Development of EMPATHY: what it is, importance and activities

Empathy is generally described as a pleasant emotion; For many people it corresponds to common kindness and emotional sensitivity, to being tender and considerate of others. But empathy is much more: it is an ideal capable of transforming our lives and, at the same time, generating substantial social change. Empathy can cause a revolution in human relationships. But is empathy learned? In this Psychology-Online article we will discover together the development of empathy, what it is, its stages and how to work it. We will see what empathy is in psychology with examples and how is the development of empathy in boys and girls.

Index

1. What is the development of empathy and its importance
2. When and how empathy develops
3. Activities for the development of empathy

The term empathy derives from the Greek word empathy which means actively experiencing the way another person experiences an experience, but it was introduced in the late nineteenth century by Robert Vischer, a student of figurative arts and aesthetic issues, who spoke of "feeling within" "consent".

In current use, the term empathy has acquired a series of meanings and characteristics:

• In general psychology, empathy is the ability to understand the emotional situation of another person Immediately.
• Empathy refers to putting yourself in the place of the other to see it from your internal frame of reference.
• Empathy involves the ability to tolerate anxiety and open up to another person's experience.
• Empathy is born in the framework of an interaction between two people.
• Empathy is "feeling inside the other" and it is different from the sympathy that is "feeling with the other".
• In empathy, affective and cognitive processes coexist, influencing each other.
• Empathic accuracy is the ability to understand the other's real feelings or thoughts.

In addition, it must be said that empathy has a biological basis, that process of spontaneous communication that is fundamental for all living organisms and that includes innate mechanisms of reception and transmission of sensory, visual, auditory messages, chemicals. In the process of empathy, in effect, the amygdala and its associative areas in the visual cortex are involved.

In the following article you will find the differences between assertiveness and empathy, two terms that are often confused.

Why is developing empathy important? Empathy can be considered as a true personal and communicative competence, which allows you to get in tune with who is related. This is a very important communication tool: with an empathic attitude it is possible to capture the deepest meaning of what the other says or shows non-verbally. The empathic availability thus allows to create an intimate and reciprocal relationship unique in his gender.

Developmental empathy is a complex phenomenon that involves different aspects of their cognitive, affective, and behavioral development. In its most evolved form, it is the result of a learning process, experiences of socialization and social interaction.

1. To experience empathy, the child must know stand out from others. But from our first breath, we begin to know empathy, which matures with the development of the brain.
2. Today, it is believed that a child, when he reaches his first year of life, is aware that others have feelings like yours, although it usually does not have the maturity to react adequately.
3. At the age of two, two and a half years, the child begins to understand that the pain of others is similar to yours and yet it is different (empathic patterns begin to emerge around the age of two).
4. Apparently, an important phase of cognitive development for empathy occurs around the age of eight: cognitive skills such as perspective taking and children develop begin to understand more deeply the living conditions of others.
5. Between preadolescence and adolescence, the empathic patterns that will continue throughout life are further consolidated and you can see what kind of compassionate person the child will become.

At each stage of development, parents shape the child's ability to give and receive empathy: the first role models, such as parents and educators, communicate the elementary components of empathy; But as tweens approach early adulthood, they are peers, teachers, books, television, the Internet and other influences that leave their mark on how, why and when they will try and express empathy.

Very empathetic people have something in common: they commit to cultivating six habits, a series of attitudes and everyday practices that turn on the empathic circuitry in their brain, making them able to understand how others view the world.

1. Ignite your empathic brain. Change our mental structures to recognize that empathy is the foundation of human nature and can develop throughout our lives.
2. Take a leap of imagination. Make a conscious effort to put yourself in the shoes of others - including our "enemies" - to recognize their humanity, their individuality, and their perspectives.
3. Go in search of hopeful adventures. Explore lives and cultures other than our own through direct immersion, empathic travel, and social cooperation.
4. Practice the art of conversation. Encourage curiosity towards strangers and deep listening to the other, let go of our emotional masks.
5. Travel in a chair. Get carried away in other people's minds with the help of art, literature, movies, and social media.
6. Inspire a revolution. Generate empathy on a large scale to produce social change and expand our empathic skills to involve the natural world.

In the following articles you can see Activities and games to work empathy in children Y How to work empathy in adolescents.

This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to Development of empathy: what it is, importance and activities, we recommend that you enter our category of Social psychology.

• Giusti, E., Locatelli, M. (2000). Comprehensive empathy. Umanistic analysis of motivational behavior in the clinic and in the training. Rome: Sovera Editore.
• Krznaric, R. (2018). Empathy. Perché is important and come to put it in practice. Rome: Armando Editore.
• Riess, E. (2020). Effetto empathy. Le 7 chiavi delle neuroscienze for transforming the way I love, love and communicate. Trento: Erickson.