Welcome to the Empathy and Moral Psychology (EMP) Lab at Penn State University, directed by Daryl Cameron. We study the affective and motivational mechanisms involved in empathy and moral decision-making. Why does empathy fail in response to mass suffering and during conflicts, and what can we do about it? Why do people engage in blame and punishment, and how does outrage motivate people to engage in collective action? Our lab utilizes insights and methodologies from affective science, social cognition, and moral philosophy, in order to understand how people think about and respond to pressing social and ethical situations.
For short and accessible introductions to some of our lab’s recent research, read the Penn State News article about our work on moral outrage, the release about our work on empathy avoidance and mental effort, and the article in the The Conversation about the scientific and ethical ramifications of empathy deficits. Dr. Cameron wrote about empathy and politics for the Rock Ethics Institute’s “Ask an Ethicist” column, “How important is empathy in the U.S. Presidential election?”
EMP Lab, Spring 2019
