The RUB news portal reports:

Researchers at the University Alliance Ruhr have gained insights into how an acute feeling of illness affects empathy. Their study reveals complex relationships between the two.

When people are ill, they feel less empathy for others than when they are healthy. This is shown by a study conducted by Ruhr-Universität Bochum and the University of Duisburg-Essen. The researchers investigated sickness behavior, a process in which the body rearranges its biological priorities in the context of an acute infection. So far, it has mainly been researched in connection with social withdrawal and social alienation. But how does illness affect our empathy? The current study sheds new light on the connections between infections with inflammation in the body and the ability to empathize with the pain of others. The team from Bochum and Essen, which is cooperating as part of the University Alliance Ruhr, published its findings on March 28, 2024 in the journal „Brain, Behavior, and Immunity“.

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