This study investigated the effects of empathy training on medical students' responses to emotionally intense situations. It also explored the interaction between empathy and stress. Thirteen volunteers from a second-year medical class completed the study which utilized a two-factor crossover design.
In the first of three testing situations, each subject participated in a 15-minute videotaped interview with an actor who portrayed an angry, fearful, or grieving patient. Each medical student then completed measures of empathic understanding and perceived stress regarding the encounter, as well as scales of coping and hardiness. Each simulated patient rated the medical student's level of empathic understanding.
Fellow PT blogger, Dr Kelly McGonigal, has an excellent phrase "Self-compassion beats self-criticism any day, and in every way." In my therapy practice, clients often express that they want to try out self-compassion, but then strike a problem.
When they're having "a moment of suffering," the self-compassion model doesn't get activated - they don't think at the time "Oh, this is a time I could use self compassion." To help you get started learning when to use self-compassion instead of self-criticism, here are 20 examples. ...
Empathy is essential for living well. It frees us from the bonds of isolation and, therefore, exaggerated fear. We know that we aren’t alone, that we are intimately bound to the fate of others and they with us. To participate in the pleasures and sorrows of someone we love is to know one of life’s great satisfactions. To imagine the misfortunes of those we don’t know personally is the basis of social justice. Here is one of my favorite stories about empathy.
Dr.Robert Sapolsky discusses his work as professor of biology and neurology at Stanford University and as a research associate with the Institute of Primate Reserach. In this clip he talks about how dog evolved to empathize.
The more we study animals, the less special we seem. Baboons can distinguish between written words and gibberish. Monkeys seem to be able to do multiplication. Apes can delay instant gratification longer than a human child can. They plan ahead. They make war and peace. They show empathy.
Empathy isn't just for humans It was once thought the control of emotions and the ability to empathise and socialise separated us from our primate cousins. But chimps console, and fight, each other. They also try to soothe an upset companion, grooming and putting their arms around him.
"I see plenty of empathy in my chimpanzees," de Waal said.
It is time we require our politicians to qualify for public service in ways that effectively serve the cause of safe, healthy, equitable and diverse societies existing in an interdependent world and shared ecosphere. The following are qualifications that I deem essential.
Empathy: Without empathy there is no way forward for civilization. Individuals who lack empathy are trapped in selfish motivations and ego fixations: they have not learned how to see themselves in the predicament of others. Politicians who lack empathy relate to others through a primitive in-group inclusion or out-group exclusion. This degree of psychological development cannot negotiate any form of middle ground. Conviction is reduced to simplistic binary codes such as "You are either with us or against us."
ABC Radio National (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Are humans unique as creatures which exhibit moral behaviour? Experiments with apes and other animals are convincing researchers that humans aren't the only animals to act in moral ways.
Today’s Science Show features a talk from this year’s American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Vancouver by biologist Frans de Waal who argues that humans share behaviours like cooperation, consolation, and even distaste for inequity with a range of other animals. It’s not just primates, but can be seen in animals such as elephants and wolves.
Paul J. Zak is Professor of Economics and Department Chair, as well as the founding Director of the Center for Neuroeconomics Studies at Claremont Graduate University. He is author of: The Moral Molecule: The source of love and prosperity with explores the relationship between Oxytocin, empathy, compassion, trust, etc.
"The Moral Molecule is a first-hand account of the discovery of a molecule that makes us moral. It reveals that compassion [and empathy] is part of our human nature, why loneliness can kill you, and why your neighbor may be a psychopath."
This panel of guest artists from the fields of dance, music, theater, and design, shared their personal insights of how empathy plays a vital part in their various art forms. The artists also outlined how they would make empathy front and center in our culture through their art form.
Kathleen Barry is Professor Emerita of Penn State University and a feminist activist and sociologist. She is author of Unmaking War, Remaking Men: How Empathy Can Reshape Our Politics, Our Soldiers and Ourselves. The book explores soldiers' experiences through a politics of empathy - probing the psychopathy and sociopathy of war.
See her interview, authors talk and an overview of her workshop on Unmaking War and Building Empathy.
Josh Davis is Assistant Professor at Barnard College, NY. His research deals with adaptive emotional state control and mind-body connections. While not an expert in empathy, in this interview, Josh gives us a report on some of the latest findings about the nature of empathy from the 5th Annual Meeting of the Social & Affective Neuroscience Society. - Symposium Session A: Empathy - Empathy for Positive and Negative Emotions: - Poster Session D (Empathy, Culture, Social Interaction...) - Session I Empathy & Choice
Dan Roberts is Founder and Executive Director of the Red Nose Foundation in Indonesia which is transcending boundaries through play. Red Nose Foundation provides children with a place to learn and play together, no matter one’s race, religion or economic standing.
Through the structured study of physical arts (circus), the children learn that a success is celebrated as a team, and a failure is to be challenged together. Red Nose Foundation uses a three-step model to support the development of empathy in our students and to teach them skills to build and reach their dreams. The first stage is pure arts exploration. The program was one of winners of the Activating Empathy competition.
Carolyn Pedwell is a Lecturer in Media and Cultural Studies, School of Arts and Cultures, Newcastle University in the UK. Author Feminism, Culture and Embodied Practice: The Rhetorics of Comparison.
Forthcoming Book: Affective Relations: The Transnational Politics of Empathy.
How to build a culture of empathy? Realizing that 'empathy' is not one thing and that it may not always be positive. A critical approach to thinking through the politics of empathy needs to consider the ways in which empathy may produced, mobilized and be felt differently across different times, spaces and contexts.
The question that researchers have been asking is why do some people get stressed in one situation, but others don’t? The answer they found: empathy...
What we don’t know is why some people handle stress so well while others crack? For example, tight deadlines can be stressful to some people, but invigorating to some. The question that researchers have been asking is why do some people get stressed in one situation, but others don’t? The answer they found: empathy....
What Dr. Higgins found was stunning: those who undergo empathy training interacted with patients more compassion - yet their stress levels in emotionally intense encounters decreased...
Empathy appears in almost every major religion and system of ethics, but, as is pointed out, it is notoriously difficult to define and categorize. Is it a moral concept, a psychological one, a behavioral one, a social one and so on? And yet, at some point in almost every consideration of therapeutic relationships it is seen as central. It is also to be found in almost all major religious and ethical teachings.
Consider for a moment how the absence of empathy would affect the Golden Rule (in either its positive or negative iteration, i.e., treat others as you would wish to be treated, or do not do to others what you would not wish to be done to you). Compassion it would seem is not possible without empathy.
Empathy is not indulgence. It is not permissive and it is not laissez-faire. Listening with empathy helps children bounce back. The solution of every emotional or behavioral problem of childhood should begin (but does not end) with our willingness to make a genuine effort to hear our child’s concerns and to understand her point of view...
When you listen empathically to your children, children experience reduced stress - and then, increased cognitive and emotional flexibility. In your child’s behavior, you will see less argument, less defiance, and less withdrawal. Moments of empathic understanding then open a pathway toward emotional maturity.
Paul Zak is a neuroeconomist, studying how a chemical called oxytocin elicits trust, empathy and better workplace cooperation.
Mr. Zak gives a lot more hugs than most economists. That is because he has made a specialty of studying the social role of oxytocin, a neurochemical once associated with sex that he says is also critical to trust, empathy and family-like bonds. Oxytocin both fosters and feeds on those behaviors, and can also be created by surmountable challenges, dancing, singing, meditation or marching in a group.
It was once thought the control of emotions and the ability to empathize and socialize separated us from our primate cousins. But chimps console, and fight, each other. They also try to soothe an upset companion, grooming and putting their arms around him.
"I see plenty of empathy in my chimpanzees," de Waal said. But studies have shown they also go to war against neighboring colonies, killing the males and taking the females. That's something that also is very human and led people to believe that war-making must go back in our lineage 6 million years, de Waal said.
When we think of taking care of our health, most of us think of proper diet, an exercise routine, and maybe some stress-reduction. Do we ever think of compassion? Not usually.
Sometime ago, Deepak and I discussed the concept of a compassion gymnasium recognizing that one of the best ways to improve one’s mental, physical and spiritual health is through compassion. At the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education at Stanford University (CCARE), which I direct, we are taking this concept seriously. Why? Let me back up a minute and explain. There is an epidemic in the West of loneliness, isolation and depression.
We have created a society where competitiveness and envy are promoted, where one hears repeatedly the message that in order to be happy one must consume, purchase, increase one’s bank account, look 25 and be professionally successful at all cost, where one in every four people feels that they have no one to talk to if they are in pain or suffering, where a large number feel disconnected from those around them. ..
A growing number of professional accrediting and licensing agencies have taken these findings to heart, developing requirements that make empathy a core value and an absolute “learning objective” for all doctors. But even for the most enthusiastic supporters of such initiatives, the vexing question remains: Can people learn to be empathetic?
Emma Seppala originates from Paris, France and is Associate Director at the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) at Stanford University. She is an Honorary Fellow at the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds in Madison, Wisconsin.
Her research areas include: Complementary & Alternative Interventions (yoga, meditation); The Science of Happiness, Health, Well-Being; Stress; Trauma; Emotion and Emotion Regulation; Compassion, Social Connectedness; Cross-Cultural Psychology.
In this panel, four participants in the 1440 Challenge come together to dialog about their respective projects and how they nurture and foster empathy in our society. Each participant shared their work and then other panelists responded. Responses included: empathic listening, reflection about the project, rephrasing or restating what we heard, support, curiosity and questions about the project. We then made connections and collaborative plans for how we can work together to raise the level of empathy in society.
Jon Ramer is Co-founder of Compassionate Action Network and Compassionate Seattle. The mission is, 'Awakening compassion within ourselves, our children and the world.
He is musician and a tireless organizer and advocate for fostering empathy and compassion through a wide variety of means around the world. "Starting from within, working in a circle, in a sacred manner, we heal and develop ourselves, our relationships, and the world." The 4th Way Guiding Principles
Meg Lyons is Executive Officer of the Charter for Compassion in Pakistan. Meg talked to us via her laptop while being driven through the streets of Karachi, Pakistan at night. It really brought home the power of communications technology to bring people together.
Meg talked about her value of courage and authenticity, as well as, about her work of promoting the Charter for Compassion in Pakistan.
The Charter of Compassion is a cooperative effort to restore not only compassionate thinking but, more importantly, compassionate action to the center of our lives. Our programs, tools, and activities allow our stakeholders and partners the opportunity to explore the value of collaboration, empathy, and compassion within their own respective entities, and institutionalize these positive changes across all sections of society.
The winners of the Ashoka Changemakers Activating Empathy competition discuss empathy in our education systems and how we can all work together to ensure all students learn this important skill.
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