Neural correlates of empathy in donation decisions: Insights from EEG and machine learning

Empathy is central to individual and societal well-being. Numerous studies have examined how trait of empathy affects prosocial behavior. However, little studies explored the psychological and neural mechanisms by which different dimensions of trait empathy influence prosocial behavior. Addressing this knowledge gap is important to understand empathy-driven prosocial behavior. We employed an EEG experiment combined with interpretable machine learning methods to probe these questions. We found that empathic concern (EC) played the most pivotal role in donation decision. Behaviorally, EC negatively moderates the effect of perceived closeness and deservedness of charity projects on the willingness to donate. The machine learning results indicate that EC significantly predicts late positive potential (LPP) and beta-band activity during donation information processing. Further regression analysis results indicate that EC, rather than other dimensions of trait empathy, can positively predict LPP amplitude and negatively predict beta-band activity. These results indicated that participants with higher EC scores may experience heightened emotional arousal and the vicarious experience of others’ emotions while processing donation information. Our work adds weight to understanding the relationship between trait empathy and prosocial behavior and provides electrophysiological evidence.