Effect on derogation of a victim of choosing to reduce his distress.

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Abstract
Investigated the effect of choosing to reduce a victim's distress on derogation of the victim. 40 female undergraduates drew slips assigning another woman (confederate) to a shock condition in a learning experiment and then monitored a dial supposedly indicating the other's discomfort while she received the shocks. Those who were allowed to choose to lower the shock level for the 2nd part of the learning task decreased their liking for the other less than those who were required to lower the shock level. Derogation of the other was not affected by whether or not the dial indicated that the other's distress was reduced in the second part. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)