The art of compassion: how viewing art affects prosocial intentions

Abstract

Art functions as a communicative medium that evokes emotion and fosters social connection potentially motivating prosocial behavior. Grounded in theories of elevation and social cognition, this research investigated whether viewing art, regardless of its thematic content, would influence compassionate intentions toward individuals across varying relational distances (self, friend, stranger). The studies also examined if the types of imagined compassionate actions, categorized by expressive modalities (Chapman’s Love Languages, Gestures of Kindness, and Hedonic Pleasures), varied with relational closeness. Study 1 found that compassion-themed art influenced compassionate intentions toward strangers, with artistic communication predicting these intentions more strongly than explicit compassion messaging. Study 2 demonstrated that elevation, elicited by non-compassion-themed art, predicted compassionate intentions, particularly toward strangers. Across both studies, participants envisioned more intimate, close-proximity actions toward relationally close others. These findings indicate that art functions as a socially meaningful stimulus, activating emotional and cognitive mechanisms that support context-sensitive prosociality.