What is empathy? Definition, types and levels of experience

Hello, dear readers of the KtoNaNovenkogo.ru blog. Most believe that empathy is a person’s ability to empathize , but, in fact, everything is not so simple. And how can you understand who is more prone to this feeling: you or, for example, your friend?

And does empathy always have only positive qualities or can it also lead to negative consequences in relationships? If you find it difficult to accurately answer these questions, then let's study this topic in a little more detail.

Empathy - what is it?

The appearance of this term in psychology is the merit of the American psychologist Edward Titchener, who first introduced this concept into use. If we try to literally translate this word, we get “ to feel .” In simple terms, this is a “response”.

That is, empathy is a person’s response to the feelings and state of another . An empath clearly sees and understands what exactly is happening with the interlocutor at the moment (emotionally). At the same time, he compares his own actions, thoughts and emotions with the state of this person.

This state is activated in a person when someone nearby experiences negative emotions: the person begins to cry, he will experience fear, sadness, melancholy, and aggression. An empath senses when another person is needed, and like most people, feels the desire to understand and help whenever possible.

When people jump for joy, this does not attract the attention of the empath, since this feeling is more understandable and does not cause the need for a life preserver (which he considers himself to be).

Showing empathy is not only possible in the real world. For example, when we read a book or watch a film, we willy-nilly try to enter the role of the main character, to be in his place (we empathize with him) - this is also a manifestation of this feeling inherent in us by nature.

There are people who are more prone to "emotional response" due to innate abilities or their diligent development. They are called empaths .

Such individuals who are sensitive to other people often choose pedagogy as their path, lead clubs, work as educators or psychologists, since in these areas of activity it is very important to be able to subtly sense the state of other people. Of the types of human temperament, melancholic people most closely correspond to these characteristics.

Psychological mechanisms of empathy

Empathy as an innate ability has a very ancient nature. Moreover, it is primary in relation to the understanding of words and statements. Once upon a time, the ability to sense the emotional state of other individuals played an important protective function and made it possible to instantly assess the degree of threat.

We can still observe the manifestation of empathy in higher animals, for example, in dogs and cats, and we are not just talking about the relationships between animals of the same species. People who have pets know that they perfectly understand the emotional state of both each other and their owner, naturally, without any words.

The antiquity of empathy as the most important ability for mutual understanding is also proven by its main mechanism - mental infection.

What is mental infection

This is a mental mechanism that arose at the dawn of evolution, which is defined as the mutual exchange of emotional states in a group of individuals or individuals. The manifestation of this mechanism can be seen by observing how a flock of birds takes off instantly and simultaneously. In people it is clearly visible in bouts of infectious laughter. And small children, without even understanding what the adults are talking about, begin to laugh with them.

Have you ever felt a dull irritation in a crowded public transport that just arose out of nowhere? This is the mechanism of mental contagion - the exchange of emotions of displeasure between people who find themselves deprived of their personal space.

This mechanism, in turn, is associated with the ability of humans and higher animals to intuitively read emotions from the smallest changes in a partner’s facial expressions, heart rate, breathing, sweating, etc.

Identification

This is an equally important, but “younger” mechanism of empathy. It was formed in the process of human evolution as a social being and, to a greater extent than mental infection, is associated with the rational sphere.

Identification is the ability to “try on” the social role of another person, to “get into his skin.” It plays an important role in organizing interaction in human communities. But the main condition for successful identification is having your own experience. For example, a teacher can put himself in the student’s shoes and understand how the student feels when he is called to the board, because the teacher has relevant experience. But the student cannot identify himself with the teacher, because he has never been in his place.

Thus, identification not only enables the expression of empathy, but also limits it. That’s why children are often so cruel, as well as successful, prosperous people who have no experience of worrying about personal failures.

Decentration and reflection

These are the most rational mechanisms of empathy. Decentration can be defined as a person’s ability to accept a point of view different from his own. Do not agree with her, but rather accept and look at the problem from this other person’s position. Having seen, for example, the situation through the eyes of a student who failed an exam, the teacher is able to understand and sympathize with the student.

Close to decentration is the phenomenon of social reflection, that is, the ability to see and evaluate one’s behavior from the point of view of other members of society. This assessment is important because people usually have a more or less distorted image of themselves and their relationships to others. Suffice it to remember that the first time we see ourselves on video or hear our voice in a recording, we are unpleasantly surprised.

Social reflection makes the process of empathy not only conscious, but also more objective.

Where does it come from?

Neuroscientists blame mirror neurons . These are nerve cells that interpret information received from the world around us.

For example, if there is a person standing opposite us who is sad, then the visual and auditory analyzers receive the appropriate information about this and transmit it to these neurons. Mirror neurons make their owner feel the same, but to a lesser extent.

It is the mirror cells in monkeys that force their relatives to repeat the same actions one after another (monkeying). For the same reason, we like to watch programs about luxurious life (flip through magazines about the “hard life” of celebrities).

This simply makes it possible to feel at least a moment’s joy in life, as if we were in the place of a celebrity (a given celebrity).

It is noteworthy that the development of empathy begins from birth , when the baby perceives the world around him only on an emotional level. If his mother smiles at him, he will unconsciously smile back at her (acting like an idiot).

When parents explain to an older child that they are now sad or happy for such and such a reason, this also helps the child understand how feelings work and how they can be “read” by faces, movements, words, and facial expressions.

Autism is an extremely low level of empathy in a person

By the way, one of the causes of autism is a disorder in the structure or number of mirror neurons. Therefore, it is very difficult for autists (people with almost zero empathy) to understand how people around them feel and how to interact with them.

As a result of this, the child’s socialization suffers - it is difficult for him to communicate with peers in the yard, at school, or with a salesperson in a store.

Therefore, from a very early age, such children need to be given special attention in terms of emotional development. They need to be told what is happening inside other people in terms of emotions and how it can all be “read” (by facial expressions, by gestures, by gaze).

It is also necessary to constantly ask the child how he feels; describe how it usually manifests itself externally on other people so that he can compare and contrast. Analyzing the main characters of books and films also has a beneficial effect on accelerating the path from autistic to empath.

Active listening is something that can also help develop “emotional sensitivity.” The point is that the listener asks clarifying questions to the person who is telling something. Thus, he learns more about the interlocutor, and he, in turn, opens up more. You can also switch places with your children in this “word game.”

Types of empathy

Depending on how deeply a person has learned to understand the feelings of other people, 3 types of “insight skills” can be distinguished:

1. Simple . Based on primitive perception in which mirror neurons play a major role. It is based on the simple perception of facial expressions, which a person compares with what he has encountered before.
2. Average level .
   If an empath is interested in a person’s condition and really wants to understand him, then he conducts targeted questions. At the same time, the reason is found out, some kind of background, why it hurt the person so much, whether there were similar cases before, how the person himself feels about it and what he thinks about it. Based on this information, we put ourselves in the place of the interlocutor, trying to find ourselves in his shoes. We get a specific buzz