Emotional Empathy and Emotion Avoidance in Victim Derogation

Although central to just-world theory, emotional processes have not received due attention in research on victim derogation. Some researchers have suggested that negative emotions resulting from empathy on part of the observer, rather than a belief in a just world, underlies victim derogation. To examine the role of empathy-induced negative emotions and emotion avoidance in victim derogation, 98 undergraduate students watched five videos depicting real-world innocent victims and evaluated them. Women reported higher levels of empathy-induced negative emotions and derogated victims less than men. In addition, controlling for gender and the belief in a just-world, higher levels of empathy-induced negative emotions were associated with lower victim derogation, especially among participants with lower levels of emotion avoidance.