Past suffering can affect future praise

Date:
September 28, 2021
Source:
University of Missouri-Columbia
Summary:
Researchers have discovered that people tend to give more praise
to someone for their good deeds as an adult after discovering that
person has also had to overcome adversity or suffering earlier in
life, such as abuse and neglect as a child.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
A team of researchers from the University of Missouri have discovered
that people tend to give more praise to someone for their good deeds as
an adult after discovering that person has also had to overcome adversity
or suffering earlier in life, such as abuse and neglect as a child. Philip Robbins, an associate professor and chair of the Department of Philosophy
in the MU College of Arts and Science, said these findings can help
to narrow a knowledge gap found in both psychology and philosophy,
two disciplines that study human behavior.


========================================================================== "Historically, psychology and philosophy have had a stronger focus on
the 'dark' side of human behavior, such as moral wrongdoing, and less
attention has been placed on studying the 'light' side of human behavior,
such as acts of altruism," said Robbins, the principal investigator
of the project. "This research aims to provide a better understanding
of a relatively neglected aspect of human psychology, the human mind,
and the human condition, which concerns how people process and react
to positive behaviors, such as giving praise." The research is based
on survey results from a total of 974 participants. It builds upon the researchers' previous finding that people tend to think of an adult who
has committed a crime as less culpable, and less deserving of punishment,
when told that the accused had suffered serious harm in childhood.

Robbins said the team's findings are also relevant to thinking about
criminal sentencing, particularly in capital trials. Defense counsel
often presents evidence of clients' suffering and victimization in their
early years, and the authors' previous and current studies support this practice. He added the findings point to a broader issue about how people
judge others without knowing who they really are as individuals, since
knowing what a person has experienced in life can alter how we assess
their good and bad deeds.

"It's important that we pay attention to human beings not just as
creatures that do bad things to each other, but also as creatures
that do good things for each other," Robbins said. "Part of
what's remarkable about our species is our capacity to behave
in prosocial ways, such as cooperating with and helping others,
as well as antisocial ways, such as competing with and harming them." ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Missouri-Columbia. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Philip Robbins, Fernando Alvear, Paul Litton. Good deeds and
hard knocks:
The effect of past suffering on praise for moral behavior. Journal
of Experimental Social Psychology, 2021; 97: 104216 DOI: 10.1016/
j.jesp.2021.104216 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/09/210928171906.htm

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