Idea Bank
Here are some facts and some interesting information about empathy
Behavior
Naturally empathetic
Human beings are wired for sociability, attachment, affection and companionship. The drive to belong is an empathetic drive. An experiment was conducted without parents so that infants could be raised according to scientific principles. Orphans were kept in little cribs separated by white sheets, deprived of visual stimulation and body contact. They looked like zombies, with immobile faces and wide open, expressionless eyes incapable of laughing or crying. These children should have been thriving, but they in fact lacked all resistance to disease. At some orphanages the the mortality rate approached 100% .
Bonding
Bonding is essential for our species, and it is what makes us happiest. Bonding with another is said to bring us more satisfaction than money and material. Bonding is so good for us that one’s life expectancy increases.
Synchrony
We excel at bodily synchrony and actually derive pleasure from it. Walking next to someone, for example, we automatically fall into the same stride. We coordinate chants and “waves” during sporting events, oscillate together during pop concerts, and take aerobics classes where we all jump up and down to the same beat. As an exercise, try to clap after a lecture when no one else is clapping, or try not to clap when everyone else is.
settlements and coordination
Throughout history our perception of development, has been being empathetic with more and more people. Previously our ties were related only to blood relationships. As we started living in groups our empathy extended to our settlement. Through fictions and ideologies this turned into religions and into a country. With the advancement of technology can we next connect our sensibilities and empathy to a single race in a single biosphere?
War
Because of interdependencies between groups with scarce resources, our ancestors probably never waged war on a grand scale until they settled down and began to accumulate wealth by means of agriculture. This made attacks on other groups more profitable. Instead of being the product of an aggressive drive, it seems that war is more about power and profit. This also implies, of course, that it’s hardly inevitable.
Security
Security is the first and foremost reason for social life fueled by dependency. We either depend on others (when we are young, old, or sick) or others depend on us (when we care for the young, old, or sick).
Projection
We tend to project our emotions onto others. Our emotional state affects how we empathise. Our need to be comfortable, secure and avoid feeling awkward potentially interferes with our learning.
Psychology
Empathy in economics
Game theory believes that every interaction is strategic. And empathy is important for successful trade between economic agents.“ if one wants to make an offer it should appeal to the self love of the other trading partner” This requires imagination - economics and empathy paper.
Empathy in economics
Game theory believes that every interaction is strategic. And empathy is important for successful trade between economic agents.“ if one wants to make an offer it should appeal to the self love of the other trading partner” This requires imagination - economics and empathy paper.
cognitive biases
A cognitive bias is an error in thinking that can affect the decisions and judgments that people make. Some cognitive biases might be related to problems with attention as well. Some examples of cognitive biases are halo effact, availability bias, confirmation bias and the bandwagon effect.
compassion
Compassion is understanding, feeling and doing your best to alleviate the person suffering. Compassion is an outcome of empathy
Sympathy
Sympathy is often confused with empathy. Sympathy is the concern for the welfare of another. The first step of sympathy can sometimes be empathy but one does not necessarily need to feel the same/ similar feeling as the other for their concern.
Mentalizing
​Mentalising is the ability to assume another’s mental state. It is assuming other people’s experiences, beliefs and biases and understanding
emotional contagion
It is the automatic replication of another person’s emotions. It is like a reflex. There is no conscious perspective taking involved.
bystander effect
The bystander effect occurs when the presence of others discourages an individual from intervening in an emergency situation. You are more likely to help a person in need alone than when you are in a group.
Donor Fatigue & Normalization Threshold
Donor fatigue is when people no longer donate to charities although they have in the past. A reason for this can be the normalization thresh hold. Normalization threshold is the thresh hold at which a person is desensitization to a novel situation or scenario. It is the point at which something is no longer appealing.
NeuroScience
cognitive biases
A cognitive bias is an error in thinking that can affect the decisions and judgments that people make. Some cognitive biases might be related to problems with attention as well. Some examples of cognitive biases are halo effact, availability bias, confirmation bias and the bandwagon effect.
compassion
Compassion is understanding, feeling and doing your best to alleviate the person suffering. Compassion is an outcome of empathy
Sympathy
Sympathy is often confused with empathy. Sympathy is the concern for the welfare of another. The first step of sympathy can sometimes be empathy but one does not necessarily need to feel the same/ similar feeling as the other for their concern.
Mentalizing
​Mentalising is the ability to assume another’s mental state. It is assuming other people’s experiences, beliefs and biases and understanding
emotional contagion
It is the automatic replication of another person’s emotions. It is like a reflex. There is no conscious perspective taking involved.
bystander effect
The bystander effect occurs when the presence of others discourages an individual from intervening in an emergency situation. You are more likely to help a person in need alone than when you are in a group.
Donor Fatigue & Normalization Threshold
Donor fatigue is when people no longer donate to charities although they have in the past. A reason for this can be the normalization thresh hold. Normalization threshold is the thresh hold at which a person is desensitization to a novel situation or scenario. It is the point at which something is no longer appealing.
mirror neurons
In an experiment in Parma, Italy during the 1990s they were scanning a monkey’s brain in a MRI machine as the monkey was trying to open up a nut. By chance, another scientist walked into the laboratory and saw some other nuts lying on the table. The man was hungry so he tried to open up a nut. The monkey just gazed at this other human. When another scientist looked at the MRI brain scanner he saw that in the brain of the monkey the same exact neurons lit up as when the monkey was actually trying to open up the nut. This mirror system provides us with an ability to understand other people’s intentions by providing us with an automatic simulation of their actions, goals and intentions.
Emotional disconnection
Regulatory factor that involves self protection against distress, pain and extreme emotional impact.It is like a defence mechanism of the brain to cope with sudden emotional distress
Inside the brain
Emapthy doesnt lie in one specific part of the brain. It is the connection between different parts of the brain. Ventromedial prefrontal cortex and amygdala are the parts in our brain that are responsible for most of our decision making. These are also parts that deal with our somatic (emotional) part. The size of the amygdala and it’s resposiveness help us recognize fear ion others’ faces. The supramarginal gyrus is part of the somatosensory association cortex, which interprets tactile sensory data and is involved in perception of space and limbs location. It is also involved in identifying postures and gestures of other people, and is thus a part of the mirror neuron system.
Empathy tests
For the measurement of empathy there exist tests of different parameters. For example, IRI, EQ, Toronto Empathy Test. These test tell you where you lie on the empathy scale. They are based on questions about how you normally react to situations.
Empathy spectrum
Autism Lack of theory of mind results in lack of social skills. In the autism there is lack of the cognitive aspect of empathy. Levels of empathy Level 1 : caring for other people desire to help Level 2 : experience emotions that match other person’s emotions Level 3 : knowing what other person is thinking or feeling Level 4 : blurring line between self and other
Lack of empathy
In-group & Out-group
Our brain segregates people into in-group and out-group members based on similarities with us. Because of these similarities we start empathising more with our in-group. Mob mentality is a result of the formation of an in-group.
Old brain: new brain
Old brain empathy is empathy that is controlled by our animal instincts. It’s an immediate response to stop suffering. The new brain empathy, is the logical rational empathy. It is occurs due to conscious efforts of understanding and taking perspectives.
Morality
Morality is a set of rules one lives by. Empathy is the basis of morality. But morality can also lead to an Ideology. It makes one act on the basis of rules rather than understanding, experiencing, feeling every case and then acting upon it.
Harmones
Higher amount of prenatal testosterone in babies during pregnancy has shown more difficulty in the cognitive empathy (i.e. reading faces decoding someone else’s facial expressions to infer their state of mind.) When one commits an altruistic act the harmone ‘Oxtocin’ is released which makes one feel happy.
Statistical numbness
Statistical numbing begins at anything more than one. Numerical representaion of human lives does not convey the importance of those lives. As a result one emotionally detaches when information is given is quantitative and in large numbers.
Social media Empathy Gap
Social media is not about vulnerability. It’s about social desirability. Due to data mining the kind of things you see on your feed are things that align with you. This creates a confirmation bias, which isolated from what we don’t like.
mirror neurons
In an experiment in Parma, Italy during the 1990s they were scanning a monkey’s brain in a MRI machine as the monkey was trying to open up a nut. By chance, another scientist walked into the laboratory and saw some other nuts lying on the table. The man was hungry so he tried to open up a nut. The monkey just gazed at this other human. When another scientist looked at the MRI brain scanner he saw that in the brain of the monkey the same exact neurons lit up as when the monkey was actually trying to open up the nut. This mirror system provides us with an ability to understand other people’s intentions by providing us with an automatic simulation of their actions, goals and intentions.
Emotional disconnection
Regulatory factor that involves self protection against distress, pain and extreme emotional impact.It is like a defence mechanism of the brain to cope with sudden emotional distress
Inside the brain
Emapthy doesnt lie in one specific part of the brain. It is the connection between different parts of the brain. Ventromedial prefrontal cortex and amygdala are the parts in our brain that are responsible for most of our decision making. These are also parts that deal with our somatic (emotional) part. The size of the amygdala and it’s resposiveness help us recognize fear ion others’ faces. The supramarginal gyrus is part of the somatosensory association cortex, which interprets tactile sensory data and is involved in perception of space and limbs location. It is also involved in identifying postures and gestures of other people, and is thus a part of the mirror neuron system.
Empathy tests
For the measurement of empathy there exist tests of different parameters. For example, IRI, EQ, Toronto Empathy Test. These test tell you where you lie on the empathy scale. They are based on questions about how you normally react to situations.
Empathy spectrum
Autism Lack of theory of mind results in lack of social skills. In the autism there is lack of the cognitive aspect of empathy. Levels of empathy Level 1 : caring for other people desire to help Level 2 : experience emotions that match other person’s emotions Level 3 : knowing what other person is thinking or feeling Level 4 : blurring line between self and other
Lack of empathy
In-group & Out-group
Our brain segregates people into in-group and out-group members based on similarities with us. Because of these similarities we start empathising more with our in-group. Mob mentality is a result of the formation of an in-group.
Old brain: new brain
Old brain empathy is empathy that is controlled by our animal instincts. It’s an immediate response to stop suffering. The new brain empathy, is the logical rational empathy. It is occurs due to conscious efforts of understanding and taking perspectives.
Morality
Morality is a set of rules one lives by. Empathy is the basis of morality. But morality can also lead to an Ideology. It makes one act on the basis of rules rather than understanding, experiencing, feeling every case and then acting upon it.
Hormones
Higher amount of prenatal testosterone in babies during pregnancy has shown more difficulty in the cognitive empathy (i.e. reading faces decoding someone else’s facial expressions to infer their state of mind.) When one commits an altruistic act the hormone ‘Oxytocin’ is released which makes one feel happy.
Statistical numbness
Statistical numbing begins at anything more than one. Numerical representaion of human lives does not convey the importance of those lives. As a result one emotionally detaches when information is given is quantitative and in large numbers.
Social media Empathy Gap
Social media is not about vulnerability. It’s about social desirability. Due to data mining the kind of things you see on your feed are things that align with you. This creates a confirmation bias, which isolated from what we don’t like.