A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Empathy in a Citizen Deliberation Experiment
Authors: Kimmo Grönlund, Kaisa Herne, Maija Setälä
Publisher: WILEY
Publication year: 2017
Journal: Scandinavian Political Studies
Journal name in source: SCANDINAVIAN POLITICAL STUDIES
Journal acronym: SCAND POLIT STUD
Volume: 40
Issue: 4
First page : 457
Last page: 480
Number of pages: 24
ISSN: 0080-6757
eISSN: 1467-9477
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9477.12103
Web address : http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1467-9477.12103/full
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/27390918
Despite increased scholarly attention, there is still limited knowledge on how empathy works in democratic deliberation. This article examines the role of empathy in citizen deliberation with the help of a deliberative experiment on immigration. First, a random sample of citizens was surveyed regarding their opinions on immigration. Based on their opinions, they were then divided into a permissive or a non-permissive enclave, and randomly assigned into like-minded or mixed-opinion groups for deliberation. After deliberation, they were surveyed anew. The study analyzes: (a) empathy differences between permissive and non-permissive participants; (b) changes in outgroup empathy toward immigrants as a result of deliberation; and (c) differences in prosocial behavior (i.e., donating to charity). The results show that the permissive respondents had more empathy, especially toward immigrants, than the non-permissive respondents. Among participants, outgroup empathy increased during deliberation. Regarding prosocial behavior, the permissive participants donated more often to charity at the end of the experiment.
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