The influence of perceived suffering and vulnerability on the experience of pity

Pity is viewed as a function of two classes of perceived stimulus features and their interaction: the extent to which a person (when still healthy and nonsuffering) is perceived as vulnerable to physical harm, and the perceiv ed intensity of his or her current suffering. Consistent with this view, Ex periment I (N = 141) showed that participants' pity reactions to photograph s of persons expressing pain were influenced by age-related, sex-related, a nd postural vulnerability cues. Experiment 2 (N = 258) manipulated both tar get's vulnerability by varying the muscularity of the same adult male stimu lus and the intensity of suffering. As predicted, an interaction of vulnera bility and suffering was found. Implications for the study of helping behav ior are discussed. Copyright (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.