How is it possible to have empathy for models

But trying will get you a lot closer than you would be otherwise. Once you find a way to connect with the other person's feelings, and have a more complete picture of the situation, you're ready to show compassionate empathy. In this step, you take action to help however you can. Begin by asking the other person directly what you can do to help.

If they are unable or unwilling to share, ask yourself: What helped me when I felt similarly? Or: What would have helped me? It's fine to share your experience or make suggestions, but avoid conveying the impression that you've seen it all or have all the answers. Instead, relate it as something that has helped you in the past.

Present it as an option that can be adapted to their circumstances, instead of an all-inclusive solution. Remember that what worked for you, or even others, may not work for this person. But don't let that hold you back from helping. Simply do what you can. The next time you struggle to see something from another person's point of view, strive to remember the following:.

Keeping these points in mind will affect how you view the other person and influence how you deal with them. And since each of us goes through our own struggle at one point or another, it's only a matter of time before you'll need that same level of understanding. Top Stories. Top Videos. Getty Images. Ask yourself: When have I felt similar to what this person has described?

You don't have the whole picture. Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.

Empathy has the capacity to transform individual lives for the better while helping to bring about positive social change in schools and communities worldwide. In psychology, there are currently two common approaches to empathy: shared emotional response and perspective taking. An example from our own lives came when a group of friends joined Marcus as he crossed the finish line of a half-marathon—they threw their arms up just as he did, mimicking his stance.

Perspective taking, also known as cognitive empathy, occurs when a person is able to imagine herself in the situation of another. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view.

Here are some strategies our graduates around the world use with their students to help develop both affective and cognitive empathy. Teachers can be role models who, by example, show students the power of empathy in relationships.

The model might sometimes fail to show empathy and subsequently demonstrate a better response. The third step is practice at showing empathy. This might occur live with the trainer or online in response to written or audio comments or actions of another person.

The practice would include, when possible, showing empathy in real situations outside training sessions. The last step involves constructive feedback on attempts to show empathy. The feedback typically includes praise when the person has reacted appropriately. It might also include information about how better to assess the emotion of another person or respond to the emotion.

A student and I recently completed a meta-analysis that pulled together 18 studies on the effects of empathy training. Our results indicated formal training can increase empathy. The studies measured empathy in various ways, but many used test measures. These present situations and then ask: what would you say to the person? Some studies asked for self-reports of empathy in everyday life.

No matter which measure was used, the training tended to have a positive effect. The findings of the studies we surveyed had limitations, though.

The trainees who showed significant improvements were mainly health professionals or university students. And studies usually followed participants for periods of a few weeks at most. So we do not know for sure whether we can increase empathy in ordinary people through formal training.

Emotional empathy consists of three separate components, Hodges and Myers say. This type of empathy is especially relevant when it comes to discussions of compassionate human behavior. There is a positive correlation between feeling empathic concern and being willing to help others. Debate remains concerning whether the impulse to help is based in altruism or self-interest.

The second type of empathy is cognitive empathy. This refers to how well an individual can perceive and understand the emotions of another.

Experts in the field of social neuroscience have developed two theories in an attempt to gain a better understanding of empathy. There is a biological component to this theory as well. Some experts believe the other scientific explanation of empathy is in complete opposition to Simulation Theory.

This theory suggests that humans can use cognitive thought processes to explain the mental state of others. Depending on context and situation, one or both empathetic responses may be triggered. Empathy seems to arise over time as part of human development, and it also has roots in evolution.

From a developmental perspective, humans begin exhibiting signs of empathy in social interactions during the second and third years of life.

Infants as young as 12 months of age begin to comfort victims of distress, and to month-old children display spontaneous, unrewarded helping behaviors. This may explain gender differences in human empathy.