Study: White rats save only white, not black rats. Unless they're raised with black rats. [View all]

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Fascinating study that tells us the importance of integration in developing empathy.

Scientists at the University of Chicago further explored the nature of empathy in rats. They found that a white rat raised among only white rats will do nothing to save a black rat from a trap. Rats, like humans, can be biased in how they act on, or don’t act on, their empathy.

In a variant of the experiment, a white rat raised among only black rats would save a black rat from a trap — but would fail to save other white rats.

And a white rat raised among black and white rats rescued rats of both colors. The researchers found that it is not the rat’s color that determines which type of rat it will show empathy for, but the social context in which it was raised.

In short, rats do not show empathy because of an innate recognition of similarity in physical appearance. Likewise, when human empathy can be partial, it is because the experiences of people from some groups are hidden from our view, which limits our empathy toward them.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/28/opinion/empathy-research-morality-rats.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage