If you’re sympathetic to environmental issues, chances are you might also be more empathetic

PARIS, Sept 13 — Are you particularly sympathetic to the environmental cause? This may have more to do with your personal level of empathy than your political views, according to research from the US.

Have you ever noticed how most children seem to be captivated by nature? Fascinated by the many wonders the natural world presents them with, they show a real interest in all the living things around them. And some people never lose the deep love for nature that they have nurtured since childhood.

In fact, the more empathetic you are, the more likely you are to show concern for the environment, according to recent US research. Conducted by scientists at the University of Michigan, the study analysed the reactions of more than 600 people who were asked to look at various pictures.

If some images showed landscapes evoking the destruction of nature, others showed scenes not related to ecology, such as babies laughing or crying, soldiers on the battlefield, or more trivial things like ice cream or bundles of money.

According to the study, which also looked at the political beliefs of the respondents, some people were generally impassive to the images shown, including those that were not related to the environment, as well as those evoking human suffering or hedonism.

In view of their findings, the researchers theorise that the impassivity of an individual can be influenced by the intensity of their emotions and can have a direct impact on their level of concern. As such, the more sensitive a person is to what surrounds them, the more likely they are to be pro-environmental.

“Everyone will not respond to emotional appeals to help a distressed environment,” the scientists note. As a result, “other strategies are recommended to reach a broad audience,” they conclude. — ETX Studio