Description: If you cannot say something nice say nothing at all! Did you ever get that advice? It is possibly good advice for young children who are learning how to “play nice” together but what about in adulthood and especially what about in work settings where you might be training or managing others or working… Read more »
Posts Tagged: empathy
Problems With Listening and Empathy: Psychology needs Philosophical Friends
Description: Empathy is a very challenging concept for Psychology and being empathic is a very challenging thing for many people to figure out how to do. Empathy is challenging Western Psychology because Western Psychology focusses best and most intently on individuals and on their self-understandings and self-management practices. This means that when Psychology trys to… Read more »
If Rats Have Empathy Do We Understand What Empathy Involves?
Description: How would you define empathy? Would feeling another person’s feelings capture it or at least part of it? Some sort of positive response would likely also need to be included in the definition, but it could be seen to follow from the first part. So how do we feel what someone else feels? We… Read more »
Schadenfreude — a Cool German Word and a Fascinating Psychological Construct
Description: Before setting up the article that is the focus of this post let me start by saying that, if you have not run across this before, you should look for some of the amazingly descriptive words the German language has for aspects of the human condition. Some have been borrowed into English (like Wanderlust… Read more »
Empathy, University Students, and Employability: Is a fix needed?
Description: I have provided two article links below. The first is to a general online article that talks about the sorts of things parents and teachers should be working on with children that will make those children more employable later on in young adulthood. That article concludes by suggesting that training in empathy for all… Read more »
Does Empathy have a Dark Side?
Description: Empathy is always good, right? Everyone would be a better person and make better, more moral, decisions if they more actively engaged with others in an empathetic manner, right? Well, that may largely be true but can you think of situations where that might not be true or where, in fact the exact opposite… Read more »
Itches and Contagious Scratches
Description: You probably don’t remember if this has ever happened to you but, what do you think you would do if, when you’re sitting in a lecture, one or two of the people sitting in front of you reaches up to their neck or their ear with her head and scratches? Think about your answer… Read more »
Boredom “Reading” Computers
Description: So here are two questions to consider as you read this article. The first is a technical one; how is it that computers might be able to detect whether or not someone looking at it is board? The second question is a little broader; what might it mean if our computers and more importantly… Read more »
Experiences that Teach Empathy?
Description: Within Western society, we typically view the basic psychological unit of analysis to be an autonomous self-interested individual person. This basic unit of analysis gives rise to problems only consider concepts like empathy or prosocial behaviour where individuals act apparently against their self-interest by helping others. So if we are self-interested why would we… Read more »
Direct and Empathic Reactions to Natural Disaster: The Nepalese Earthquake
Description: Natural disasters such as the 7.8 earthquake in Nepal recently are devastating; producing pain, hardship and a great deal of stress. This is, of course, most true for Nepalese people at home or abroad, worrying about friends and relatives but also for others hearing about, seeing the effects of, thinking about and empathically resonating… Read more »
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