experiment 2 compared the effects of positive and negative emotions and perceived cognitive costs when completing empathy tasks on individual empathy decisions.The results show that avoidance empathy is not related to emotional valence,that is,under positive and negative emotional conditions,the difference in the number of individuals choosing empathy was not significant,and the cognitive cost perceived when completing the empathy task is related to avoidance empathy,that is,psychological effort is significantly negatively predicted to choose empathy ratio,and psychological efficacy is significantly positive to predict the proportion of choice empathy.Through two experiments,Study 2 explored whether increasing monetary and social rewards in empathy selection tasks can reduce cognitive costs,thereby motivating individuals to choose empathy.Experiment 3 reduces cognitive costs by manipulating monetary rewards and tests whether they have an incentive effect on individual empathetic decisions.Unlike experiment 1,experiment 3 adds different value monetary rewards to different tasks.The results showed that compared with the no monetary reward condition,the individual’s psychological effort under the condition of monetary reward for others was reduced,and the proportion of choice empathy was higher,which indicated that the monetary reward reduced the cognitive cost of the individual,and then motivated the individual to choose empathy.Experiment 4 reduces cognitive costs through social rewards and tests whether they have a stimulating effect on individual empathetic decisions.Unlike experiment 1,experiment 4 allowed participants to make a binary choice between feeling themselves and feeling good friends.The results showed that compared with feeling strange others,the psychological aversion of individuals when feeling good friends was reduced,and the proportion of empathy was higher,which showed that social rewards reduced the cognitive cost of individuals,and then encouraged individuals to choose empathy.In this study,the phenomenon of avoidance empathy and the psychological mechanism of this phenomenon were discussed,and the results of the study found that there was a phenomenon of avoidance empathy in the Chinese subject group,and avoidance empathy was not related to emotional valence,but was related to the cognitive cost perceived when completing the empathy task.Monetary and social rewards reduce the cognitive costs perceived subjectively by individuals and significantly increase the individual’s willingness to choose empathy.This study combines monetary rewards,social rewards and empathic decision-making,enriches the research field of empathic decision-making,has certain theoretical significance,and provides some reference for the intervention of individuals who lack empathy ability and empathy motivation.