Helping but Not Always Empathic: Helping Behavior, Dispositional Empathic Concern, and the Principle of Care

Abstract

This research investigates the relative strength of dispositional empathic concern and a moral principle to care about others as correlates of helping behavior. The empathy–helping and care–helping relationships are investigated using data from the General Social Survey, a nationally representative random sample of the U.S. adult population. Thirteen helping behaviors are investigated. The results show that the care–helping relationship is stronger than the empathy–helping relationship for most helping behaviors, and that the empathy–helping relationship is mediated by the principle of care.