Empathic concern

substantial amount of the debate in the field. While it is largely agreed that the major prosocial motive is empathy, the extent to which it promotes prosociality as well as whether there are other motivations involved are still unclear (Eisenberg, VanSchyndel & Spinrad, 2016). In this essay, the statement that children’s prosocial behaviour is solely motivated by empathic responses will be critically evaluated. For that purpose, empathic response will be defined as the act of feeling into another individual’s emotional state (Eisenberg & Strayer, 1987), and will be used interchangeably with the term “empathy”, whereas prosocial behaviour will refer to a wide spectrum of social acts, such as helping, sharing, comforting, etc. It will be argued that empathy alone is insufficient to motivate prosocial behaviour. To that end, other motives will be introduced and empirically supported. It will be then concluded to which extent each motive promotes prosocial behaviour. To begin with, empathy was long considered to be the major, if not the only, motivational force of prosocial behaviour (Eisenberg & Miller, 1987). Empathic concern for others in distress has been observed as early as in the first year of child development (see Davidov, Zahn-Waxler, Roth-Hanania & Knafo, 2013, for a review). This early observed empathy is a reliable predictor of the levels of prosociality emerging later in life (Findlay, Girardi, & Coplan, 2006; Knafo, Zahn-Waxler, Van Hulle, Robinson, & Rhee,…

Empathy is the ability to connect one’s feelings, emotions, and pain with another. To view the world in someone else’s perspective, and not judge them for how they view it, but instead crawl inside the person’s heart and soul. “If you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks.” To scout, is to explore and discover. If we all observe people’s perspectives and emotions, we’ll be able to intertwine our life with everyone else’s. Empathy is being one with…

The Cask of Amontillado, a Story of Revenge “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe is a tragic tale of vengeance between two friends. The story uses the first person perspective where Montresor, narrates the story on how he bears a grudge against his friend Fortunato for insulting him. Poe does not disclose the insults but highlights the narrator’s obsession for revenge. However, in the narrative, Fortunato is depicted as kind, friendly and innocent while Montresor is evil. As a resulted,…

Sympathy, an emotional response we have in reaction when a fellow living being is in distress or of need, a response that makes use alive. Something that makes us human. Emotional responses influence our actions, influences our decision making, and influences how we see people. The media knows this. SPCA does this with their sad dog commercials. They try to make you sympathize with their cause so that you can decide to join it and or donate to it. In literature, One of the reasons Lennie is a…

on many variables. Frequently overlooked is the role empathy plays in effective communication. Empathy creates a deeper connection which when mastered creates understanding between people leading to a much more fruitful conversation (McLaren, 2013). In this paper, we look at the role empathy plays in relationships and its importance in relation to effective communication. Empathy is a multidimensional concept that has moral, emotional and behavioral components. It is feeling what another person…

My definition of compassion is when you are willing to help another being in need without the expectation or intent to receive anything in return. I was privileged to grow up with a mother that was very compassionate and caring, and from an early age she showed me that true compassion is giving without selflessness. I often find myself doing things out of compassion from day to day such as holding the door open for someone if I spot them trailing close by behind me. However in these same…

In today’s world almost everyone uses empathy in some shape or form whether it be in non-verbal communication or verbal communication, most of the time people do not notice themselves using empathy to resolve issues rather they just feel natural at performing it. There are immeasurable examples where I have used empathy while communication and not even noticing. Various times I have used empathy was with friends and family for giving advice and feedback. One most recant instance that I remember…

Empathic-concern and perspective-taking are ideas that, I believe, go hand in hand. While perspective-taking is the act of taking on the point-of- view of another person, or “putting one’s self into another person’s shoes,” empathic-concern is the feeling of sympathy and tenderness (for said person) that can follow. I believe that the distinction between these two items is important because one is unlikely to have an affect without the other. To explain, I’ll use an example from my own life. As…

Forests cover a third of all land on Earth, providing vital organic infrastructure for some of the planet's densest, most diverse collections of life. They support countless species as well as 1.6 billion human livelihoods, yet humans are also responsible for 32 million acres of deforestation every year. Why are forests so important?? 1. They help us breathe Forests pump out the oxygen we need to live and absorb the carbon dioxide we exhale (or emit). Just one adult leafy tree can produce as…

Not feeling these emotions but totally understanding them. So how do we get a grip on feeling empathy and make sure that what we feel is empathic concern, so that we can change the situation and the world, and not emphatic distress which not only hurts us. Having empathic concern turns us into helpers. We are more likely to keep our emotions regulated. Also, people with empathic concern are relatively stable in life. People who experience empathic distress, have a whole other set of…