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Stigmatised groups: Ability to take perspective, experienced empathy , perceived threat and attitudes.
Stigmatised groups: Ability to take perspective, experienced empathy , perceived threat and attitudes.
Abstract
Background
Attitudes towards stigmatised individuals appear to be generally negative, however recent research has pointed to incidences where this is not true. Research by Batson et al (1997) found that if a person experiences empathy towards a stigmatised individual, they will have a more positive attitude to that group as a whole.
Aim
The aim of this study was to investigate whether there is a relationship between perceiving threat, perspective taking ability, attitudes towards group and empathic emotion.
Method
There was a sample of 654 participants selected using opportunity sampling from Keele university campus. All participants completed a 52 item questionnaire measuring attitudes towards 10 different stigmatised groups. Questions were taken from pre-existing scales from previous studies. Participants were randomly allocated questionnaires and asked to complete them on there own in silence, they were informed of their right to withdraw and debriefed at the end of the experiment.
Results
A significant negative correlation was found between perceived threat and experienced empathy, r (652) = -0.316, p...