There are many skills that a child needs to master. Take writing, tying shoes, or riding a bike for example, Babies can't perform these tasks. And, babies are not expected to "grow into" these skills. Empathy is no different. But, just like riding a bike, nearly everyone can be taught how to empathize appropriately. It might take a long time and a lot of work but it can be done if the commitment is present. Kids that are brought up in situations with poor parent-child relationships are likely to not develop socialization and empathy skills the same way the general population does. Children not provided with a bike learn to ride it. Genes don’t define a person’s empathic abilities.
Empathy, just like any other skill, can be taught. Many kids …show more content…
When they did exhibit a response, it was often appropriate for an alternate situation (Schrandt). An example of this would be the child laughed when the puppet was sad. Throughout the course of this study the empathetic responding of the four children increase systematically when the lessons were introduced. It was concluded that the study was successful in teaching generalized empathetic responding in these four children (Schrandt). Children with empathy impairments were successfully taught this skill. By extension, the general population should be more than apt to learn this skill as well. Empathy is a skill, one like many others that must be taught and learned. Some people are not equipped to learn empathy as easily as others, but that does not mean they are incapable of empathy.
Empathy in college students has been declining for the past thirty years. The decline has been attributed to a number of reasons, among them are the increase in social media use, desensitization by television and video game programs and decrease in face-to-face interaction due to increases in technology use (Pickett). In fact, the most drastic change in empathy has occurred in the time since 2000. Children are growing up in a different social environment than their parents did. The brains of the technology generation remain as capable of empathy as those before them. The …show more content…
The physical distance during communication that technology allows, causes an emotional distance as well. The feelings of others are easier to ignore during "screen-to-screen" communication than during face-to-face communication (Zaki) . Social media plays its own roll in the increasing individualistic, self-centered, and narcissistic behavior seen in the college-aged students. Now more than ever kids are preoccupied with crafting the perfect post. Likes and retweets have become a measure of value. Social media has placed an emphasis on oneself rather than on others. Being self-serving decrease the changes of helping others. This type of prosocial behavior is necessary to maintain healthy and successful relationships. In video games and television, violence is common place, if not encouraged. Violence has become a source of entertainment for the college-age students surveyed. They have been exposed to death, sickness, and hardship nearly every day of their lives, as well (Pickett). So, instead of allowing themselves to be overwhelmed by all these tragedies today's generation closes themselves off to others'
Empathy, just like any other skill, can be taught. Many kids …show more content…
When they did exhibit a response, it was often appropriate for an alternate situation (Schrandt). An example of this would be the child laughed when the puppet was sad. Throughout the course of this study the empathetic responding of the four children increase systematically when the lessons were introduced. It was concluded that the study was successful in teaching generalized empathetic responding in these four children (Schrandt). Children with empathy impairments were successfully taught this skill. By extension, the general population should be more than apt to learn this skill as well. Empathy is a skill, one like many others that must be taught and learned. Some people are not equipped to learn empathy as easily as others, but that does not mean they are incapable of empathy.
Empathy in college students has been declining for the past thirty years. The decline has been attributed to a number of reasons, among them are the increase in social media use, desensitization by television and video game programs and decrease in face-to-face interaction due to increases in technology use (Pickett). In fact, the most drastic change in empathy has occurred in the time since 2000. Children are growing up in a different social environment than their parents did. The brains of the technology generation remain as capable of empathy as those before them. The …show more content…
The physical distance during communication that technology allows, causes an emotional distance as well. The feelings of others are easier to ignore during "screen-to-screen" communication than during face-to-face communication (Zaki) . Social media plays its own roll in the increasing individualistic, self-centered, and narcissistic behavior seen in the college-aged students. Now more than ever kids are preoccupied with crafting the perfect post. Likes and retweets have become a measure of value. Social media has placed an emphasis on oneself rather than on others. Being self-serving decrease the changes of helping others. This type of prosocial behavior is necessary to maintain healthy and successful relationships. In video games and television, violence is common place, if not encouraged. Violence has become a source of entertainment for the college-age students surveyed. They have been exposed to death, sickness, and hardship nearly every day of their lives, as well (Pickett). So, instead of allowing themselves to be overwhelmed by all these tragedies today's generation closes themselves off to others'