Caring about humanitarian crises Michael Gross  Current Biology  Volume 27, Issue 4, Pages R123-R125 (February 2017) DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2017.02.005 Copyright © 2017 Terms and Conditions

War torn: Images from humanitarian crises such as the civil war in Syria are ubiquitous, but only rarely succeed in raising empathy and a willingness to help. (Image: Foreign and Commonwealth Office/Basma. Creative Commons licence https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/.) Current Biology 2017 27, R123-R125DOI: (10.1016/j.cub.2017.02.005) Copyright © 2017 Terms and Conditions

Identity issue: Research shows that empathy responds better to images of a single identified, or at least identifiable, person. While groups of victims may need more support, their numbers rather subtract from our empathy. Charities and political organizations have long used this effect, with ads and posters of individuals, like in this charity campaign from 1918. (Image: United States Government/Wikimedia Commons.) Current Biology 2017 27, R123-R125DOI: (10.1016/j.cub.2017.02.005) Copyright © 2017 Terms and Conditions