IU Indianapolis ScholarWorks :: Browsing by Subject "empathy"

Browsing by Subject "empathy"

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Affective Empathy in Schizophrenia: A Meta-Analysis
(Elsevier, 2016-08) Bonfils, Kelsey A.; Lysaker, Paul H.; Minor, Kyle S.; Salyers, Michelle P.; Department of Psychiatry, IU School of Medicine
Background Affective empathy, or the emotional response one has to the experiences or emotional states of others, contributes to relationship-maintaining behaviors and is key in fostering social connections, yet no work has synthesized the body of literature for people with schizophrenia. The aim of the present meta-analysis was to determine the extent to which those diagnosed with schizophrenia experience deficits in affective empathy. Methods A literature search was conducted of studies examining empathy. Data were analyzed using a random effects meta-analytic model with Hedges' g standardized mean difference effect size. Results Individuals with schizophrenia exhibited significant, medium deficits in affective empathy (k = 37). Measurement type moderated the affective empathy deficit such that performance-based measures showed larger schizophrenia group deficits than self-report measures. Conclusion Consistent, significant deficits in affective empathy were found comparing people with schizophrenia to healthy controls, especially when using performance-based assessments. The medium effect suggests an important role for empathy in the realm of social cognitive research, and points to the need for further investigation of measurement techniques and associations with functional outcomes.
Coming in Warm: Qualitative Study and Concept Map to Cultivate Patient‐Centered Empathy in Emergency Care
(Wiley, 2019) Pettit, Katie E.; Rattray, Nicholas A.; Wang, Hao; Stuckey, Shanna; Courtney, D. Mark; Messman, Anne M.; Kline, Jeffrey A.; Emergency Medicine, School of Medicine
Background Increased empathy may improve patient perceptions and outcomes. No training tool has been derived to teach empathy to emergency care providers. Accordingly, we engaged patients to assist in creating a concept map to teach empathy to emergency care providers. Methods We recruited patients, patient caretakers and patient advocates with emergency department experience to participate in three separate focus groups (n = 18 participants). Facilitators guided discussion about behaviors that physicians should demonstrate in order to rapidly create trust, enhance patient perception that the physician understood the patient's point of view, needs, concerns, fears, and optimize patient/caregiver understanding of their experience. Verbatim transcripts from the three focus groups were read by the authors and by consensus, 5 major themes with 10 minor themes were identified. After creating a codebook with thematic definitions, one author reviewed all transcripts to a library of verbatim excerpts coded by theme. To test for inter‐rater reliability, two other authors similarly coded a random sample of 40% of the transcripts. Authors independently chose excerpts that represented consensus and strong emotional responses from participants. Results Approximately 90% of opinions and preferences fell within 15 themes, with five central themes: Provider transparency, Acknowledgement of patient's emotions, Provider disposition, Trust in physician, and Listening. Participants also highlighted the need for authenticity, context and individuality to enhance empathic communication. For empathy map content, patients offered example behaviors that promote perceptions of physician warmth, respect, physical touch, knowledge of medical history, explanation of tests, transparency, and treating patients as partners. The resulting concept map was named the “Empathy Circle”. Conclusions Focus group participants emphasized themes and tangible behaviors to improve empathy in emergency care. These were incorporated into the “Empathy Circle”, a novel concept map that can serve as the framework to teach empathy to emergency care providers.
Comorbid Chronic Pain and Depression: Patient Perspectives on Empathy
(Elsevier, 2016-12) Sternke, Elizabeth A.; Abrahamson, Kathleen; Bair, Matthew J.; Department of Medicine, School of Medicine
Clinician empathy is a well-documented component of effective patient/provider communication. Evidence surrounding the association between patient perspectives on clinician empathy and perception of pain management is currently limited, particularly among patients with chronic pain and depression. The aim of this study was to analyze patients’ perspectives on the emergent theme of empathy and describe how patients construct their experiences and expectations surrounding empathic interactions. A secondary analysis of focus group data was designed using grounded theory methodology. Veterans Affairs (VA) and University Primary Care Clinics. Respondents with chronic pain and comorbid depression (N = 18) were 27 to 84 years old (mean 54.8 years), 61% women, 22% black, and 74% white. Study participants highly valued empathy and two types of empathic interactions: empathic listening and empathic action. Patients who provided examples of empathic interactions claimed that others understood, valued, and cared for them. In contrast, patients who perceived a lack of empathy and empathic interactions felt frustrated and uncared for by others (including their physicians) physically and emotionally. Patients with chronic pain and depression claimed that empathy helped them feel understood, believed, taken seriously, and that their needs were met. In demonstrating empathy and engaging in empathic interactions with patients, providers relate better to patients, better understand their life experience, and provide patient-centered care that is meaningful for patients, providers, and the health care systems within which they interact. Future research is needed to purposefully study the effects of empathic interactions on outcomes for patients with chronic pain and comorbid depression.
The Development and Growth of Empathy Among Engineering Students
(American Society for Engineering Education, 2016-06) Hess, Justin L.; Fila, Nicholas D.; Department of Engineering Technology, School of Engineering and Technology
Discourse on empathy is growing globally, as is its focus within the engineering community. In the context of engineering, scholars have depicted this interpersonal phenomenon as a necessary skill for effectively communicating, a core component of ethical reasoning, and a key technique for designing to meet the needs of users. However, literature regarding its development within engineering is rather limited, and the literature that does exist is disconnected. Even literature outside of engineering tends to focus on childhood development as opposed to adult development. While the developmental literature may tend to focus on earlier ages (likely because this is when an individual most rapidly develops), the endeavor of empathic growth and development need not be abandoned within post-secondary education. Rather, it indicates that we lack an understanding of the ideal means for empathic development later in one’s life. Given the growing emphasis on the necessity of empathy to thrive as an engineer, engineering educators need to understand the constellation of existing tools and pedagogical techniques to foster empathy within the engineering curriculum. This synthesis piece highlights a variety of educational contexts and pedagogical techniques, each of which we posit are equally salient and mutually supportive for the development of engineering students’ empathic skills, abilities, or dispositions. We draw from literature from a wide variety of fields, including counselling, psychology, moral philosophy, psychotherapy, neuropsychology, and engineering education. In sum, we describe five educational contexts and a myriad of techniques that we posit, when used effectively and spread across engineering curricula, will be effective means towards the development of empathy among engineering students.
Differences in Empathic Concern and Perspective Taking Across 63 Countries
(Sage, 2017-01) Chopik, William J.; O'Brien, Ed; Konrath, Sara H.; School of Philanthropy
Cultural practices socialize people to relate to others in different ways. One critical way in which these interpersonal bonds are formed and maintained is via empathy, our emotional reactivity toward others’ experiences. However, the extent to which individuals from different cultures vary in their dispositional empathy, and the correlates of these differences, are relatively unknown. Thus, the current study explored cultural variation in empathy, and how this variation is related to psychological characteristics and prosocial behavior across cultures. Evidence from an original sample of 104,365 adults across 63 countries reveals that higher empathy countries also have higher levels of collectivism, agreeableness, conscientiousness, self-esteem, emotionality, subjective well-being, and prosocial behavior. These findings reveal that empathy is situated within a broader nomological network of other psychological characteristics, emotional expression and experiences, and prosocial behavior across cultures. The current study expands our understanding about how psychological characteristics vary across cultures and how these characteristics can manifest in broader national indicators of prosocial behavior.
Digital contact does not promote wellbeing, but face-to-face contact does: A cross-national survey during the COVID-19 pandemic
(Sage, 2021) Newson, Martha; Zhao, Yi; Zein, Marwa El; Sulik, Justin; Dezecache, Guillaume; Deroy, Ophelia; Tunçgenç, Bahar; Biostatistics, School of Public Health
With restricted face-to-face interactions, COVID-19 lockdowns and distancing measures tested the capability of computer-mediated communication to foster social contact and wellbeing. In a multinational sample (n = 6436), we investigated how different modes of contact related to wellbeing during the pandemic. Computer-mediated communication was more common than face-to-face, and its use was influenced by COVID-19 death rates, more so than state stringency measures. Despite its legal and health threats, face-to-face contact was still positively associated with wellbeing, and messaging apps had a negative association. Perceived household vulnerability to COVID-19 reduced the positive effect of face-to-face communication on wellbeing, but surprisingly, people’s own vulnerability did not. Computer-mediated communication was particularly negatively associated with the wellbeing of young and empathetic people. Findings show people endeavored to remain socially connected, yet however, maintain a physical distance, despite the tangible costs to their wellbeing.
Embodied History: The Pursuit of Empathy through Women’s Work and Material Intelligence
(2024) Ford, Allison; Robinson, Cory; Holder, Dawn; Coleman, Aaron
Throughthe utilization of embodied histories, matriarchal traditions, and timeless materials, my artistic practice serves as a visual language that fosters empathy by inviting viewers to reflect on their own lives. This exploration encompasses themes of motherhood, domesticity, nature, memory, and place, intertwining personal narratives with universal experiences. By employing millennia-old materials such as clay, wood, and metal, imbued with rich craft histories, my work facilitates connection ans communication with others, ultimately acting as a therapeutic endeavor that nurtures empathy.
Empathy and ethical becoming in biomedical engineering education: A mixed methods study of an animal tissue harvesting laboratory
(Taylor & Francis, 2021) Hess, Justin L.; Miller, Sharon; Higbee, Steven; Fore, Grant A.; Wallace, Joseph; Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering and Technology
Biomedical engineering presents a unique context for ethics education due to the human-centric nature of biomedical engineering coupled with the pervasiveness of animal-based practices. This study summarises the design of a pedagogical practice intended to enhance students’ abilities to recognise ethical issues in biomedical engineering practice and inquire into normative aspects of the discipline. The context of the study is an introductory biomechanics course wherein students harvested animal tissue, critically reflected on this experience, and discussed the experience in class. We brought two theoretical frameworks to this investigation pertaining to empathy and ethical becoming. We employed a four-phase mixed methods research design that included quantitative comparisons of changes in empathy and related phenomena, thematic analysis of written reflections, an observation and focus group, and triangulation of these results. Quantitative data remained stable before and after the course. Thematic analysis of reflections revealed five themes: research design, treatment of animals, beneficence, worth of life, and emotional engagement. The observational and focus group results emphasise affective considerations of engineering practice. This study provides a guide for future biomedical engineering education efforts that deal with ethically sensitive, emotionally powerful, and visceral experiences, as well as for research pertaining to empathy and ethical becoming.
Empathy and its implications for prosocial behavior and engagement with the arts
(2018-02-12) Kou, Xiaonan; Konrath, Sara; King, David; Ottoni-Wilhelm, Mark; Beckman, Emily; Davis, Mark
This dissertation contains three essays examining empathy and its implications for prosocial behavior and arts engagement. Empathy here refers to both compassion and concern for others (emotional empathy) and the understanding of the feelings and needs of others (cognitive empathy). Empathy is fundamental to our social life, and this dissertation explores its implications for two essential components of social life: prosocial behavior and arts engagement. Chapter 2 examines how three dimensions of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI; Davis, 1983)—empathic concern, perspective taking, and personal distress—are associated with charitable giving, and whether these associations vary across charitable causes. Using data from a nationally representative sample of American adults, the study confirms that the three IRI dimensions are associated with charitable giving in different ways. Chapter 3 focuses on the interplay of trait empathy and people’s tendencies to diversify (spread out) their prosocial behavior. By analyzing data from two samples of American adults, this study reveals that people with higher empathic concern (emotional empathy) versus higher perspective taking (cognitive empathy) have distinct patterns in how they spread out their monetary gifts, but trait empathy is not associated with the distribution of time spent in helping others.
The Evolution of Empathy Research: Models, Muddles, and Mechanisms
(Elsevier, 2017-11) Frankel, Richard M.; Department of Medicine, School of Medicine
The word empathy enters the English language in 1909, translated incompletely from German by a British-born psychologist interested in introspection. In the ensuing 100+ years, the term has been defined in a range of different ways by researchers and scholars. The biopsychosocial framework developed by George Engel comes closest to capturing empathy as a biological, psychological and social phenomenon. In this paper, I explore the psychological and social/communicative dimensions of empathy. Psychologists ask the question, How does the capacity for empathy vary across individuals? By contrast, interaction scholars ask, How is empathy communicated from one person (a healthcare provider) to another (a sufferer)? A communication focus involves the accuracy and impact of empathic communication as evidenced in a sufferer’s response. The two views of empathy, as a quality or capacity or as co-created in interaction, are contradictory, and are a source of confusion and contentiousness in the research literature. As in theoretical physics, where an as yet unresolved 80 year controversy has marked the debate about whether light is a particle or wave, research on empathy will likely remain paradoxical, unresolved and a source of creativity and innovation in the science and art of human caring.

Browsing by Subject "empathy"

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