Mothers’ Motivation for Group-Based Empathy in Their Children as a Function of Type and Extent of Group Identification

Abstract

Abstract. Parents vary in the extent to which they want their children to feel empathy toward different groups. In the current investigation, we tested whether Jewish–Israeli mothers’ motivation to have their children feel group-based empathy toward members of their ingroup (Jews) and outgroup (Arabs) differed as a function of the types of group identification mothers experience with their own group – namely attachment to and glorification of Israel. We found that the more mothers identified with Israel, both in terms of attachment and glorification, the more they wanted their child to feel empathy toward ingroup members. However, only to the extent that mothers glorified their group, did they want their child to feel less empathy toward outgroup members. Our findings point to potential importance of considering mothers' group identity as related to the transmission of intergroup empathy and the perpetuation of intergroup conflict across generations.