Why do people help after violence?

Drawing on empathy-driven altruism theories from psychology, this article explores how past exposure to violence affects helping behavior toward different ethnic and religious groups. Analyzing hosting behaviors of 1,500 Liberians during the 2010-11 Ivorian refugee crisis in eastern Liberia—a region with a long history of cross-border conflict—findings reveal an unexpected outcome.

🔍 The Data & Context

Data originates from host behavior patterns observed in eastern Liberia during the Ivorian refugee crisis (2010–11). This area has experienced significant inter-ethnic violence historically. The study utilizes a regression discontinuity approach to isolate causal effects of recent versus historical exposure.

📊 Key Findings

• Individuals with prior violent experience hosted significantly more refugees

• Hosts displayed stronger preference for distressed individuals, irrespective of group affiliation

• Less bias was observed against outgroup refugees among those exposed to violence

• Higher proportion of non-coethnic and non-coreligious refugees were hosted by recent violence-exposed individuals

📝 The Implications

Violence need not automatically foster antagonism toward outsiders. Counterintuitively, exposure to conflict may enhance certain capacities for cross-group cooperation—a finding with profound significance given the frequency of forced migration scenarios in contemporary politics.