Feeling Others’ Pain Linked to Increased Generosity, Study Finds
A new study from the Social Brain Lab at the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience has shed light on the neural mechanisms behind the age-old dilemma of deciding whether to help others at a personal cost. The research, led by Kalliopi Ioumpa and Selene Gallo under the supervision of Christian Keysers and Valeria Gazzola, explores the relationship between empathy and pro-social behavior, particularly in individuals who experience mirror-pain synaesthesia.
Mirror-pain synaesthetes report feeling pain on their own bodies when witnessing others in pain. If sharing the pain of others is indeed a key motivator for helping, these individuals should be particularly generous. The researchers set out to test this hypothesis by creating a realistic conflict scenario in a controlled lab setting.
The Conflict Scenario: Real Consequences for Participants and Others
In the study, participants were led to believe they were participating alongside another person, who was actually an actor. The actor was filmed receiving painful stimulations on their hand, while the real participant, inside an fMRI scanner, received money and could choose to donate some of it to alleviate the actor’s pain. Participants believed their decisions had real consequences for both themselves and the actor.
“All participants believed that the other was really receiving the painful stimulation on their hand in ways that depended on their donations,” Kalliopi Ioumpa explains. “In reality, we pre-recorded the actor receiving these painful stimulations ahead of time, so that all participants saw the exact same stimuli.”
Mirror-Pain Synaesthetes Show Increased Generosity and Brain Activity
The study found that self-reported mirror-pain synaesthetes donated significantly more money to alleviate the actor’s pain compared to control participants. This finding supports the belief that the more one feels the pain of others, the more willing they are to help, even at a personal cost.
Brain imaging revealed significant differences between the two groups. “Self-reported mirror pain synaesthetes activated their secondary somatosensory cortex more. This brain area is involved in sensory experiences such as touch or pain”, Kalliopi Ioumpa explains. “So while most of us just feel generally uncomfortable when we see others in pain, mirror touch synaesthetes have a higher activation in their somatosensory cortex, as if they are experiencing pain in the corresponding body parts themselves, and they are more motivated to help,” adds Christian.
The researchers hope their work can inspire interventions to enhance empathy and pro-social behavior in the future. As Valeria Gazzola explains in her TEDx talk, empathy is not a fixed trait but something we have control over, and as this study shows, it can influence how pro-social we choose to be.
“This study helps us understand prosocial behaviour better as well, as its links to empathy. We show that a group of highly empathic individuals, that somatically feels the pain of others, also demonstrates enhanced pro-social behaviour”, Kalliopi Ioumpa concludes.
