Abstract

The current research examined the effects of the empathizer’s group membership on the emotional experience and intergroup behavior intention on the part of the empathized in an intergroup conflict situation. We manipulated ingroup versus outgroup empathy using a scenario in which a female(male) target person is being empathized by an ingroup(female/male) versus outgroup member(male/female) after experiencing gender discrimination at work. We also included a control condition in which either an ingroup or an outgroup member delivered a message that did not include empathetic contents. Drawing on previous research that suggests negative consequences of outgroup empathy, we hypothesized that, as compared to ingroup empathy, outgroup empathy would lead to a higher level of anger. In a study that employed a total of 246 Korean male and female college students, we found that empathy by an outgroup member evoked a higher degree of anger than did empathy by an ingroup member. By contrast, the empathizer’s group membership did not have a significant effect in the control condition. We replicated these findings in Study 2 that involved a total of 158 Korean male and female workers in business organizations. Further, we found, as expected, that the relationship between the empathizer’s group membership and the target’s intergroup behavior intention was mediated by felt anger after empathy. Implications of the findings in research on intergroup conflict and empathy along with directions for future research are discussed.