They can point out the connection between events and emotions. Parents can model empathy by showing it when the child has a strong emotion, whether fear, surprise or something else. Many parents, health-care professionals, teachers, work supervisors and romantic partners would likely benefit from higher levels of empathy.
As would anyone low in empathy for whatever reason. Researchers have examined whether it is possible to increase cognitive, emotional and behavioural empathy through formal training. The methods used to teach someone to be more empathic are in many ways similar to those used to teach a new dance or how to give a good public speech.
Training typically includes four elements. The first part usually involves instruction about the benefits of showing empathy, how to identify emotions in others, how to feel those emotions and how to comment appropriately on them. Next comes providing models of a person showing empathy in response to something another has said or done. The models can be live, on video or audio, or written. The situation optimally includes a positive response to the appropriate expression of empathy.
The model might sometimes fail to show empathy and subsequently demonstrate a better response. The third step is practice at showing empathy. This might occur live with the trainer or online in response to written or audio comments or actions of another person. The practice would include, when possible, showing empathy in real situations outside training sessions. The last step involves constructive feedback on attempts to show empathy.
The feedback typically includes praise when the person has reacted appropriately. It might also include information about how better to assess the emotion of another person or respond to the emotion. A student and I recently completed a meta-analysis that pulled together 18 studies on the effects of empathy training.
Our results indicated formal training can increase empathy. The studies measured empathy in various ways, but many used test measures. These present situations and then ask: what would you say to the person? Some studies asked for self-reports of empathy in everyday life. But researchers have discovered that far from being an immutable trait, empathy can be developed.
There are steps people can take to acknowledge their biases and to move beyond their own worldviews to try to understand those held by other people.
While some people are naturally more empathetic, there are exercises that anyone can do to improve. So what is empathy? It happens when two parts of the brain work together, neuroscientists say — the emotional center perceives the feelings of others and the cognitive center tries to understand why they feel that way and how we can be helpful to them.
Research has shown that empathy makes people better managers and workers , and better family members and friends. Some people are more naturally empathetic than others, but there are easy, evidenced-based exercises that anyone can do to increase their empathy.
Trying to imagine how someone else feels is often not enough, researchers have found. Luckily, the solution is simple: Ask them.
Halpern said. Similarly, Israeli and Palestinian families who have lost an immediate family member to the violence there come together in a group called Parents Circle - Families Forum.
Acknowledging that is the first step. The second step is taking action to overcome it. I tried to reflect many different perspectives here, but I most certainly missed some. Thomas, a partner at Paradigm, which helps organizations with diversity and inclusion strategies. Actively working to combat that is what matters. Take a Quiz: Biases are often unconscious — we might not realize we have them — so one way to learn more about your biases is to take an unconscious bias quiz, like this one from Project Implicit , a nonprofit started by researchers at Harvard, the University of Washington and the University of Virginia.
The flip side of bias is privilege. Bias puts certain groups of people at a disadvantage in our society, while privilege puts other groups at an advantage. Another is when someone raised with enough money has never thought about whether they can afford to eat. We all have different identities, and some make us privileged while others do the opposite. Or you are able-bodied and an immigrant. Take a Quiz: This short one helps shine on a light on your privileges.
Other researchers have also made lists of questions and activities that can help you understand your privilege. To start, ask yourself a few questions:. Thomas said. It can be as simple as having lunch with a colleague and asking about their routines, she said. Perhaps they never feel heard in meetings, or struggle to find a time and place to pump breast milk during the day. Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is step aside and create a space for those outside your group to speak.
People who read literary fiction performed better on tests of empathy and emotional intelligence afterward. Choose novels with narrators who have lives and backgrounds unlike yours, or who live in a different place or time. Choose diverse authors, too. One place to start: The National Book Awards finalists for fiction. Here are the titles of those:. Read about the lives, struggles and fights against oppression of different groups of people — in history books and essay collections and newspapers.
Read and watch first-person accounts of the experiences of others in magazines and newspapers, on social media and in podcasts and documentaries. Because empathy means that you are adopting the emotion but not the tough situation that gave rise to it, you are usually in a more empowered place to help.
For empathy to be most effective and maximize well-being, it is important to feel both the pain of another and also know that you are in a position to do something about it. In a classic study where participants watched another person receive electric shocks and were given a choice to help the person by taking the remaining shocks themselves, people high in empathy were more likely to step in and help even when they could simply turn away and not watch anymore.
Improve your empathy by practicing the following on a regular basis. Over time, you will find that your ability to understand and relate to the emotions of others becomes stronger. Empathy not only allows you to understand others—it can also give you the motivation you need to make a difference. Whether that means consoling a friend, buying a small gift for someone who needs it, or donating to causes helping natural disaster victims, empathy becomes effective when you use it as motivation to do something about the problem.
When you see someone else going through a hard time, be sure to listen and share, but also clearly identify what you can do to help. The follow-through on empathy means initiating positive change for others.
The beautiful thing about empathy is that when others begin to flourish, it improves your own life as well. Learn the best ways to manage stress and negativity in your life. Batson CD. Altruism in Humans. Oxford Scholarship Online. Not as good as you think? Trait positive emotion is associated with increased self-reported empathy but decreased empathic performance. Mirror neuron system involvement in empathy: A critical look at the evidence. Soc Neurosci.
Is empathic emotion a source of altruistic motivation? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Your Privacy Rights. To change or withdraw your consent choices for VerywellMind. At any time, you can update your settings through the "EU Privacy" link at the bottom of any page. These choices will be signaled globally to our partners and will not affect browsing data.
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