Empathic Perspective Research Articles

Empathizing across sensibilities

ABSTRACT Empathic perspective taking involves a phenomenally rich reaction to another’s mental state, in an attempt to understand the other by feeling with them. But can we take just any perspective, even if the person we aim to understand seems fundamentally different from us? In this paper, we will explore the possibility of empathically understanding others that are different from us with respect to one aspect of their mental life: their sensibility.

Empathy and attitudes toward protecting migrants from criminal violence

AbstractMigrants in Latin America are increasingly vulnerable to organized crime violence while en route to their destination. Public opinion regarding how to address this problem varies. While many residents of countries along migration routes support policies protecting migrants from organized crime, others oppose them. What explains this variation? To investigate this situation, we draw on nationally representative survey data from one of Latin America's most important migrant corridors, Mexico, where sustained criminal violence makes migrants vulnerable to criminal predation en route. We integrate insight from theories about helping refugees amid political violence with studies about aiding migrants amid peace to develop and test hypotheses about an understudied research phenomenon, protecting migrants amid large‐scale criminal violence. We argue that attitudes toward protecting migrants are influenced by feelings of empathy. We test hypotheses related to two conduits of empathic perspective taking—crime victimization and imagining one could become a victim in the future. We find these channels of perspective taking are positively associated with support for migrant protective policies among crime victims and nonvictims alike. Our research reveals new information about attitudes toward immigration policy in criminally violent contexts and advances knowledge about the public endorsement of policies to preserve migrant rights and dignity.

The vocal side of empathy: neural correlates of pain perception in spoken complaints.

In the extensive neuroimaging literature on empathy for pain, few studies have investigated how this phenomenon may relate to everyday social situations such as spoken interactions. The present study used functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) to assess how complaints, as vocal expressions of pain, are empathically processed by listeners and how these empathic responses may vary based on speakers' vocal expression and cultural identity. Twenty-four French participants listened to short utterances describing a painful event, which were either produced in a neutral-sounding or complaining voice by both in-group (French) and out-group (French Canadian) speakers. Results suggest that the perception of suffering from a complaining voice increased activity in the emotional voice areas, composed of voice-sensitive temporal regions interacting with prefrontal cortices and the amygdala. The Salience and Theory of Mind networks, associated with affective and cognitive aspects of empathy, also showed prosody-related activity and specifically correlated with behavioral evaluations of suffering by listeners. Complaints produced by in- vs out-group speakers elicited sensorimotor and default mode activity, respectively, suggesting accent-based changes in empathic perspective. These results, while reaffirming the role of key networks in tasks involving empathy, highlight the importance of vocal expression information and social categorization processes when perceiving another's suffering during social interactions.

Rethinking of masculinities: an evolving perspective

The focus of this research is on the evolution of male identity and cultural conceptions of masculinity. Traditional notions of masculinity have often been overly narrow, contributing to the maintenance of harmful stereotypes and assumptions. But a more inclusive, diverse, and caring perspective on gender is leading to a rethinking of what it means to be masculine. This essay investigates the complexities of masculinity, the pernicious impacts of rigid gender norms, and the ways in which our culture may be altered to promote healthier, more authentic expressions of gender. The intricate web of gender identities, violent experiences, and emotional restraint. This new perspective furthers gender equality, the acceptance of many identities, and the removal of harmful stereotypes that hold men and society back from reaching their full potential. By analyzing the rethinking of masculinity in this context, this article hopes to encourage a more nuanced and empathic perspective of masculinity. We can help men reach their full potential as people and as contributors to society if we challenge and expand our ideas of masculinity. This process of reassessing masculinities is also open to female participation. This movement is representative of a broader cultural trend that challenges traditional notions of masculinity and the worldviews of its members. By working to eradicate gender norms and adopting a more open perspective on gender, we can create a more equitable society that values and celebrates a wide range of masculinities while eliminating harmful power dynamics.

Interperformer coordination in piano-singing duo performances: phrase structure and empathy impact.

Musicians' body motion plays a fundamental role in ensemble playing, by supporting sound production, communication, and expressivity. This research investigates how Western classical musicians' head motion during ensemble performances relates to a piece's phrase structure and musicians' empathic perspective taking (EPT) profile. Twenty-four advanced piano and singing students took part in the study, and their EPT score was pre-assessed using the Interpersonal Reactivity Index. High and low EPT duos were formed, and musicians were paired with a co-performer from the same and the other EPT group. Musicians rehearsed Fauré's Automne and Schumann's Die Kartenlegerin, and performed the pieces one time before and three times after rehearsal. Motion capture data of the musicians' front head, audio, and MIDI recordings of the performances were collected and analysed. Similarity in musicians' head motion and tendency to lead/lag their co-performer were computed by extracting, respectively, power and phase difference of the cross-wavelet transforms of the velocity curves of each paired marker. Results demonstrate that the power of interperformer coordination corresponds to the piece's phrase levels and that singer's EPT can impact the leader-follower relationships between musicians, depending on piece and take number. In the Fauré piece, the higher the singer's EPT score, the higher the tendency for the singer to lead and pianist to follow in take 3, and the lower the tendency for the singer to lead and pianist to follow in take 2. These results contribute to a further understanding of the mechanisms underpinning social interactions, by revealing the complexity of the association between empathy and body motion in ensembles in promoting and diffusing leadership between musicians.

Defending or not? The role of peer conformity empathic perspective taking and moral distress on bystander behaviors in bullying

Defending or not? The role of peer conformity empathic perspective taking and moral distress on bystander behaviors in bullying

Psychometric Validation of the Scale of Ethnocultural Empathy in a Sample of Undergraduate and Graduate Students in Rehabilitation: A Brief Report

Ethnocultural empathy is one of the most important multicultural competencies in counseling psychology. Wang et al. developed the Scale of Ethnocultural Empathy (SEE) for counseling psychology educators as an outcome variable to evaluate multicultural counseling competencies of counselors-in-training. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the measurement structure of the SEE in a sample of undergraduate and graduate students in rehabilitation. Confirmatory factor analysis results indicated that the four-factor intercorrelated model fit the data very well. The four factors are (a) empathic feeling and expression, (b) empathic perspective taking, (c) empathic awareness, and (d) acceptance of cultural differences. The SEE can be an invaluable tool for rehabilitation counselor educators to evaluate their students’ level of multicultural rehabilitation counseling competency and as an outcome variable for multicultural rehabilitation counseling training.

Empathy, Post-Stroke Aphasia, and Speech-Language Pathology Students

ABSTRACT Background Empathy is a multidimensional construct potentially important in communicating with an individual with aphasia and for students pursuing a career in speech-language pathology. Unfortunately, little is known about empathy towards someone with aphasia among the general public and speech-language pathologists. Aims The aims of the current study are to explore whether (1) prior knowledge of aphasia predicts state and dispositional empathy after viewing a video of an adult with post-stroke aphasia; (2) state and dispositional empathy differs between a group of individuals seeking a profession in speech-language pathology and those who are not; (3) state and dispositional empathy differ between speech-language pathology undergraduate and graduate students. Methods Two hundred-six participants viewed a video of a male with aphasia engaged in three language tasks and then rated themselves with the Batson Empathy Adjectives (BEA) and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI; empathic concern and perspective taking). Results State empathy is not influenced by prior knowledge, however, knowledge does predict type of dispositional empathy. Furthermore, state and dispositional empathy does not differ between a group of individuals seeking a profession in speech-language pathology and those who are not seeking this profession. Additionally, state and dispositional empathy do not differ between undergraduate and graduate students in speech-language pathology. Conclusions These findings have implications for programs designed to increase public awareness of post-stroke aphasia as well as speech-language pathology graduate programs.

An Exploration of Empathy and Personality in Preservice Counselors

Empathy allows individuals to care for the well-being of others and act with compassion. Research indicates that empathy is an essential ingredient for developing successful counseling relationships, leading to positive change for clients. Determining how empathy is related to personality provides counselors with valuable information for exploring the impact of personality on empathy in counselor trainees. To explore the relationship between empathy and personality among counselor trainees, the researchers compared scores on the MBTI® and the IRI. Results of this study suggest a clear relationship between personality and empathy and were similar to the findings of previous researchers. In addition, this study demonstrated that the MBTI® type preferences of extraversion, intuition, feeling and perceiving are significantly higher than introversion, sensing, thinking and judging on the various empathy scales, specifically in the areas of empathic concern, perspective taking, personal distress and fantasy. Implications were discussed for both counselor educators and practitioners.

POR QUÉ RECONSIDERAR EL ENCUADRE PSICOANALÍTICO TRADICIONAL. UNA MIRADA RELACIONAL

Facing the drive conflict theory, the relational turn in psychoanalysis, which has emerged during the last two decades in the past century, has consolidated different schools of thought. These agree on a shared core idea: our mind is created, functions,becomes ill, and recovers relationally. This constitutes a metapsychological paradigm shift.Nevertheless, the classic clinical approach has been conveyed as if it were a mantra so much so that to be considered a clinical psychoanalist you should follow their rules. This paper aims to make visible three substantial elements for its modification:the incidence and consideration of the context, the relevance of emotions, and the qualitative importance of the therapist-patient bond as a change agent. Faced with the traditional technical myths of neutrality, abstinence, and anonymity, there is a need fora different “therapeutic receving matrix”: an empathic perspective, a dialogic position, a warm, humble, humanist and equitable position, as well as an hermeneutic of trust from the psychotherapist in this particular dyad created with each patient.

특성분노와 공격성 간의 관계에서 공감적 관여와 조망수용의 조절효과

일반적으로 분노경향이 높은 사람들은 공격적인 행동을 하는 경향이 높다. 이러한 분노와 공격 간의 높은 상관관계는 다양한 사회적 문제를 야기하는 요인이 되고 있다. 본 연구에서는 이러한 관계를 완화하기 위한 개입이 필요하다는 점에 주목하고, 공감의 두 차원인 공감적 관여(empathic concern)와 조망수용(perspective taking)이 특성분노와 공격성 간의 정적인 관계를 조절할 것이라는 가설을 검증해보았다. 학부생 329명을 대상으로 설문을 통해 특성분노(분노경향성), 공격성, 공감적 관여, 조망수용 양상을 조사한 결과, 특성분노와 공격성 간의 관계를 공감적 관여는 조절한 반면, 조망수용은 조절하지 않았다. 우선 공감적 관여는 특성분노가 공격성을 높이는 관계를 약화시키는 기능을 보였는데, 이는 특성분노가 낮은 집단에서보다 높은 집단에서 더 강하게 나타났다. 반면, 특성분노가 높은 사람이나 낮은 사람이나 모두 특성분노와 공격성 간에 정적인 관계를 보이지만, 이는 조망수용 정도에 따라 다르지 않았다. 이 결과는 공감의 기능이 정서적 인지적 측면에 따라 변별적으로 나타날 수 있으며, 특히 분노가 공격으로 이행되는 과정에서는 정서적 측면의 공감이 인지적 측면에서의 공감보다 더 중요하다는 점을 보여준 결과라고 볼 수 있다. 마지막으로, 이러한 주요 결과와 함께 본 연구의 함의와 시사점, 추후 연구 방향이 함께 제시되었다.

Practice learnings from the Psychologist Integration into Primary Health Care Pilot Program on the Tiwi Islands, Northern territory

ABSTRACT Objective: In 2017, a Northern Territory PHN funded pilot program integrating psychology into remote Aboriginal Health Centres, was launched at Julanimawu Health Centre at Wurrumiyanga, Bathurst Island, Tiwi Islands (pop.1600). Psychology was identified as the allied health approach most attuned to the influential socio-cultural needs of Australian Aboriginal people when negotiating health care and effecting behavioural change; namely, providing a time rich, systemic, behaviourally focused, empathic perspective with a story telling method. Method: The program was designed to address the psychological needs of the community through two clearly stated pathways: supporting and educating the staff of the Health Centre on the effects of trauma, and providing a psychological service directly to the community. The psychologist recorded program participant demographic information and kept a diary that acknowledged the program intentions in relation to her experience. Results: Overall, the pilot program demanded non-traditional responses in a non-traditional psychology setting and the capacity to maintain equilibrium without expectation in the face of intergenerational trauma. Aboriginal culture impacted significantly on psychological practice, resulting in a process of decolonisation. The psychologist responded to different perceptions of time, resources, communication, connection and obligation and championed the Social Emotional Wellbeing approach to Aboriginal health. On a systemic level, while the program model recognised that behaviour largely determines health outcomes, the program outcomes suggested that culture largely determines behaviour. Conclusions: A Social Emotional Wellbeing approach is highly applicable, however, the approach requires champions to further support integration into the Health Centre system. Key Points What is already known: The health and wellbeing of Australian Aboriginals is impacted by the consequences of colonisation. The integration of psychology into health care is beneficial when addressing trauma related health issues. Behaviour largely determines health outcomes. What this topic adds: Behaviour largely reflects culture. Decolonising psychology requires an active process contingent on cultural knowledge. Privileging the multi-dimensional connections of social emotional wellbeing is a pathway forward.

Feeling Touched: Empathy Is Associated With Performance in a Tactile Acuity Task.

The concept of empathy describes our capacity to understand the emotions and intentions of others and to relate to our conspecifics. Numerous studies investigated empathy as a state as well as a stable personality trait. For example, recent studies in neuroscience suggest, among other brain areas such as the insula or the ACC, a role of the somatosensory cortices for empathy (e.g., when observing someone else being touched). Since the classic understanding of the primary somatosensory cortex is to represent touch on the body surface, we here aimed to test whether tactile performance is linked to the personality trait empathy. To test this, we examined the tactile acuity of 95 healthy participants (mean age 31 years) by using a two-point discrimination threshold task at the index fingers. Trait empathy was assessed by employing the interpersonal reactivity index (IRI), which measures self-reported empathy with four scales (empathic concern, perspective taking, fantasy, and personal distress). Results of regression analyses suggested the subscale empathic concern to be positively associated with performance in the tactile acuity task. We discuss this finding in the light of recent studies on empathy and consider possible implications of tactile training to enhance empathy.

The Protective Role of Empathy and Emotional Self-efficacy in Predicting Moral Disengagement in Adolescents Separated from Illegal Armed Groups

The multiple scenarios of violence in Colombia expose minors to acts of abuse, violation of their fundamental rights, and forced recruitment by illegal armed groups. This article presents the results of a research regarding 35 teenagers who had been released from illegal armed groups in Colombia and are currently in process of social reintegration. The objective was to analyze the role of empathy and emotional self-efficacy in predicting moral disengagement in this population. The instruments used were the Moral Disengagement Mechanisms Questionnaire (MMDS), the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), and the Regulatory Emotional Self-efficacy Questionnaire (RESE). The empathic perspective and self-efficacy in the management of negative emotions were found to be protective factors of moral disengagement in the studied population. These potential factors become a central element for the psychosocial accompaniment of these adolescents.

Making Sense of Attitudes toward the US National Anthem Protests: Examining the Role of Empathic Concern, and Perspective-Taking

The most recent US national anthem protests started when former National Football League (NFL) player Colin Kaepernick decided not to stand during the national anthem before a preseason football game in August of 2016. These national anthem protests have been perceived in a variety of ways by the audience/public. This study examines the role of empathic concern and perspective taking in shaping people's perceptions toward the national anthem protests. Using a sample of 326 participants, correlations and multiple regression analysis were conducted. The results reveal that empathic concern was positively related to favorable attitudes towards national anthem protests while perspective-taking was surprisingly not related to attitudes toward the national anthem protests. The meaning and implications of each the results are discussed.

Exploring the Effects of Violent Video Games on Healthcare Trainees

Background. The prevalence of video game play has continued to increase. Previous literature has suggested negative emotional consequences related to violent video game play, such as an increase in aggression and decrease in empathy. Healthcare providers require high levels of empathy to effectively work with patients. The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of video games on empathy on a sample of graduate-level healthcare trainees. Methods. A sample of 81 students on a healthcare campus completed a 30-item survey assessing video game habits and empathy levels. Participants were then placed into two groups (violent and non-violent) based on the amount of video game violence they are exposed to. Results. The results revealed no differences between healthcare trainees on overall empathy. A follow-up analysis examining individual subscales that comprise the overall empathy score, indicated the violent video game players had lower scores on the Personal Distress scale. Conclusion. Findings suggest that healthcare trainees who play violent video games do not experience decreased Empathic Concern or Perspective Taking, compared to individuals who do not play violent games. However, healthcare trainees who play violent video games indicated lower levels of Personal Distress. Given the intensity in healthcare settings, findings suggest violent video game play may be adaptive to healthcare trainees, as lower personal distress can lead to better decision-making and potentially prevent burnout. Further research is necessary to determine the role of video game play in healthcare professionals.

Predictors of Physician's Empathy: The Role of Spiritual Well-being, Dispositional Perspectives, and Psychological Well-being.

ObjectivesEmpathy is a core component of an efficient physician-patient relationship. Although students’ preexisting medical views may influence responses to physician-patient relationship, there is little knowledge about the psychological predictive factors of empathic perspective for physician-patient relationship. We aimed to examine whether psychological well-being, dispositional perspective, and spiritual well-being could predict the empathic perspective of medical students regarding the physician-patient relationship.MethodsIn a cross-sectional study, 350 medical students of Babol University of Medical Sciences were recruited at four levels of education including basic sciences, preclinical medicine, clerkship, and internship. The students completed four questionnaires including Jefferson Scale of Empathy - student version, Brief Ryff psychological well-being, Individual Disposition, and Spiritual Well-Being.ResultsThe score of medical student’s perspective to clinical empathy was high (106.1±29.8, range: 20–140), but diminished with further years of education. Female students had higher empathy scores than their male counterparts. Pearson’s correlation coefficient revealed a strong positive significant relationship between student’s perspective to clinical empathy and spiritual well-being (r = 0.56), cognitive empathy (r = 0.51), and psychological well-being (r = 0.43), and tendency to egalitarianism (r = 0.37). The results of stepwise multivariate analysis regression revealed that cognitive empathy (β = 0.300), self-esteem (β = 0.133), and spiritual well-being (β = 0.388) positively predicted student’s perspective to clinical empathy regarding the physician-patient relationship.ConclusionsThe results suggested that promoting empathic care in curricula of medical schools may be more effective if students’ preexisting perspectives, cognitive empathy, self-esteem, spiritual well-being, and tendency to egalitarianism are taken into account.

Empatia e impulsividade sexual entre estudantes de medicina que enviam imagens íntimas de parceiros

Introdução: A prática de sexting entre estudantes de Medicina tem sido pouco estudada. Embora existam diversos tipos de comportamento envolvendo a troca de imagens sexuais, dois cenários serão examinados aqui: (a) a troca de imagens íntimas somente entre parceiros eróticos; e (b) o compartilhamento de imagens íntimas trocadas por parceiros para outras pessoas fora do relacionamento.
 Objetivo: Verificar diferenças empáticas entre aqueles que praticam sexting dentro de um relacionamento consensual e os que, de forma não consensual, disseminam imagens íntimas do(a) parceiro(a) para terceiros.
 Método: Trata-se de um estudo transversal no qual os participantes responderam a um questionário auto-responsivo. Inventários para avaliação de empatia e impulsividade sexual, questionário sobre dados sócio-demográficos e questões sobre a prática de sexting foram aplicados.
 Results: Este estudo incluiu 202 estudantes de Medicina. O grupo que admitiu engajar-se em sexting, independentemente se consensualmente ou não, demonstrou maior impulsividade sexual e menor desconforto do que aqueles que negaram a prática. Apenas os estudantes que admitiram compartilhar imagens íntimas do(a) parceiro(a) mostraram menor preocupação empática (empatia afetiva) e tomada de perspectiva (empatia cognitiva) do que o grupo que negou praticar sexting. Os resultados deste estudo apoiam prévios achados em que pessoas engajadas em sexting demonstram menor desconforto pessoal com suas ações do que aqueles que não praticam.
 Conclusão: Apesar de conhecer as consequências legais de expor imagens íntimas de terceiros sem consentimento, alguns estudantes parecem preferir o risco.

The effectiveness of helping skills training for undergraduate students: Changes in ethnocultural empathy.

Using the Scale of Ethnocultural Empathy, we examined pre-post changes in empathy directed toward people from different racial/ethnic cultural groups than one's own for 189 undergraduate students from 20 sections of helping skills classes. We hypothesized that racial minority students and women would score higher than their respective counterparts in ethnocultural empathy at the beginning of the semester. We also expected that White students would grow more than racial minority students in ethnocultural empathy by the end of the semester. Using latent growth modeling, we found that racial minority women tended to report significantly higher initial levels than racial minority men and White students on all dimensions of ethnocultural empathy. In addition, race predicted ethnocultural empathy changes by the end of the semester, such that White women and men on average showed (a) more growth on the Empathic Feeling and Expression subscale than did racial minority women and men and (b) more growth on the Empathic Perspective Taking subscale than did racial minority women. Findings suggest that helping skills training may be particularly effective for helping White students gain empathic understanding and expression for individuals from different racial/ethnic backgrounds. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

The association between childhood maltreatment and empathic perspective taking is moderated by the 5-HTT linked polymorphic region: Another example of "differential susceptibility".

Previous research has suggested that the short (S)-allele of the 5-HT transporter gene-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) may confer "differential susceptibility" to environmental impact with regard to the expression of personality traits, depressivity and impulsivity. However, little is known about the role of 5-HTTLPR concerning the association between childhood adversity and empathy. Here, we analyzed samples of 137 healthy participants and 142 individuals diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD) focusing on the 5-HTTLPR genotype (S/L-carrier) and A/G SNP (rs25531), in relation to childhood maltreatment and empathy traits. Whereas no between-group difference in 5-HTTLPR genotype distribution emerged, the S-allele selectively moderated the impact of childhood maltreatment on empathic perspective taking, whereby low scores in childhood trauma were associated with superior perspective taking. In contrast, L-homozygotes seemed to be largely unresponsive to variation in environmental conditions in relation to empathy, suggesting that the S-allele confers "differential susceptibility". Moreover, a moderation analysis and tests for differential susceptibility yielded similar results when transcriptional activity of the serotonin transporter gene was taken into account. In conclusion, our findings suggest that the S-allele of the 5-HTTLPR is responsive to early developmental contingencies for "better and worse", i.e. conferring genetic plasticity, especially with regard to processes involving emotional resonance.