Empathy


 * Definition **

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term empathy is defined as “[t]he power of projecting one's personality into (and so fully comprehending) the object of contemplation” (Empathy, August 2012) The term was first used in the early 20th century and was derived from the Greek // ἐ //// μπάθεια // which, according to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, is literally translated as “passion” (Empathy, 2012). It was translated from the German //Einfühlung// (a word that was coined by the psychologist E. B. Titchener in 1909) //, // which means to “feel oneself into” something (Empathy, August 2012). Unfortunately, scholars do not readily agree on empathy’s definition, with some viewing it from a cognitive lens and others an affective lens (Losoya & Eisenberg, 2001).

Escala and Stern (2003) argue that there is a clear distinction between sympathy and empathy: while sympathy involves a person merely being conscious and aware of another’s feelings (paralleling their feelings), empathy involves a person actually merging their emotions with the other person’s emotions (p. 567).


 * A Brief History of Empathy **

The concept of empathy has its roots in the disciplines of Philosophy and Art. Aristotle mentions empathy ( // ἐ //// μπάθεια // ) in //Poetics// in relation to catharsis as well as framing of artistic effects (for both of which, empathy is needed) (Skulsky, 1958; Spiro, 1992). Although they never directly used the term empathy, in the 18th century David Hume and Adam Smith both address the concepts of sympathy and empathy in their writings on ethics. Specifically, Hume referred to emotional contagion (a component of empathy) and its relevance to benevolence toward others (Agosta, 2011).

German aesthetic philosophers then continued the conversation regarding empathy and described empathy as a person transposing their feelings onto a physical object (for instance, describing blue as a “sad” color) (Verducci, 2000). The philosopher Robert Vicher was one of the first to address aesthetic empathy in 1873 by describing the phenomenon as the projecting of one’s soul onto an object (Vischer, 1994). Theodor Lipps added to this conversation by explaining that empathy allowed one to experience “aesthetic pleasure” by fusing themselves with the object of art (Jahoda, 2005). Thus, one’s feelings and the art are intertwined.

Lipps also introduced the concept of empathy to Psychology (Jahoda, 2005). Freud discovered the concept of empathy in Lipps’ writing and addressed it in a quasi-aesthetic context (although he only briefly mentions the concepts in his work) (Agosta, 2010). Empathy was first introduced into the area of personality theory (as empathy was considered a personality trait). Thanks to the notable psychologist Carl Rogers, empathy was also introduced into the field of psychotherapy as well (Wispe, 1990).


 * Empathy in Interpersonal Communication **

Empathy has been used as a measure of interpersonal communication competence (ICC) on a number of ICC scales (Bienvenu, 1971; Wieman, 1977; Davis, 1983; Rubrin & Martin, 1994). In addition, empathy has also been used as a measure of intercultural competence (Arasaratnam, 2006). Measures of empathy include components such as perspective-taking (adopting others viewpoints), personal distress, empathic concern and fantasy (transposing oneself into fictional characters lives and feelings) (Davis, 1983; Knapp & Daly, 2003). However, scholars seem to focus most attention on three main components of empathy (perspective taking, emotional contagion and empathic concern) and view that they occur sequentially. However, it must be noted that there is not complete agreement on the nature and importance of these components (Stiff et. al., 1988).

Empathy has been discussed in the context of romantic relationships with studies showing that emotional contagion (a form of empathy) may lead to less relational responsiveness for relationally uncertain couples (Hubbard, 2001). Empathy has also been discussed concerning parent-child interaction with one study showing that mothers with high perspective taking were more likely to establish a system of reciprocity with their children (Kochanska, 1997).


 * Empathy in Health Communication **

Within provider-patient communication, empathy has been described as “identifying a patient’s emotional state accurately, naming it and responding to it appropriately” (Frankel & Stein, 1999 p. 84). The discussion of empathy (within healthcare) was largely spurred by Dr. Carl Rogers who argued that a healthcare provider (specifically, a therapist) had to feel the patients’ emotions “as if” they were his own (this “as if” component distinguished empathy from identification) (Rogers, 1975, 3).

While empathy in clinical practice has both a cognitive and affective function, Irving and Dickson’s (2004) conceptual model of empathy states that it also has an active, behavioral function by which the provider must offer feedback to the patient in order to reflect that they are listening and understand their emotions (Coulehan et al., 2001). Furthermore, the three main steps providers can take to give empathic support are to: 1) effort to understand how the patient feels, 2) provide feedback that shows the patient that their feelings have been understood and 3) help the patient through their feelings (Mercer & Reynolds, 2002).

Empathy has been linked to increased relational satisfaction between the provider and the patient (Mercer & Reynolds, 2002). Studies also show that providers with greater empathy are more competent in communication with patients from other cultures (Bhui et. al, 2007; Gibson & Zhong, 2005). Empathy has also been studied in the context of provider burnout. While empathic concern (“feeling for” the patient) tends to lead to beneficial outcomes, emotional contagion (parallel feelings with the patient) leads to more provider burnout (Miller et. al, 1988; Akper & Ray, 2003).


 * Empathy in Rhetoric **

Rhetorical scholars have used the concept of empathy in three primary ways: to name different appeals and strategies, a tool for invention (by which a speaker can imagine what their audience is thinking) and according to Perleman and Olbrechts-Tyteca, a fundamental building block for argumentation (Lynch, 1998). While empathy was once a core component of rhetorical studies, with the crumbling of Rogerian rhetoric, the study of the concept slowly diminished within the field (Lynch, 1998). Empathy has been studied in a variety of contexts including the rhetoric of discourses surrounding neuroscience (Jack & Applebaum, 2010) and the audience-centeredness (imaginative empathy) of romantic literary theory (O’Brien, 2000).

Written by Heather Zupancic (July 2012).

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 * References **

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