Sympathy fuels creativity: The beneficial effects of sympathy on originality

•We examined whether induced sympathy facilitates creativity.•Induced sympathy influenced originality but did not affect fluency or flexibility.•The effect of induced sympathy on originality was moderated by trait empathy.•Persistence partially mediated the effect of sympathy on content-specific creativity.

Sympathy is usually evoked by heightened awareness of and concern for others’ suffering by perceiving or reacting to their distress or need. Sympathetic contexts appear to spur creative solutions, because those who react sympathetically to others’ suffering tend to seek novel, desirable, and prosocial solutions that alleviate suffering and promote well-being. We conducted two studies to investigate whether sympathy enhances creativity. Study 1 tested the feasibility of using images of distressed elderly as an unobtrusive method to induce sympathy. Study 2 sought to determine whether induced sympathy promotes creativity, and whether individual differences in trait empathy moderate this effect. Results demonstrate that sympathy fosters creative originality – but not creative fluency or flexibility – as assessed by either content-general or content-specific creativity measures. In addition, the beneficial effect of sympathy on originality is moderated by individual differences in trait empathy. The potential mechanisms that underlie these effects are discussed.