We empathise more with our enemies than our friends - because we need to know when they're at their most dangerous
- U.S. scientists said the reaction might indicate that the human brain is programmed to focus more on the need to monitor enemies closely
- University of Southern California researchers examined activity in the 'pain matrix' of the brain, which activates when a person watches another suffer
- The pain matrix was thought to be related to empathy but the study found it may be more involved in processing pain in general
Humans feel the pain of their enemies more strongly than the discomfort of than their friends because that is when their opponents are most dangerous and unpredictable, scientists said
Humans feel the pain of their enemies more strongly than the discomfort of their friends - because that is when their opponents are most dangerous and unpredictable, scientists claim.
While many people might assume that they would empathise most with those they care about, a study has found that the opposite is true and the reason is one of self preservation as humans need to understand why an enemy is in pain to rule out the risk of retribution.
U.S. scientists discovered the part of the brain that is associated with empathising with the pain of others is activated more strongly by watching the suffering of hated enemies.
But the reaction is natural as it might indicate that the human brain is programmed to focus more on the need to monitor enemies closely, especially when they are suffering and unpredictable.
Lisa Aziz-Zadeh of the Brain and Creativity Institute of the University of Southern California said: 'When you watch an action movie and the bad guy appears to be defeated, the moment of his demise draws our focus intensely.
'We watch him closely to see whether he's really down for the count, because it's critical for predicting his potential for retribution in the future.'
The study, published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, examined activity in the 'pain matrix' of the brain - a network that includes the insula cortex, the anterior cingulate, and the somatosensory cortices - regions known to activate when an individual watches another person suffer.
The pain matrix is thought to be a related to empathy and allows humans to understand one another's pain.
However the study revealed the pain matrix may be more involved in processing pain in general and not necessarily tied to processing feelings of empathy.
A person's strong reaction to when an enemy is in pain is natural. Scientists believe it might indicate that the human brain is programmed to focus more on the need to monitor enemies closely, especially when they are suffering and unpredictable
The researchers studied a group of white Jewish males who first watched videos of hateful, anti-Semitic individuals in pain and then other videos of tolerant, non-hateful individuals in pain.
Their brains were scanned to show activity levels in the pain matrix and surprisingly, the participants' pain matrices were more activated by watching the anti-Semites suffer compared to the tolerant individuals.
Researcher Glenn Fox, who was also involved in the study, added: 'The results further reveal the brain's flexibility in processing complex social situations.
'The brain uses the complete context of the situation to mount an appropriate response.
'In this case, the brain's response is likely tied to the relative increase in the need to attend to and understand the pain of the hateful person.'
The study examined activity in the 'pain matrix' of the brain regions known to activate when an individual watches another person suffer. While the matrix is thought to be related to empathy, the researchers now think it may be more involved in processing pain in general. An MRI scan of a brain is pictured
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