In first stage of the TEARAID project, we analyzed data collected in three experiments, involving 548 Spanish adults. This research revealed that individuals reported stronger intentions to approach a tearful immigrant or refugee and donate money to an NGO for their assistance. These effects were explained by the perceived warmth of the immigrant and the observer’s feelings of compassion (Bobowik et al., 2022, Emotion).
In the second stage, we conducted four additional experiments, including online and field studies, in collaboration with the non-governmental organization Refugee Today (
https://www.refugee.today(opens in new window)). These experiments were designed to test the effects of tearful portrayals of refugees on intergroup helping intentions and behavior through felt emotions. For Studies 1 and 2, we exposed native-born Dutch participants (N = 1698) to various experimental conditions involving a video of a refugee either not showing or showing tears. Participants then completed a questionnaire and were asked to engage in real fundraising action.
In Study 3 (N = 209), we tested the effects of emotional tears on helping in a real social setting of a photography exhibition during a science festival. For this study, we validated 26 non-tearful and 26 equivalent tearful portraits of the same refugees taken by Refugee Today. Ten tearful and ten non-tearful portraits were selected and alternated in the exhibition. Participants visited the exhibition, completed a survey, and were invited to make an online donation to support refugees. The exhibition was then transferred to the Living Lab at Utrecht University Science Park Library as part of the follow-up project implemented in collaboration with the Incluusion program, which offers refugees free education.
In Study 4 (N = 900), we aimed to test the effects of tearful portrayals of refugees on helping intentions and behavior via refugees’ perceived needs and to replicate the effect of compassion in the tears-help link. While the results of this experiment replicated the role of compassion, they did not reveal effects on any type of perceived needs.
The findings from these experiments, as well as the meta-analytical integration of the data, indicated that depictions of refugees showing emotional tears have an impact on people’s willingness to offer refugees both immediate (dependency-oriented) and agency-promoting (i.e. autonomy-oriented) help, as well as helping behavior (donation) through the activation of compassionate feelings. We reported the results of these studies in an article currently under review for a special issue on refugee inclusion and integration (Bobowik et al., under review) and disseminated them at various international conferences.
In addition to this research, we also developed collaborative projects aimed at providing techniques for measuring prosocial behavior, including solidarity with refugees (one of the aims in the TEARAID project). One experimental study examined the role of audiovisual narratives about migrants as exemplars in promoting positive attitudes and prosocial behavior toward immigrants (Alonso-Arbiol, Bobowik et al., in press in Group Processes and Intergroup Relations). Another study addressed the role of prosocial dispositions and European identity in predicting helping Ukrainian refugees (Politi et al., 2022, under review). Finally, several survey-based studies explored the role of historical analogies in promoting positive attitudes and solidarity with refugees (Bobowik, et al., in preparation).
