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Empathy-Altruism Hypothesis
A hypothesis put forth by Batson in the late 1990s, which maintains that people will be more likely to help those for whom they feel empathy without receiving something in return. Such help is proportionate to the empathy experienced and can be provided even at great cost to the helper. Without empathy, we are motivated by external reward. Nonetheless, this hypothesis does not necessarily presuppose that empathy results in altruism, as the reward for helping can be many and can include relief of distress from watching another person suffer. For more information, see Batson (1998).
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