Empathy

Empathy is ‘the ability to experience affective and cognitive states of another person, whilst maintaining a distinct self, in order to understand the other’. (Guthridge and Giummarra (2021)

Empathy includes at least two key dimensions: cognition and affect (Decety 2011). If cognitive empathy can be conceptualised as ‘I understand how you feel’, affective empathy is conceptualised as ‘I feel what you feel’ (Hein and Singer 2008).

Relevant Links

• Guthridge, M., & Giummarra, M. J. (2021). The Taxonomy of Empathy: A Meta-definition and the Nine Dimensions of the Empathic System.Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 0(0), 00221678211018015.
• Decety, J. (2011). The neuroevolution of empathy. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1231(1), 35-45
• Hein, G., & Singer, T. (2008). I feel how you feel but not always: The empathic brain and its modulation. Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 18(2), 153-158
• Empathy as the Key to Equality and Human Rights - Nadine Schultz | gchumanrights
• Fourie, M.M., Stein, D.J., Solms, M. et al. Effects of early adversity and social discrimination on empathy for complex mental states: An fMRI investigation. Sci Rep 9, 12959 (2019).
• Guthridge, M., Penovic, T., Kirkman, M. et al. The Role of Affective Empathy in Eliminating Discrimination Against Women: a Conceptual Proposition. Hum Rights Rev 24, 433–456 (2023)