Discussion Papers 2025

CIRJE-F-1239	"Mental Disorder, Altruism, and Empathy: Experimental Evidence from Middle School Students in Post-Earthquake Sichuan, China"
Author Name	Park, Albert, Yasuyuki Sawada, Menghan Shen, Sangui Wang, Heng Wang, and Ze Wang
Date	January 2025
Full Paper	PDF file
Remarks

Abstract
The paper examines the impact of having a mentally disordered peer on middle school students’ social preferences after the 2008 Sichuan earthquake in China. Using random classroom assignments, height-based seating arrangements, and lab-inthe-field experiments such as dictator and public goods games, the study has found that having a disabled peer significantly enhances altruistic behavior, driven largely by empathy among students with shared traumatic experiences. These findings highlight how peer effects in post-disaster contexts foster social cohesion and prosocial behaviors, reflecting a self-recovery mechanism inherent in human nature that may mitigate secondary trauma and improve welfare.
Keywords: Peer Effects, Prosocial Behavior, Empathy, Experiments, Disasters

Abstract

The paper examines the impact of having a mentally disordered peer on middle school students’ social preferences after the 2008 Sichuan earthquake in China. Using random classroom assignments, height-based seating arrangements, and lab-inthe-field experiments such as dictator and public goods games, the study has found that having a disabled peer significantly enhances altruistic behavior, driven largely by empathy among students with shared traumatic experiences. These findings highlight how peer effects in post-disaster contexts foster social cohesion and prosocial behaviors, reflecting a self-recovery mechanism inherent in human nature that may mitigate secondary trauma and improve welfare.

Keywords: Peer Effects, Prosocial Behavior, Empathy, Experiments, Disasters