Empathy

The Case for Being Skeptical of Moral Outrage

Moral outrage, at least on Twitter and other similar platforms, appears no more effective at reinforcing social norms than it is at driving people to theatrically overreact to the behavior of strangers.

Nautilus

Can a Nice Doctor Make Treatments More Effective?

Connecting with patients doesn’t just make them think someone cares. It can make a difference for health outcomes.

The New York Times

Why Does It Feel Good to See Someone Fail?

Schadenfreude seems to arise out of envy and a sense of justice. But some psychologists believe a darker impulse is at play.

The Conversation

Here’s How to Crack Your New Year’s Resolutions

Practicing gratitude, compassion, and resilience can help us keep our New Year’s resolutions.

The Guardian

The History of Empathy

The word “empathy” is about a century old. The first study of it dates to 1948.

Living Lab Radio, WCAI

The Kernel of Human (or Rodent) Kindness

What we can learn from lab rats that don’t show empathy for other rats.

The New York Times

A ‘Self-Aware’ Fish Raises Doubts About a Cognitive Test

A report that a fish can pass the “mirror test” for self-awareness reignites debates about how to define and measure that elusive quality.

Quanta Magazine

Can Empathy Be Taught?

Helen Riess began to test her theory on doctors in the hospitals where she worked.

Forbes

Virtual Reality Can Increase Empathy for the Homeless

New research finds it’s an effective way to step into the shoes of someone less fortunate.

Pacific Standard

Indonesia’s Tsunami and the Problem of Human Empathy

As the death toll keeps rising, the compassion of faraway observers either can’t — or won’t — keep pace.

The Atlantic

Scientists, Philosophers Explain What Makes a Person ‘Good’

And how do you become a good person? Can a bad person truly become a good person?

Does Empathy Have a Dark Side?

Having high levels of certain empathic traits, such as affective empathy, might have a dark side by leading to increased distress, but only if people are simultaneously not so skilled in regulating (empathy-induced) emotion.

Character & Context, Society for Personality and Social Psychology

Super Altruists (Who’ve Donated a Kidney to a Stranger) Show Heightened Empathic Brain Activity When Witnessing Strangers in Pain

The findings suggest that — at least for this group of “extraordinary altruists” — empathy for others may be a relevant driving force.

British Psychological Society Research Digest

Why We Try So Hard to Escape Our Humanity

Empathy is at the core of who we are. That can be painful.

The Big Ideas, The Stone, The New York Times

Should You Sometimes Be Bad for Another’s Good?

Empathizing with others leads not only to help and support but also to cruelty.

Aeon

Training Compassion ‘Muscle’ May Boost Brain’s Resilience to Others’ Suffering

As little as two weeks of compassion meditation training may reduce the distress a person feels when witnessing another’s suffering.

Frontiers Blog

Is Empathy Good or Bad? Alan Alda Speaks with Paul Bloom

Paul Bloom and Alan Alda discuss their views for and against empathy and find out that they have more in common than they thought.

Clear and Vivid

Does Mindfulness Meditation Really Make You Kinder?

New studies suggest that training in mindfulness may help us show more care and compassion toward others.

Greater Good

There’s Only One Way to Truly Understand Another Person’s Mind

When we imagine the inner lives of others, we don’t necessarily gain real insight into other people’s minds.

Quartz

Who Gets Power — and Why It Can Corrupt Even the Best of Us

From our conflicted feelings toward the powerful, to the ways we gain and lose power ourselves, and how power can corrupt.

Hidden Brain, NPR

How Much Empathy Do You Feel When Powerful People Suffer?

What about less powerful people? Your answers likely depend on how egalitarian you are.

Kellogg Insight