An Experimental Analysis of Empathy: Comparing Animal and Human Responses to Emotional Distress

Authors

  • Hanah Bianca B. Dacillo Department of Arts and Sciences, Psychology, University of Mindanao Digos College, Philippines
  • Sara G. Camacho Department of Arts and Sciences, Psychology, University of Mindanao Digos College, Philippines
  • Danzel Dave V. Tamara Department of Arts and Sciences, Psychology, University of Mindanao Digos College, Philippines
  • Claire Lynn B. Culajara Department of Arts and Sciences, Psychology, University of Mindanao Digos College, Philippines

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54536/ajhp.v3i1.4391

Keywords:

Animal, Emotional Distress, Empathy, Human

Abstract

This study seeks to elaborate on the emotional response of humans towards other humans and animals. In these circumstances, a video presentation has been utilized as the source of the specific details that will be used in an assessment to be answered by the participants. To ensure the accuracy and reliability of the study, 20 college students were carefully selected. These participants were screened to exclude individuals with a history of traumatic experiences involving animals or humans, minimizing potential biases that could influence their emotional responses. A paired sample t-test was utilized since the researchers used a within-subject design. The p-value of 0.001 is below the threshold of 0.05. This signifies a statistically significant difference in empathy scores between the two groups, with participants exhibiting greater empathy towards animals than humans, as indicated by the positive t-statistic. Based on these findings, the null hypothesis was rejected, stating no difference in empathy scores between humans and animals.

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Published

2025-02-12

How to Cite

Dacillo, H. B. B., Camacho, S. G., Tamara, D. D. V., & Culajara, C. L. B. (2025). An Experimental Analysis of Empathy: Comparing Animal and Human Responses to Emotional Distress. American Journal of Human Psychology, 3(1), 31–33. https://doi.org/10.54536/ajhp.v3i1.4391