Tolerance increased in the US from 1974-2007 but VERY slowly, mainly thanks to cohort replacement (older folks dying) but also better education, according to research by the late sociologist James A. Davis.
The five types of tolerance Davis looked at were tolerance for atheists, communists, homosexuals, militarists (those who want military rule with no elections) and anti-Black racists.
Interestingly, he found that when it came to education, it didn't matter what was actually being taught in class. What mattered was just being in school. In other words, simply being socialized helps people become more tolerant.
This suggests strategies such as reading anti-racist books may not actually help since this mostly amounts to telling children what they ought to think. Rather, what helps is putting them in real-life social settings where practicing tolerance is rewarded and being intolerant has real social costs.
Then there’s a 2005 report titled “Altruism and Empathy in America: Trends and Correlates” by Tom W. Smith, the director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Society at the University of Chicago’s National Opinion Research Center (NORC).
Smith hypothesized that empathy and altruism are greater among certain types of people. Namely, people who are socially and civically engaged, who see themselves as having social obligations to other people and a strong sense of community. Also, people who are religious, who are psychologically and physically healthier, who are not fearful of crime and have less punitive attitudes towards criminals, and who support social welfare programs and the expansion of government to assist disadvantaged groups.
That’s an interesting mix of characteristics. Some of it seems like common sense, some of it not so much. But also, being fearful of crime, or having a high threat sensitivity, is strongly correlated with being conservative whereas support for a large welfare state is strongly correlated with being progressive. Let’s look at what he found.
When it comes to ethnicity and race, Hispanic ethnicity was found to be unrelated to empathy or altruism but altruistic love was higher among whites while altruistic behaviors were higher among Blacks. What’s the difference?
Altruistic love is an emotional orientation and means being nice without necessarily being helpful. Think of a libertarian who is very polite but believes everyone should take care of themselves. Altruistic behavior is being helpful without necessarily being nice. Think of a social justice warrior who isn’t very pleasant but devotes their energy to social justice causes. The person in the video below sums up the difference nicely.
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Next, Smith looked at labor-force status and found that empathy is highest among homemakers, probably because they’re overwhelmingly female, and lowest among students and the unemployed, probably because they’re navigating hardships and therefore in survival mode.
He also found empathy is highest for those raised in two-parent families, followed closely by those raised by females, and lowest for those raised by males.
Naturally, socialization makes us more altruistic, but the kind of socialization matters. Going to bars has no impact on altruism, however empathy, altruistic love and altruistic values are highest among people who rarely go to bars. Having more friends is correlated with having more empathy and altruistic behavior, but altruistic love is not related to the size of one’s social circle.
In terms of civic engagement, empathy and altruistic values are higher among people who vote and those who actively volunteer in some way.
Finally, the political indicators. Contrary to what one might expect, Smith found that empathy was higher among those fearful of crime, higher among those wanting tougher courts, but also higher among those opposed to capital punishment. Smith suggested this could be because women, who are more empathetic, are also more fearful and less punitive than men.
The study also found empathy was higher among those who support more government spending for healthcare, Blacks, children, social security and the poor.
In summary, empathy tends to be higher among women, older adults, wealthier people, rural residents, those who pray more often, those who volunteer, those who want tougher courts but oppose the death penalty, and those who want more social-welfare spending.
Altruistic love is greater among men, the less educated, those who are either never married or divorced/separated, rural residents, non-Blacks, those who pray more, those who are happily married, who support tougher courts and more social-welfare spending. Smith suggests, “The gender difference may reflect an element of protective stoicism that is more prevalent among men.”
Altruistic values are greater among women, older adults, the college educated, the ever married and rural residents, those who pray, oppose the death penalty and favor social-welfare spending.
There’s a lot to think about here but generally speaking, respondents were kinder and more altruistic across the board if they lived in rural areas, opposed the death penalty and supported social-welfare spending. Praying and volunteering were also fairly good indicators.
So next time you’re at a bar looking for a decent person to chat up or making your way through your first Bumble date with a stranger, try asking them what they think about capital punishment or welfare spending. Then tell them about this study as you quietly sit in judgment.