Culture shapes empathic responses to physical and social pain

The present research investigates the extent to which cultural background moderates empathy in response to observing someone undergoing physical or social pain. In three studies, we demonstrate that, East Asian and White British participants differ in both affective and cognitive components of their empathic reactions in response to someone else’s pain. Compared with East Asian participants, British participants report greater empathic concern and show lower empathic accuracy. Importantly, findings cannot be explained by an in-group advantage effect. Potential reasons for observed cultural differences are discussed.