empathy

Jessica Stern, University of Virginia The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work. The big idea Teens with more secure family relationships get a head start on developing empathy, according to my colleagues’ and my new study tracking adolescents into adulthood. In contrast to popular myths about self-obsessed teens, existing research shows that adolescence is a key stage of development for the growth of empathy: the ability to stand in someone else’s shoes, to understand and resonate with their emotions and to care about their well-being. Empathy is a skill that develops over time, and it has major consequences for teens’ social interactions, friendships and adult relationships. So how do teens learn this critical skill? Our team’s new findings, published on July...

The year 2020 has been no stranger to suffering. In the midst of a global pandemic, widespread financial hardship and violence arising from systemic racism, empathy for others’ suffering has been pushed to the front and center in U.S. society. As society grapples to find its moral compass in a time of such hardship and strife, a critical question emerges: Whose suffering should one care about? When you ponder who is worth feeling empathy for, friends, family members and children might come to mind. But what about strangers, or people not connected to you through nationality, social status or race? As cognitive scientists, we wanted to understand what moral beliefs people hold about empathy and how these beliefs may shift depending on whom someone is feeling empathy for. Empathy as a for...

Tag: empathy

With Empathy For Friends – Teens With Secure Family Relationships ‘Pay It Forward’

Feeling Equal Empathy For Strangers And Family Alike And The Morality Of It All