Empathy (Psychology)
Self-categorization theory posits that individuals categorize the self at differing levels of inclusiveness (i.e., personal, social, human). When a group membership is salient, individuals’ degree of identification with the social... more
Self-categorization theory posits that individuals categorize the self at differing levels of inclusiveness (i.e., personal, social, human). When a group membership is salient, individuals’ degree of identification with the social category influence individuals’ affect, cognition, and behavior in line with group norms. Although a wealth of research explores aspects of personal and social levels of category salience, research that examines the most inclusive level of identity is just beginning to burgeon. In the present chapter we review research that explores identification with extremely inclusive superordinate categories. Within the past 10 years, researchers examining identification with categories such as the world community, humans, global citizens, and all of humanity tend to show positive prosocial benefits to inclusive self-categorization. For example, greater identification with global citizens is associated with greater endorsement of the normative content associated with the identity (i.e., intergroup empathy, valuing diversity, concern for the natural environment, intergroup helping, social justice, and a felt responsibility to act for the betterment of the world). Despite these early advancements, issues remain regarding measurement, specific category label, and the content of these inclusive superordinate categories.
Research Interests: Social Identity, Empathy (Psychology), Diversity, Global Citizenship, Social Justice, and 9 moreIntergroup Relations, Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, Environmental Sustainability, Cultural Diversity, Self-Categorization Theory, Helping Behavior, Social identity theory, Global Citizenship Education, and Human Identification
Through a reading of Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone’s gamebook The Warlock of Firetop Mountain (1982), this paper is an account of the curiously estranging experience of reading interactive second person narrative. Conflating actual... more
Through a reading of Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone’s gamebook The Warlock of Firetop Mountain (1982), this paper is an account of the curiously estranging experience of reading interactive second person narrative. Conflating actual and virtual (story) worlds, the doubly-deictic address of these second person narratives (“YOU are the hero”) suggests readerly immersion. At the same time, the ambiguity of this empty, potentially plural, YOU threatens what I call readerly “dispersion.” In tackling this doubled, and doubling, form of address, my reading of the Fighting Fantasy gamebooks considers the book’s illustrations in an exploration of the distinction between empathy and identification.
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Trabajos presentados en la I Jornada de Investigación en Psicología. Río Cuarto, 2013
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This paper describes a collaborative research partnership between museum educators and art therapists. Twenty-two visitors at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum were randomly assigned to either a control group or an experimental group based... more
This paper describes a collaborative research partnership between museum educators and art therapists. Twenty-two visitors at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum were randomly assigned to either a control group or an experimental group based on an art therapy informed protocol. All participants visited the first two floors of the permanent exhibition, Nazi Assault (opening floor) and The ‘Final Solution’ (middle floor).
Those in the experimental group created art based on their emotional response to the exhibition contents, engaged in reflective writing and participated in a discussion group. Participants indicated that this process allowed for consolidation and understanding, catharsis, and relational sharing and learning. The experimental group experienced significant increases in immediate empathy and their emotional response was sustained at 2, 7, and 12 months. Experimental group participants were also more likely to share with family and friends complex reflections about different aspects of
their museum visit, rather than solely their distress or historical information. There was no change in the levels of these visitors’ engagement in social action and political activities. The findings suggest an innovative and effective approach to increasing
empathy among museum visitors and to sustaining the impact of a museum visit.
Those in the experimental group created art based on their emotional response to the exhibition contents, engaged in reflective writing and participated in a discussion group. Participants indicated that this process allowed for consolidation and understanding, catharsis, and relational sharing and learning. The experimental group experienced significant increases in immediate empathy and their emotional response was sustained at 2, 7, and 12 months. Experimental group participants were also more likely to share with family and friends complex reflections about different aspects of
their museum visit, rather than solely their distress or historical information. There was no change in the levels of these visitors’ engagement in social action and political activities. The findings suggest an innovative and effective approach to increasing
empathy among museum visitors and to sustaining the impact of a museum visit.
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The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of an interpersonal communication skills psychoeducation program to improve empathy and communication skills of visually impaired adolescents. Participants of the study were... more
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of an interpersonal communication skills psychoeducation
program to improve empathy and communication skills of visually impaired adolescents. Participants
of the study were sixteen early adolescents schooling in an elementary school for visually impaired youth in
Diyarbakır. The study has a factorial design having two groups (treatment and control) and three measures
(pre-test, post-test and follow-up test). Empathy levels of the participants were measured by KA-Sİ Empathic
Tendency Scale for Children and Adolescents, and communication skills were measured by Communication
Skills Evaluation Scale. While the participants in treatment group were exposed to interpersonal communication
skills training for nine sessions, members of the control group did not receive any treatment. After the completion
of group sessions, post-test measures were obtained. Data were analysed by mixed between-within subjects
analysis of variance. Analysis indicated effectiveness of the psycho-education program in increasing empathy
levels and communication skills of the visually impaired adolescents.
Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice - 13(3) • 1470-1476
©2013 Educational Consultancy and Research Center
program to improve empathy and communication skills of visually impaired adolescents. Participants
of the study were sixteen early adolescents schooling in an elementary school for visually impaired youth in
Diyarbakır. The study has a factorial design having two groups (treatment and control) and three measures
(pre-test, post-test and follow-up test). Empathy levels of the participants were measured by KA-Sİ Empathic
Tendency Scale for Children and Adolescents, and communication skills were measured by Communication
Skills Evaluation Scale. While the participants in treatment group were exposed to interpersonal communication
skills training for nine sessions, members of the control group did not receive any treatment. After the completion
of group sessions, post-test measures were obtained. Data were analysed by mixed between-within subjects
analysis of variance. Analysis indicated effectiveness of the psycho-education program in increasing empathy
levels and communication skills of the visually impaired adolescents.
Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice - 13(3) • 1470-1476
©2013 Educational Consultancy and Research Center
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The article is dedicated to semantic and pragmatic analysis of three loans from Ottoman Turkish that are used to express ambivalent attitude in contemporary Bulgarian – завалия(та), пишман and фукара. In the Bulgarian-English dictionaries... more
The article is dedicated to semantic and pragmatic analysis of three loans from Ottoman Turkish that are used to express ambivalent attitude in contemporary Bulgarian – завалия(та), пишман and фукара. In the Bulgarian-English dictionaries they are usually rendered as “poor wretch”, “sorry, regretful; a man full of sorry and/or regret for something”, and “poor man, pauper”. The problem with such translations is not only that they are not completely correct; they are misleading as far as the content of the emotions and attitudes that are part of the meanings they code is not at all taken into account. The aim of the article is to present what these words really mean when put to use and what are the consequences in terms of the models of lexical meaning in semantic theory.
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Much recent literature on empathy is de-moralizing. This is not to say it is discouraging. It is to say that it is either ‘naturalizing’ in a way that makes the ethics-empathy connection harder to make, or it flatly denies a positive... more
Much recent literature on empathy is de-moralizing. This is not to say it is discouraging. It is to say that it is either ‘naturalizing’ in a way that makes the ethics-empathy connection harder to make, or it flatly denies a positive ethics-empathy connection. Prinz, for instance, argues in “Against Empathy”, that empathy is not only unhelpful to ethics, but a danger to it. His chief ‘demoralizing’ charge against empathy is that it is ‘ineluctably local’; its affect-sharing, which is based on proximity and similarity, is tribal in its tendencies; and so not only does not aid, but actively undermines a more universal ethical concern.
I’ll here argue that Prinz’s worry about empathy, along with many like it, gets going only because of a prior thesis about what ethics is like; I’ll consider work by Cavell which gives reason to think ethics isn’t like that. Against the backdrop of this altered ethic of acknowledgment, I’ll then sketch an empathy which not only meets Prinz’s challenge but, by providing a stable source of ethical reasons, can be justly said to be an empathy ‘re-moralized.’
I’ll here argue that Prinz’s worry about empathy, along with many like it, gets going only because of a prior thesis about what ethics is like; I’ll consider work by Cavell which gives reason to think ethics isn’t like that. Against the backdrop of this altered ethic of acknowledgment, I’ll then sketch an empathy which not only meets Prinz’s challenge but, by providing a stable source of ethical reasons, can be justly said to be an empathy ‘re-moralized.’
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Research shows that altruistic behaviours arise in varying social situations in line with different theories of causes of such behaviours. However most research uses financial costs only, which makes our understanding of altruism... more
Research shows that altruistic behaviours arise in varying social situations in line with different theories of causes of such behaviours. However most research uses financial costs only, which makes our understanding of altruism currently limited. This study presents findings of three experiments that use a novel and simple laboratory-based task that measures altruism based on the amount of time participants are willing
to spend as a cost to help others. This task assessed two specific theories; altruistic punishment (Experiments 1 & 2) and empathy-altruism (Experiment 3). All experiments showed that the task was successful, as participants were more likely to altruistically punish violators of social contracts than other scenarios (Experiments 1 and 2), and also incur more costs to behave altruistically towards others when feeling empathic
than different emotional states (Experiment 3). These results provide clear support for the use and value of this novel task in future research.
to spend as a cost to help others. This task assessed two specific theories; altruistic punishment (Experiments 1 & 2) and empathy-altruism (Experiment 3). All experiments showed that the task was successful, as participants were more likely to altruistically punish violators of social contracts than other scenarios (Experiments 1 and 2), and also incur more costs to behave altruistically towards others when feeling empathic
than different emotional states (Experiment 3). These results provide clear support for the use and value of this novel task in future research.
Research Interests:
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of an interpersonal communication skills psychoeducation program to improve empathy and communication skills of visually impaired adolescents. Participants of the study were... more
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of an interpersonal communication skills psychoeducation
program to improve empathy and communication skills of visually impaired adolescents. Participants
of the study were sixteen early adolescents schooling in an elementary school for visually impaired youth in
Diyarbakır. The study has a factorial design having two groups (treatment and control) and three measures
(pre-test, post-test and follow-up test). Empathy levels of the participants were measured by KA-Sİ Empathic
Tendency Scale for Children and Adolescents, and communication skills were measured by Communication
Skills Evaluation Scale. While the participants in treatment group were exposed to interpersonal communication
skills training for nine sessions, members of the control group did not receive any treatment. After the completion
of group sessions, post-test measures were obtained. Data were analysed by mixed between-within subjects
analysis of variance. Analysis indicated effectiveness of the psycho-education program in increasing empathy
levels and communication skills of the visually impaired adolescents.
Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice - 13(3) • 1470-1476
©2013 Educational Consultancy and Research Center
program to improve empathy and communication skills of visually impaired adolescents. Participants
of the study were sixteen early adolescents schooling in an elementary school for visually impaired youth in
Diyarbakır. The study has a factorial design having two groups (treatment and control) and three measures
(pre-test, post-test and follow-up test). Empathy levels of the participants were measured by KA-Sİ Empathic
Tendency Scale for Children and Adolescents, and communication skills were measured by Communication
Skills Evaluation Scale. While the participants in treatment group were exposed to interpersonal communication
skills training for nine sessions, members of the control group did not receive any treatment. After the completion
of group sessions, post-test measures were obtained. Data were analysed by mixed between-within subjects
analysis of variance. Analysis indicated effectiveness of the psycho-education program in increasing empathy
levels and communication skills of the visually impaired adolescents.
Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice - 13(3) • 1470-1476
©2013 Educational Consultancy and Research Center
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Chapter 11 in Musicianship for the 21st Century, In S. Leong (Ed).
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This study aims to check the internal consistency and factor structure evaluative of the empathy scale in a high school and college sample in the state of Minas Gerais. The instruments that measure empathy can be easily found, however, of... more
This study aims to check the internal consistency and factor structure evaluative of the empathy scale in a high school and college sample in the state of Minas Gerais. The instruments that measure empathy can be easily found, however, of the existing, just multidimensional scale of interpersonal reactivity (Emri) is the theoretical framework that has far more and better organized, and the scale that is most commonly used to assess this construct. Participated 488 subjects, male and female, with ages from 14-54 years old, distributed in primary and college levels in Patrocínio-MG composed this study sample. The subjects answered the Multidimensional Scale of Interpersonal Reactivity and socio-demographic data. From an equation analysis and structural modeling were observed psychometric indicators that assured the structural consistency of the scale, promoting in the security of the measure theoretical construct of empathy.
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Empathy is a multifaceted emotional and mental faculty that is often found to be affected in a great number of psychopathologies, including schizophrenia, yet it remains very difficult to measure in an ecological context. The challenge... more
Empathy is a multifaceted emotional and mental faculty that is often found to be affected in a great number of psychopathologies, including schizophrenia, yet it remains very difficult to measure in an ecological context. The challenge stems partly from the complexity and fluidity of this social process, but also from its covert nature. A powerful tool to enhance experimental control over such dynamic social interactions is the use of avatars in virtual reality (VR), and one way to collect information about an individual in an interaction is through the analysis of his or her neurophysiological and behavioural responses. We have developed a unique platform, the Empathy-Enhancing Virtual Evolving Environment (EEVEE), which is built around three main components: 1) different avatars capable of expressing feelings and emotions at various levels based on the Facial Action Coding System (FACS); 2) systems for measuring the physiological responses of the observer (heart and respiration rate, skin conductance, gaze and eye movements, facial expression); and 3) a multimodal interface linking the avatar’s behaviour to the observer’s neurophysiological response. In this article, we provide a detailed description of the components of this innovative platform and validation data from the first phases of development. Our data show that healthy adults can discriminate different negative emotions, including pain, expressed by avatars at varying intensities. We also provide evidence that masking part of an avatar’s face (top or bottom half) does not prevent the detection of different levels of pain. Overall, this innovative and flexible platform provides a unique tool to study and even modulate empathy in a comprehensive and ecological manner in number of populations suffering from neurological or psychiatric disorders.
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The British Channel 4 website describes Black Mirror as a dark, satirical “mini-series that taps into collective unease about our modern world.” The haunting episode entitled “White Bear” contains an extremely jarring twist in which our... more
The British Channel 4 website describes Black Mirror as a dark, satirical “mini-series that taps into collective unease about our modern world.” The haunting episode entitled “White Bear” contains an extremely jarring twist in which our understanding of and empathy towards the central character, Victoria, is essentially transformed and reversed. I exploited this transformation for the purposes of a reaction paper in an academic writing course focusing on literature, splitting the learners into two groups and disseminating certain cultural information which would, I believed, greatly influence their experience of the episode when we watched it in class. I then asked the students to write a reaction paper, based around three writing prompts, to discern how they had experienced empathy with the central character. I examined the reaction papers closely, comparing how students in each group had experienced the episode based on the cultural insights I had led them to beforehand. In this presentation I will explain in more detail about the contents of the episode and the way empathy was influenced and transformed by cultural knowledge, using a systematic qualitative analysis of the students’ reaction papers. I will then discuss the implications of sociocultural insights in evoking deeper responses from literary content.
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Some argue that filmmakers are able to guide viewers’ filmic experience and, in particular, promote their enjoyment of a given film by inviting them to empathize with a narrative’s major characters. This idea is often taken for granted... more
Some argue that filmmakers are able to guide viewers’ filmic experience and, in particular, promote their enjoyment of a given film by inviting them to empathize with a narrative’s major characters. This idea is often taken for granted considering our understanding of empathy is still inchoate. Still, empathy has become an important topic of discussion in the humanities and the sciences and new information has provided us with insights into the mental mechanisms at play during empathic experience, as well as the neural systems that enable them. In this paper I provide a brief survey of recent approaches in cognitive media theory as well as cognitive and social neuroscience. Afterwards I articulate the conclusions I have drawn from the recent literature and, finally, I provide a couple of examples of film scenes that are particularly effective at priming viewers’ empathy.
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The quality of student-teacher interactions is shaped by both the capacity of the teacher to cultivate trusting relationships with students and his or her ability to establish a safe, supportive classroom environment. This proves... more
The quality of student-teacher interactions is shaped by both the capacity of the teacher to cultivate trusting relationships with students and his or her ability to establish a safe, supportive classroom environment. This proves especially important for individuals teaching in multicultural and urban education settings. In recent literature, empathy has emerged as a useful tool for accomplishing the aforementioned goals, yet it is difficult to pinpoint concrete approaches teachers may immediately adopt to bolster its application to their interactions with diverse youth. Family Business is one such instructional strategy – designed by a practicing public school educator – useful for helping teachers to understand empathy’s pragmatic significance to improving the outcomes of everyday student-teacher interactions. A description of “family business” is presented and empathy’s role for producing favorable student outcomes as a result of implementation is discussed.
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Auf der Grundlage einer empirischen Studie über spirituelle Heiler und ihre Klienten wird ein Beitrag zur religionswissenschaftlichen Religionspsychologie geleistet. Im Sinne des methodologischen Ludismus wird mit psychoanalytischen... more
Auf der Grundlage einer empirischen Studie über spirituelle Heiler und ihre Klienten wird ein Beitrag zur religionswissenschaftlichen Religionspsychologie geleistet. Im Sinne des methodologischen Ludismus wird mit psychoanalytischen Außen- und religiösen Innenperspektiven gespielt, um verschiedene Aspekte der Psychodynamik von Heiler-Klient-Beziehungen in Heilritualen zu erschließen. Dabei kommt dem Körper als Wahrnehmungsinstrument psychischer Prozesse eine besondere Bedeutung zu – zumal das, was aus psychoanalytischer Sicht als ein durch radikale Körper-Empathie ausgelöstes Übertragungs- und Gegenübertragungsgeschehen interpretiert werden kann, aus Sicht der Akteure oft gerade das ausmacht, was als genuin religiöses Moment beschrieben wird. Von radikaler Körper-
Empathie kann dann gesprochen werden, wenn der gemeinsam von Heiler und Klient aufgespannte zwischenleibliche Erfahrungsraum so sehr zusammen geschoben wird, dass sich der Unterschied zwischen eigenen und ichfremden Körperwahrnehmungen zunehmend aufzulösen scheint. Das Konzept der radikalen Körper-Empathie wird in ein psychoanalytisches Gegenübertragungsmodell eingebettet und anhand einer Interviewpassage expliziert. Es zeigt sich, dass radikale Körper-Empathie eine ähnliche Funktion hat wie der von Bion (2013 [1962]) als réverie bezeichnete Bewusstseinszustand des Analytikers: Sie versetzt den Heiler in einen rezeptiven Zustand, der Ich-Grenzen aufweicht und trägt so zur Induktion und Intensivierung von somatischen Übertragungs- und Gegenübertragungsprozessen bei. Aus der Sicht der Akteure hingegen basieren die sich unwillkürlich einstellenden multisensorischen Wahrnehmungen auf den ‚übernatürlichen‘ Fähigkeiten des Heilers. Das Modell müsste aus dieser Perspektive zudem um ein transzendentes Drittes ergänzt werden, das als eigentliche Einflussgröße im Heilungsvorgang angesehen wird.
Empathie kann dann gesprochen werden, wenn der gemeinsam von Heiler und Klient aufgespannte zwischenleibliche Erfahrungsraum so sehr zusammen geschoben wird, dass sich der Unterschied zwischen eigenen und ichfremden Körperwahrnehmungen zunehmend aufzulösen scheint. Das Konzept der radikalen Körper-Empathie wird in ein psychoanalytisches Gegenübertragungsmodell eingebettet und anhand einer Interviewpassage expliziert. Es zeigt sich, dass radikale Körper-Empathie eine ähnliche Funktion hat wie der von Bion (2013 [1962]) als réverie bezeichnete Bewusstseinszustand des Analytikers: Sie versetzt den Heiler in einen rezeptiven Zustand, der Ich-Grenzen aufweicht und trägt so zur Induktion und Intensivierung von somatischen Übertragungs- und Gegenübertragungsprozessen bei. Aus der Sicht der Akteure hingegen basieren die sich unwillkürlich einstellenden multisensorischen Wahrnehmungen auf den ‚übernatürlichen‘ Fähigkeiten des Heilers. Das Modell müsste aus dieser Perspektive zudem um ein transzendentes Drittes ergänzt werden, das als eigentliche Einflussgröße im Heilungsvorgang angesehen wird.