Political Empathy Lab (PEL), funded by the University of Pennsylvania’s Office of the Provost and rooted at the SNF Paideia Program, is pleased to announce its 10-week immersive traveling research experience which begins May 28 through August 2 led by Dr. Lia Howard, a political scientist serving as the Student Advising and Wellness Director of the SNF Paideia Program. Traveling from Philadelphia to Gettysburg, Lancaster to Erie and many towns in between, PEL seeks to explore the possibility of connecting across political difference through direct practice in Pennsylvania.

https://bestempathytraining.com
On October 5, 2024 the Empathy Center will be conducting a Facilitator training course on Zoom. The intent of this training is to teach the participant how to organize and conduct Empathy Circles.

The course is experiential and consists of 4 classes taught over 4 consecutive Saturdays. Each class lasts about two and half hours. In addition to attending 4 sessions of 2.5 hours each, there are weekly assignments to complete that may take 1-2 hours.  We will also pair you weekly with an empathy buddy to practice empathy.

About 900 pupils aged between five and 18 in six countries completed a video course and engaged in discussions about it afterwards.

Empathy – the ability to understand and share the feelings of others – is largely considered to be something we develop through childhood and our life experiences.

Pupils were rated by teachers on empathy, behaviour and other characteristics on a scale of 1-10 before the programme began, and again five and 10 weeks later, with the average empathy score rising from 5.55 to 7 during that period.

“We need to lead with empathy and validation as much as possible,” she said. “Really going into it with active listening, really trying to understand and create space to allow people to open up and allow ourselves to really feel like we don’t have to censor what’s going on.”

If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can call or text the 988 Suicide Hotline at any time of the day if you just need someone to talk to.

Building company culture and improving employee retention have been the top objectives driving corporate responsibility for two consecutive years, according to Springfield Business Journal’s 2024 Economic Growth Survey. As a leader, empathy is a powerful tool in your toolkit to drive results in these two areas. Defined as the ability to understand and share the feelings of others, empathy can go a long way toward fostering a sense of belonging and trust among your team members.

When employees feel understood and valued, they are more likely to be engaged and committed to their work. And when people are engaged at work, you start to see higher productivity, better customer ratings and reduced turnover. Let’s talk about what makes empathy easy for some, harder for others, and why it’s important to include in your skillset.

Watch this episode to learn about the evolution of empathy - spanning visual art to cutting-edge neuroscience.

Dr. Susan Lanzoni is a writer and historian of psychology, psychiatry, and neuroscience. She is also the author of Empathy: A History. In this episode, she unpacks one of the primary questions of empathy: How can the self understand the other?

00:00 Preview
00:37 Introduction
00:54 About Susan Lanzoni, PhD
02:35 How the meaning of empathy has evolved
06:42 The origin story of empathy involves art
09:51 Aesthetic empathy, emotional empathy, and cognitive empathy
13:42 The neuroscience of empathy
17:04 How empathy “draws a border but also builds a bridge”
22:22 The continuum from pity to empathy and the tension of lived experiences
26:21 Doctors Kenneth & Mamie Clark and "The Doll Test"
34:48 The benefits of purposeful empathy and the importance of empathy training
37:12 Susan’s next empathy journey: Exploring all the ways empathy is expressed and felt
42:21 Susan Lanzoni’s Purposeful Empathy Story
 board/significance-doll-test/
 

by Amy J. Wilson, FRSA

As long as we remain trapped in cycles of hostility and misinformation, political division will continue to deepen. But by focusing on empathy, we may be able to see past our differences and find the common ground necessary for a more unified, cooperative society.

Empathy is more than just a nice-to-have quality in political conversations—it’s a powerful tool for change. By fostering understanding, reducing hostility, and encouraging persuasion, empathy-driven dialogue can help us transcend the polarized landscape we find ourselves in today. In a world where conflict entrepreneurs thrive on division, it’s time to turn the tables and create a movement for cooperation and understanding.

The future of our democracy depends on it.

In a world that's more connected than ever, why does it feel like we're drifting further apart? This powerful documentary dives deep into the empathy deficit that’s sweeping across our modern society. Explore the science behind empathy, how it's developed, and why it's fading fast in our fast-paced, digitally-driven world. Discover how the lack of empathy is impacting our health, relationships, communities, and even our global culture.

Through compelling stories, expert insights, and real-life experiences, "The Empathy Deficit" reveals the hidden costs of living in an empathy-starved society and challenges viewers to reconnect with what truly makes us human. Learn actionable strategies to cultivate empathy, foster genuine human connections, and rebuild a world where understanding and kindness prevail.

Join us on this journey to rediscover empathy—one of the most vital traits we need to heal and thrive as a society.

Subscribe for more eye-opening documentaries on societal challenges, human behavior, and the power of empathy!

With the complexities of hybrid work models, empathetic leadership rises as a crucial strategy, fostering a culture of resilience and transformation that not only meets today’s challenges but paves the way for future innovation and sustained success.

A new study reveals that people across 12 countries and five continents perceive wisdom through two key dimensions: reflective orientation and socio-emotional awareness. Reflective orientation includes logical thinking and emotion control, while socio-emotional awareness focuses on empathy and social context.

These dimensions consistently influence how individuals judge wisdom in leaders, scientists, and others. The findings highlight the universal principles that shape perceptions of wisdom and their implications for leadership and education.

By Jonathan Gordon

Over the last two years I worked towards completing the Empathy Center Facilitation training course on-line and I received my certification as a trainer. This consisted of over 60 hours of instruction and practice.

Last week the opportunity came up for me to teach the introductory class in-person at the Santa Barbara campus. The core of the in-person class is the same as the on-line, but the in-person one has the following enhancements..

according to Dr. Peter Sear “Empathic Coaching” is on the ascension.

In his book Empathic Leadership: Lessons from Elite Sport, he explores seven aspects of empathy. Each one illustrates stories from male and female head coaches of teams competing at the highest levels of nine different team sports. The result is an authentic portrayal of what it takes to become an empathic leader.

The seven aspects are:

• Self-Empathy
• Empathic Communication
• Empathic Relationships
• Empathic Climates
• Person-Centred Focus
• Empathic Accuracy

• Developing

• Empathy

This course seeks to understand contemporary political divisions in the United States. Guiding our analysis will be scholarship from the discipline of political science, with particular attention given to political culture, American political development and federalism while incorporating scholarship from several other disciplines.

As we study political culture at the national level, we will unpack our own individual attitudes towards politics. There will be an emphasis throughout the course on personal wellness during dialogue with assignments ranging from written reflections on experiences to textual analysis to their combination.

“Democratic listening”
In her Political Empathy and Deliberative Democracy class, Howard teaches the concept of “democratic listening,” which “is all about developing attitudes and predispositions necessary for listening towards better understanding people who do not think the way you do.”

The PEL was a chance to put her teachings into action. Penn has pledged funding for the program for another two years. Howard says she’d like to tweak PEL to reach more students.

Democratic listening was a new concept for the student researchers. Noah Kocher, a 19-year-old sophomore from Phoenixville, says his only previous experience with politics was the model U.N. in high school, which he found confrontational and unpleasant.

Now he was being instructed to ask questions of strangers with a framework of the three Bs: Belief, belonging and behavior. Usually, we connect with others based on belief, which can give us a sense of belonging and we don’t think as much about our behavior.

Try an Empathy Circle on Potluck Action
Event by Potluck Action
https://www.linkedin.com/events/tryanempathycircleonpotluckacti7241511097185263616/ 

Zoom fatigue? Empathy Circles are more fun, dynamic, and successful than conventional online meetings.
Come try it and share feedback.
Meeting link:
https://potluckaction.com/meeting-room?password=01879988888

As a consultant and researcher in the leadership space, I have witnessed firsthand both the impacts of strong connection and empathy, as well as the consequences of their absence. I have come to believe that a leader's ability to connect with and understand others is paramount to their success.

Today we will explore why developing connection and empathy should be at the top of every leader's priority list.

The Power Of Connection And Empathy

The report, based on the survey of over 42,000 employees worldwide along with HR leaders, and executives, says 'empathy' needs to be at the forefront of effective leadership strategies for companies. 
 
Highlighting the pivotal role of 'empathy' in boosting employee engagement and loyalty, the report says that employees are six times more likely to be engaged when their leaders demonstrate genuine empathy and not merely as 'understanding'. The empathy needs to be backed by actions taken for addressing employee needs, says the report..

The data from the survey, however, suggest a gap between perception and reality. It found that while 59 per cent of employees acknowledge that their leaders express empathy, other 41 per cent feel these gestures lack meaningful follow-through.

by Anita Nowak, PhD

As a distinguished Harvard-educated historian of psychology, psychiatry, and neuroscience, she is a bona fide empathy expert, whose book, Empathy: A History, offers a sweeping and compelling exploration of empathy's evolution - tracing its origin and transformation over more than a century. It also won a Cheiron Best Book prize.

In it, she shares how the concept of empathy began as Einfühlung (translated from German to mean ‘in-feeling’), a term used in psychological aesthetics to describe how spectators projected their feelings onto objects of art and nature. Meaning, back in the day, empathy was an entirely subjective experience.

by Anita Nowak, PhD

Over the past four years, I’ve interviewed nearly 200 guests on my podcast to discuss the power of empathy - between humans. This week’s episode took me in a new direction.

Lori Gruen, PhD is a philosopher, ecofeminist, and leading voice in critical animal studies at Wesleyan University. Her groundbreaking work invites us to reconsider our relationships with the “more-than-human” world and advocates for a radical transformation in how we interact with animals.

In her book, Entangled Empathy: An Alternative Ethic for Our Relationships with Animals, she argues that “rather than focusing on animal rights, we ought to work to make our relationships with animals right by empathetically responding to their needs, interests, desires, vulnerabilities, hopes, and unique perspectives.” 

Inclusive education benefits both students with and without disabilities by fostering empathy, social skills, and a sense of belonging.

by Dakari Quimby,

Misconceptions about autism and empathy are common. Autistic people are sometimes said to lack empathy (the ability to feel along with others) and/or sympathy (the ability to feel for others). While this stereotype is often used to describe all autistic people, these challenges are not experienced by everyone on the spectrum.


This article looks at autism and empathy, and what the research says about how autistic people experience this emotion.
Autism, Empathy, and Sympathy
Research into the link between autism, empathy, and sympathy has evolved over the past 40 years. Initially, it was believed that a lack of empathy and sympathy was a universal trait of autism, but more recent research indicates that this varies among individuals diagnosed with autism.

How Autism May Affect Empathy and Sympathy

Misconceptions about autism and empathy are common. Autistic people are sometimes said to lack empathy (the ability to feel along with others) and/or sympathy (the ability to feel for others). While this stereotype is often used to describe all autistic people, these challenges are not experienced by everyone on the spectrum.

This article looks at autism and empathy, and what the research says about how autistic people experience this emotion.

Autism, Empathy, and Sympathy
Research into the link between autism, empathy, and sympathy has evolved over the past 40 years. Initially, it was believed that a lack of empathy and sympathy was a universal trait of autism, but more recent research indicates that this varies among individuals diagnosed with autism.