Effect of doctor–patient news-induced moral judgments on pain empathy for doctors and patients in China
ObjectivePain empathy’s preferential nature tends to trigger prejudice and intergroup conflicts. Given the current degree of proliferation of doctor–patient conflict news in China, this study aims to determine whether readers of doctor–patient news-initiated moral judgments prefer pain empathy for d...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-11-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Neuroscience |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2022.1037659/full |
| _version_ | 1811186768341368832 |
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| author | HuiLing Li Dong Zhao BinJie Yang YuHui Zhao HanZhi Huang Huan Jiang MeiFen Chen Qiang Zhou Liang Ying |
| author_facet | HuiLing Li Dong Zhao BinJie Yang YuHui Zhao HanZhi Huang Huan Jiang MeiFen Chen Qiang Zhou Liang Ying |
| author_sort | HuiLing Li |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ObjectivePain empathy’s preferential nature tends to trigger prejudice and intergroup conflicts. Given the current degree of proliferation of doctor–patient conflict news in China, this study aims to determine whether readers of doctor–patient news-initiated moral judgments prefer pain empathy for doctors or patients.Materials and methodsThis study utilized localized doctor–patient news with high or low moral performance (based on morality ratings of patients’ behaviors) as moral-judgment-eliciting materials, and painful pictures as pain empathy-eliciting materials. The event-related potential (ERP) technique was utilized to assess moral judgment’s effect on the cognitive empathy component and to investigate electroencephalogram signals’ accuracy in classifying four brain response patterns when facing doctor or patient is experiencing or not experiencing pain.ResultsUnder low moral text material, participants exhibited smaller mean wave amplitude of positive 300 (P3) and late positive potential (LPP) to painful pictures than non-painful pictures when facing patients; under high moral text material, participants exhibited larger mean wave amplitude of P3 and LPP to painful pictures than non-painful pictures when facing doctors. Electroencephalogram (EEG) signals’ classification accuracy was significant in 0–1,000 ms in both high and low moral judgments, but the classification accuracy was higher in low moral judgments in some cognitive empathy stages (0.51, 0.53–0.55, 0.66–0.79, and 0.88–1 s).ConclusionUnder low moral judgment, individuals pay less attention to the patient’s (perpetrator’s) pain; under high moral judgment, individuals empathize with the doctor (the person praised), showing that news-induced moral judgment can sway readers’ empathy for different social groups. In cognitive empathy, individuals’ brain representations are more discriminatory under low than high moral judgments when confronted with pain by doctors and patients, which provides insight into objectively recognizing group bias. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T13:51:45Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b569f8376e8d4a18bc93ea4d332e1118 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1662-453X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T13:51:45Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Neuroscience |
| spelling | doaj.art-b569f8376e8d4a18bc93ea4d332e11182022-12-22T04:20:34ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Neuroscience1662-453X2022-11-011610.3389/fnins.2022.10376591037659Effect of doctor–patient news-induced moral judgments on pain empathy for doctors and patients in ChinaHuiLing Li0Dong Zhao1BinJie Yang2YuHui Zhao3HanZhi Huang4Huan Jiang5MeiFen Chen6Qiang Zhou7Liang Ying8Department of Psychology, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, ChinaDepartment of Psychology, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, ChinaDepartment of Psychology, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, ChinaDepartment of Psychology, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, ChinaDepartment of Psychology, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, ChinaDepartment of Psychology, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, ChinaSchool of Education, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, ChinaDepartment of Psychology, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, ChinaRenji College, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, ChinaObjectivePain empathy’s preferential nature tends to trigger prejudice and intergroup conflicts. Given the current degree of proliferation of doctor–patient conflict news in China, this study aims to determine whether readers of doctor–patient news-initiated moral judgments prefer pain empathy for doctors or patients.Materials and methodsThis study utilized localized doctor–patient news with high or low moral performance (based on morality ratings of patients’ behaviors) as moral-judgment-eliciting materials, and painful pictures as pain empathy-eliciting materials. The event-related potential (ERP) technique was utilized to assess moral judgment’s effect on the cognitive empathy component and to investigate electroencephalogram signals’ accuracy in classifying four brain response patterns when facing doctor or patient is experiencing or not experiencing pain.ResultsUnder low moral text material, participants exhibited smaller mean wave amplitude of positive 300 (P3) and late positive potential (LPP) to painful pictures than non-painful pictures when facing patients; under high moral text material, participants exhibited larger mean wave amplitude of P3 and LPP to painful pictures than non-painful pictures when facing doctors. Electroencephalogram (EEG) signals’ classification accuracy was significant in 0–1,000 ms in both high and low moral judgments, but the classification accuracy was higher in low moral judgments in some cognitive empathy stages (0.51, 0.53–0.55, 0.66–0.79, and 0.88–1 s).ConclusionUnder low moral judgment, individuals pay less attention to the patient’s (perpetrator’s) pain; under high moral judgment, individuals empathize with the doctor (the person praised), showing that news-induced moral judgment can sway readers’ empathy for different social groups. In cognitive empathy, individuals’ brain representations are more discriminatory under low than high moral judgments when confronted with pain by doctors and patients, which provides insight into objectively recognizing group bias.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2022.1037659/fullmoral judgmentpain empathyERPSVMdoctor–patient relationship |
| spellingShingle | HuiLing Li Dong Zhao BinJie Yang YuHui Zhao HanZhi Huang Huan Jiang MeiFen Chen Qiang Zhou Liang Ying Effect of doctor–patient news-induced moral judgments on pain empathy for doctors and patients in China Frontiers in Neuroscience moral judgment pain empathy ERP SVM doctor–patient relationship |
| title | Effect of doctor–patient news-induced moral judgments on pain empathy for doctors and patients in China |
| title_full | Effect of doctor–patient news-induced moral judgments on pain empathy for doctors and patients in China |
| title_fullStr | Effect of doctor–patient news-induced moral judgments on pain empathy for doctors and patients in China |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effect of doctor–patient news-induced moral judgments on pain empathy for doctors and patients in China |
| title_short | Effect of doctor–patient news-induced moral judgments on pain empathy for doctors and patients in China |
| title_sort | effect of doctor patient news induced moral judgments on pain empathy for doctors and patients in china |
| topic | moral judgment pain empathy ERP SVM doctor–patient relationship |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2022.1037659/full |
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