This study explores how empathy interacts with race and deservingness in motivating support for homeless policies and charitable giving.

Data & Methods: The research uses survey experiments to examine public responses. These studies measure reactions by manipulating variables like racial identity and perceived deservingness.

Key Findings: Surprisingly, despite empathy being crucial for policy decisions elsewhere, race consistently overrides it in actual support behaviors. People often ignore empathetic feelings if the homeless person is from a different racial background or deemed undeserving.

Why It Matters: This reveals deeper societal biases affecting social welfare outcomes and challenges assumptions about rational policymaking based on empathy alone.