• Science of Emotion and Sensibility
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.25-34
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• 2014

The current study investigates the impacts of empathic concern, as a personal trait, and rational/emotional appeal on responses over the campaigns to help the disabled. Empathic concern is an emotional personality known as strongly activating altruistic motivations. The experiment proceeded at two stages that in the first stage, the personal disposition was measured and in the second stage, the condition of appeal type was presented. Thus, the whole experimental design was empathic concern(2) ${\times}$ appeal type(2) on attitudes and behavioral intention. Individuals high in empathic concern showed higher ratings, compared to people low, on attitudes and behavioral intention in the condition of rational appeal. The difference between high and low empathic concern in the condition of emotional appeal was small.