Empathetic Capacities Research Articles

Does affective empathy capacity condition individual variation in support for military escalation? Evidence from a survey vignette

Does individual variation in affective empathetic capacity systemically condition a person's willingness to support pre-emptive military action? In this note, I theorize that individuals who are more prone to feeling affective empathy are less likely to support conflict escalation. To evidence this theory, I conduct a survey asking individuals about their willingness to support a military attack against a non-specific rogue state that is on the verge of acquiring nuclear weapons. The results demonstrate that the probability of an individual supporting such a strike is strongly conditioned on their affective empathetic capacity. This finding holds regardless of model specification and controlling for rational beliefs about material outcomes. Affective empathy may, therefore, have a powerful palliating effect upon the processes that contribute to conflict escalation.

Baldwin and Wittgenstein on White Supremacism and Religion

Abstract This article contends that James Baldwin’s exploration of racism and resistance to it in The Fire Next Time may be put into conversation with Ludwig Wittgenstein’s consideration of fundamental epistemic commitments in On Certainty. Out of this constructive engagement, I argue that white supremacism in the United States may be interpreted as being like a Wittgensteinian grounding or “hinge” commitment and that this viewpoint illuminates some of the ways in which white supremacism may interact with various kinds of religious commitments. This combined analysis depicts, first, the extent to which fundamental commitments about race deeply affect people, including the formation of their ethical and civic values, existential and religious commitments, and range of empathetic capacity and, second, similarities between Baldwin and Wittgenstein when it comes to their contentions that there is ethical value in the clarification of language and work on oneself.

Antecedents of Empathic Capacity: Emotion Regulation Styles as Mediators between Controlling Versus Autonomy - Supportive Maternal Practices and Empathy

Research suggests that empathy may lead to either sympathy, involving emotional identification with another person, accompanied by caring and concern, or personal distress, that is emotional reaction to another's condition that is aversive and self-centered (Eisenberg et al., 2010). While the former frequently predicts prosocial behavior, the latter is hypothesized to predict it only when helping is the easiest way to alleviate the distress of the helper (Batson, 1991). Drawing on self-determination theory, we hypothesized that autonomy supportive parenting (taking the child’s perspective and providing choice) may predict the child’s integrative emotion regulation, and this may predict emotional identification with others in need (i.e., sympathy). In contrast, the autonomy suppressive practice of conditional regard may predict dysregulation of emotions, leading to personal distress when facing a close friend’s adversity. Participants included 147 college students and 147 close friends. Target participants reported perceptions of their mothers’ behaviour and their own emotion regulation styles, while close friends reported perceptions of target participants’ sympathy and personal distress responses. Results support the study’s hypotheses and provide insights into the socialization of emotion regulation and empathy. Keywords: parental conditional regard, autonomy support, emotion regulation, empathetic capacity

A developmental analysis of dimensions of empathy during early adolescence: Behavioral empathy but not cognitive empathy is associated with lower psychopathology.

Construct definitions of empathy have sought to distinguish between different dimensions of empathetic capacity that are significantly associated with psychological distress or wellbeing. Research has provided substantial evidence differentiating affective and cognitive empathy; however, more recent research has cited the importance of a third domain represented by empathetic behaviors and compassionate intent to comfort others. Examining developmental and maturational stage during the rapid transitional period of early adolescence is needed to model developmental trajectories, mechanisms of change and mental health outcomes. This study aims to assess relationships between pubertal developmental stage, dimensions of empathy, and depression, anxiety and externalizing behaviors among early adolescents. A cross-sectional survey among young adolescents ages 9-12 years was conducted in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The relationships between pubertal developmental stage, affective, cognitive, and behavioral empathy scores and internalizing and externalizing symptoms were evaluated using hierarchical regression modeling. Structural equation modeling was used to test a theoretical model of structural paths between these variables. A sample of 579 very young adolescents (270 boys and 309 girls) aged 9-12 years participated in the study. Pubertal development scale scores were associated with affective, cognitive, and behavioral empathy. Adolescents who had greater behavioral empathy scores reported lower internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Adolescents who had transitioned further through puberty and had higher cognitive empathy scores and reported higher internalizing symptoms. These findings support the importance of pubertal developmental stage in assessing risk and protective paths to mental health during adolescence. While empathetic capacity is widely perceived to be a positive trait, dimensional analysis of empathy among early adolescents indicates that behavioral skills and compassionate acts may be particularly protective and promote positive mental health outcomes.

Psychometric properties of the empathy questionnaire for children and adolescents in a sample of Tanzanian adolescents.

Construct definitions of empathy have sought to distinguish between different domains of empathetic capacity that are related to psychological distress or wellbeing. This study aims to validate the psychometric properties of the Empathy Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents (EmQue-CA) and to test for measurement invariance by gender in a sample of 579 very young adolescents (270 boys and 309 girls) ages 9-12 from Tanzania. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis were completed to assess the factor analytic structure of the EmQue-CA, indicating a three-factor model fit these data well. Concurrent validity was demonstrated through strong significant correlations with prosocial behavior and generosity measures. Convergent validity indicated the behavioral subdimension of empathy, intent to comfort, was significantly and negatively associated with externalizing behaviors. Measurement invariance by gender was not supported for these data due to configural invariance in covariance between cognitive empathy and intent to comfort latent constructs. These findings confirm the EmQue-CA is an important measure of three dimensions of empathy; affective empathy, cognitive empathy, and behavioral empathy (intent to comfort) in a sample of Tanzanian adolescents.

The relationship between burnout and empathy in physiotherapists: a cross-sectional study

Background There have been few studies carried out into empathy in physiotherapists. Burnout can debilitate the quality of care and the efficacy of treatment as the empathetic capacity of the professional diminishes. Objective The objective of the study was to examine the association between the construct burnout, empathy and sociodemographic aspects in Spanish physiotherapists. Methods A cross-sectional electronic survey including the Maslach Burnout Inventory (for burnout assessment), the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (for empathy assessment) and sociodemographic data was answered by 461 Spanish physical therapists. A descriptive, bivariate and lineal regression analysis was performed. Results There was an association between burnout and empathy. Specifically, higher levels of burnout are associated with lower levels of empathy, whilst years of work experience is associated with lower levels of burnout. Conclusions The results of this study contribute to a greater understanding of the relationship between the level of burnout and the dimensions of empathy in physiotherapists. The influence of burnout, which causes difficulties in the mobilization of the professional towards the establishment of a quality therapeutic relationship, is highlighted. KEY MESSAGES Emotional exhaustion is associated to greater personal discomfort and less empathy. The depersonalization is associated to personal discomfort and less empathy. Depersonalization is negatively associated to the lack of perspective.

Empirical research of the development of the emotional and volitional spheres of older preschool children

The aim of the article is an empirical study of psychological determinants and significant correlations between the development of older preschool children’s emotional and volitional spheres. The importance of preschool age in the development of the child’s psyche, feelings, emotions, self-control, empathy, and reflexive capacities was emphasized. Self-control was found to be low in a significant proportion of the respondents (n=46; 62.16%). The emotional reaction, which is the child’s empathic ability to empathize and sympathize, had high levels, according to the study (M1= 18.12; M2=12.00; M3=10.01). The empathetic capacity of a senior preschooler was in the active development phase and encourages the formation of empathic and reflexive abilities through play activities, particularly through such a form of leading mental activity as story-role play. The correlation matrix revealed that “Self-control” and “Emotional response” had a positive and relevant correlation (rs = .141; р < .05). It is stated that the presence of this correlation in the researched groups was a good marker of older preschool children’s emotional and volitional development.

Evaluating pharmacy faculty perceptions of empathy in education: A qualitative study

IntroductionEmpathy is critical in building teacher-student relationships. Little research is available evaluating the empathetic capacity of faculty who teach in healthcare professional programs. This study's objectives were to describe how faculty define empathy, describe faculty perspectives on the role of empathy in pharmacy education, and discuss the potential barriers to demonstrating empathy to students. MethodsA qualitative research approach was utilized for this study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with faculty members randomly selected from an accelerated doctor of pharmacy program. All interviews were transcribed, and an interpretive phenomenological approach was used to describe, code, and analyze the experiences. ResultsResults showed that faculty naturally define empathy more from an emotional aspect rather than a cognitive one. Faculty have a consensus on the role of empathy in education and believe it essential for building relationships with students and fostering positive learning environments. Further, most faculty think that empathy is an innate ability, but that empathy can be developed through life experiences and training. Significant challenges of being empathetic in educational environments are associated with the instructor, learner, and learning itself, including demanding time and energy, establishing boundaries, maintaining standards, and handling challenging students. ConclusionsFaculty perceptions of empathy in education revealed empathetic teaching plays an essential role in building teacher-student relationships and positively impacting students' learning. Empathy is a critical skill and characteristic for healthcare profession educators to possess. The development of empathy training modules may be helpful to improve faculty's empathy.

Experiences of the Covid-19 pandemic: From the perspective of an MSW student.

This reflexive essay offers an uncensored narrative and delves deep into the life of one MSW student during the Covid-19 pandemic. Five themes were uncovered through intense reflexive based practices and these included: parenting and food insecurity, silencing of the voice, grieving the practicum placement, the white gaze and a reduced empathetic capacity. Ultimately, meaning making is achieved through unsettling the concept of the self, identifying and exposing vulnerability and deflowering the power dynamics operating within Canada.

Exploring ‘vibrant matter’ in animation making

ABSTRACT The text examines how human, objects and digital technology interacted in the creation of a short animated story, and how human identity became entangled in this process. We explore animation making as an assemblage in which all parts, human and non-human, play an agentive role, in shaping the story, the story making, and the story makers, mutually transforming each other. We posit that this engagement, by putting a strong emphasis on exploring the materiality of objects, produces a de- and reterritorializing effect. It favors exploring new relationships and identity positions, by breaking away, temporarily, from human-made, hierarchical systems of relationships, built on comparison, copying and competition, and by inviting experimentation and discovery of the ‘not yet known’ in a hierarchy flat, immersive, horizontally flowing process. ‘Animating objects’ decenters from the conventional meaning of objects, by broadening the ‘linguistic sign’ and the purpose and functionality of objects in daily life. It engages humans in forming empathetic relationships with objects, by humanizing and inter-acting with them, as if experimenting with an alter ego, or a new self. ‘Animating objects’ therefore has the potential to sensitize for and build empathetic capacity, not only in relation to the self-animated object, but also in relation to humans sharing a similar experience, wherein we see interesting potential for education in contexts of diversity, intercultural communication and beyond. We investigate the personal experience of the co-author, Gohar, as an identity journey and as a transformative process that emerged from the encounter between her and the carrots, her selected objects for story making. We draw on ethnographic, observational data, video-recordings, retrospective recorded and transcribed interviews, and reflective writing, which we analyse by making connections to theories of new materialism.

Empathy variation of undergraduate medical students after early clinical contact: a cross-sectional study in China

ObjectivesEmpathy education is very important for medical students. There is little research on the influence of early clinical practice on the development of empathy and other aspects of professionalism in...

The Construction of an Active Reader in two Holocaust themed novels for children: Hitler’s Daughter (1999) and The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2006) as Bildungsroman

This article argues that two significant recent influential historical novels about the Holocaust, Hitler’s Daughter (1999) and The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2006), reprise the genre traits of the Bildungsroman or novel of development and can be regarded as remarkably effective in engaging an active reader. Both novels, intended for children and younger adolescent readers, are focused on initially sequestered child protagonists from a perpetrator culture who are unable to fully understand their circumstances but undergo formative experiences by leaving ‘home’, legible both as a physical domicile and a site of indoctrination and repression. As they journey away from a limited conception of biological family the novel’s protagonists are able to reject constricting modes of social conditioning that repress authentic self-expression, curiosity, and impartial ethical judgment. In both novels the protagonists transform their perception of their circumstances by becoming resourceful bricoleurs, unearthing imaginative possibilities in their immediate environment that allow them to forestall emotional isolation and the dehumanization of designated ‘Others’ such as the Jews. The article suggests that while The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas has been read as reinforcing the myth of German innocence, its typological representation of a ‘dangerous family’ and its implied affirmation of Bruno’s explorative instincts, empathetic capacities, and commitment to friendship, allow a reader greater recognition of the ‘banal ideologies and institutions occupied by the perpetrator’ (Ann Rider).

Empathy and nausea: virtual reality and Jordan Wolfson’s Real Violence

Jordan Wolfson’s Real Violence (2017) is a brief virtual reality (VR) piece that depicts the artist beating a man to death with a baseball bat. Wolfson uses the haptic possibilities of VR to rapidly induce nausea in the viewer, an act that both relies on empathetic aspects of VR simulation – ‘empathy’ here linked with its history in German aesthetic psychology as Einfühlung – and is a confrontational distancing that questions the politics of ‘empathetic’ immersion. Real Violence demonstrates how contemporary judgments of VR and empathy repeat debates from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, reinventing and emptying particular political/aesthetic strategies that have long characterized a strain of modernist art that uses the formal possibilities (and limits) of media in order to critique the very same possibilities (and limits). This article, through its discussion of Wolfson’s work, seeks to identify and inhabit the complex contradictions present in any discussion of empathy, transgressive confrontation, and the social function of art and VR today. It examines the limitations of immersion and emotional projection, along with the limitations of interpreting this work (and VR in general) as a means for enacting ‘progressive’ social and ideological change through the immersive, empathetic capacities of media. The article concludes by arguing that judgments of Real Violence (and the politics of ‘transgressive’ art more broadly) require assuming the will or intent of an artist who uses confrontation and transgression to ‘correct’ the experience of the viewer, which is something that cannot be assumed for either Wolfson or Real Violence, and rather his work is exemplary of emptying out the possibilities represented by both VR and critical aesthetic intervention.

Empathy and moral education, Theatre of the Oppressed, and The Laramie Project

ABSTRACT Notable theorists have argued that theatre and drama play positive roles in the moral education of children and adults, including cultivating their capacity for empathy. Yet other theorists have expressed concerns that plays and educational practices involving improvisation might not lead to positive changes in real life, and might even have negative influences on actors and audiences. This paper focuses in particular on the dramatic methods employed by Theatre of the Oppressed, devised by Augusto Boal, and on the methods involved in the development of the play The Laramie Project, developed by Moisés Kaufman and the Tectonic Theatre Project. It argues that Theatre of the Oppressed and The Laramie Project cultivate actors’ and audiences’ empathetic capacities, while overcoming many theorists’ worries about the impact of drama.

The Development of Digital Competences and Emotional Skills Through the Use of Audio-Visual Technologies

School is more and more engaged in giving an importance to all that concerns the emotional aspects of an educational process with the goal to promote a total emotional development of the students. The aim of this paper is to explore the use of audio-visual technologies and products as instruments to help the socio-emotional education and to develop the digital competence in the educational field. The audio-visual communication has specific peculiarities that make it fit to reproduce the real world, so favouring the involvement of the public. In particular, the authors discuss the educational use of the movies in order to participate and commit in the digital culture, improving emotional awareness, controlling emotions, helping students to utilize their emotions in a positive way, developing their empathetic capacities, and controlling in a more functional way their own interpersonal relationships. The acquisition of all these capacities in the developmental years should have direct repercussions on the educational processes of the students.

The cosmopolitan turn in Literature education and its resulting tensions in Singapore schools

ABSTRACT In this article, I highlight the emergence of a cosmopolitan turn in Literature education as observed in teachers’ beliefs and practices in Singapore schools. Central to the cosmopolitan turn is the view that Literature education should not be disengaged from real-world connections to others particularly those who are marginalized and oppressed in the world. In the first part of this article, I describe core principles informing a cosmopolitan approach to teaching Literature that is distinct from previous movements. In the second part, I utilize case studies of Literature teachers from four secondary schools in Singapore to discuss key tensions resulting from teachers’ attempts to foster cosmopolitan sensitivities. These tensions point to the propensity for Literature education to prioritize a form of universalism that neglects the dynamic interconnections between national and global identity; to encourage a human capital approach to education where cosmopolitanism is co-opted to strategically benefit elites and to perpetuate passive rather than active cosmopolitan engagement with justice. I suggest that awareness of these tensions can enable educators to develop more holistic and ethically grounded cosmopolitan Literature education where all students can be equipped with critical and empathetic capacities to navigate diverse and conflicting values in our global age.

Victims' Stories and the Postcolonial Politics of Empathy

AbstractThis paper discusses Diana Meyers's book in light of postcolonial feminist insights. It argues that though Meyers's defense of empathy is admirably sensitive to the ways philosophical concepts and popular discourses can undermine our empathetic capacities, building a human rights culture requires attention to the relational and distributional dimensions of empathy. Meyers's criticism of the expectation of moral purity from victims attests to the richness of her work on agency and helps dismantle unduly narrow conceptions of who counts as a victim of a human rights violation. Meyers's argument for empathy over sympathy is especially useful for understanding culturally encoded forms of degradation. However, human rights violations are caused not only by empathy deficits; they are caused also by empathy excesses toward some people and savior mentalities that can coexist with empathy. Empathy should be supplemented by a political analysis that helps us identify the causes of global injustice.

Nursing Care Preferences among Filipino Elderly: A Conjoint Analysis

While nursing care has been investigated in the context of patient satisfaction, health care delivery, nursing skill, and patient centered care, elderly patients’ nursing care preferences have not been fully explored nor identified from the lens of utility analysis. This study is a purposive sample of 300 Filipino geriatric patients from the regions of Calabarzon and National Capital Region (NCR) participated and were asked to rank cards from 1 to 12 relative to the following five attributes: waiting response time, nursing uniform, empathetic capacity through time spent and eye contact, and nursing skill based on their preferences. Results of conjoint analysis via Sawtooth Software 18 indicated that nurse attire was the most important attribute (57.26%) while empathetic capacity through eye contact was least important to Filipino elderly (2.27%). Significant differences were found in the respondents’ profile. Among the given attributes, nursing uniform had the most impact in determining an elderly choice of services. Conversely, eye contact had minimal importance. In the health care setting, utilization of this study would allow nursing care to refocus nursing care delivery to maximize satisfaction and hospital loyalty. Future research may explore the cultural and regional differences in terms of preferences among the elderly.

The Body Not in the Room: Reading Gossip as Fiction

It can be useful to return to some fundamentals when thinking about what gives gossip its power, whether words spoken aloud or words that spread and leave their indelible traces throughout the digital realm. As a novelist and storyteller, I’d like to employ some lines of thought about what we do when we read fiction in order to consider gossip as an act of creative reading. Gossip, like a gift, depends on being received by someone, is defined by the intention to be received. Current fMRI studies have shown the empathetic capacities generated in individuals after reading works of fiction. I want to consider what happens when we imagine something about someone else, and how the engaged creativity of the recipient is essential to the act of gossiping.

The Existential Image: Lived Space in Cinema and Architecture

Abstract Walter Benjamin pointed out the affinity of cinema and architecture, and argued unexpectedly that tbese art forms are both essentially tactile arts. The tactility of the material art of building is not difficult to grasp, but the idea that a cinematic projection could result in fundamentally tactile experience certainly meets objections. However, the philosophical as well as neurological studies ofthe past few decades in perception, emotion, and thought, as well as in artistic expressions, suggest that these two arts, or poetic images at large, address ali our senses, including our synthesizing existential sense, all at once. The arts communicate through the “fiesh of the world”, to use a notion of Maurice Merleau-Ponty. The acts of perception, feeling, thinking, and memorizing cal! for the reality and sense of embodiment. We identify ourselves unknowingly with constructed architectural spaces as well as projected cinematic situations with our empathetic capacity. So, Benjamin ‘s argument could be re- -formulated: cinema and architecture are embodied atis in which the externa! and the internal are fully intertwined and fused. “The world is wholly inside, and 1 aro wholly outside myself’, as Merleau-Ponty enigmatically argues.