Cognitive Empathy And Perspective Taking Understanding The Mechanisms Of Normal And Abnormal Experiences And Abilities

Cognitive Empathy and Perspective Taking: Understanding the Mechanisms of Normal and Abnormal Experiences and Abilities

The Social Neuroscience of Empathy

Cross-disciplinary, cutting-edge work on human empathy from the perspectives of social, cognitive, developmental and clinical psychology and cognitive/affective neuroscience. In recent decades, empathy research has blossomed into a vibrant and multidisciplinary field of study. The social neuroscience approach to the subject is premised on the idea that studying empathy at multiple levels (biological, cognitive, and social) will lead to a more comprehensive understanding of how other people's thoughts and feelings can affect our own thoughts, feelings, and behavior. In these cutting-edge contributions, leading advocates of the multilevel approach view empathy from the perspectives of social, cognitive, developmental and clinical psychology and cognitive/affective neuroscience. Chapters include a critical examination of the various definitions of the empathy construct; surveys of major research traditions based on these differing views (including empathy as emotional contagion, as the projection of one's own thoughts and feelings, and as a fundamental aspect of social development); clinical and applied perspectives, including psychotherapy and the study of empathy for other people's pain; various neuroscience perspectives; and discussions of empathy's evolutionary and neuroanatomical histories, with a special focus on neuroanatomical continuities and differences across the phylogenetic spectrum. The new discipline of social neuroscience bridges disciplines and levels of analysis. In this volume, the contributors' state-of-the-art investigations of empathy from a social neuroscience perspective vividly illustrate the potential benefits of such cross-disciplinary integration. Contributors C. Daniel Batson, James Blair, Karina Blair, Jerold D. Bozarth, Anne Buysse, Susan F. Butler, Michael Carlin, C. Sue Carter, Kenneth D. Craig, Mirella Dapretto, Jean Decety, Mathias Dekeyser, Ap Dijksterhuis, Robert Elliott, Natalie D. Eggum, Nancy Eisenberg, Norma Deitch Feshbach, Seymour Feshbach, Liesbet Goubert, Leslie S. Greenberg, Elaine Hatfield, James Harris, William Ickes, Claus Lamm, Yen-Chi Le, Mia Leijssen, Abigail Marsh, Raymond S. Nickerson, Jennifer H. Pfeifer, Stephen W. Porges, Richard L. Rapson, Simone G. Shamay-Tsoory, Rick B. van Baaren, Matthijs L. van Leeuwen, Andries van der Leij, Jeanne C. Watson

Empathy in Patient Care

Human beings are designed by evolution to form meaningful interpersonal relationships through verbal and nonverbal communication. This principle is the same whether the individual is male or female; an infant, a child, an adolescent, or an adult; or healthy or sick. The theme that empathic human connections are beneficial to the body and mind underlies all 12 chapters of this book, in which empathy is viewed from a multidisciplinary perspective that includes evolution; neuropsychology; clinical, social, developmental, and educational psychology; and health care delivery and education. Some theoretical aspects of antecedents, development, and outcomes of empathy are discussed, and relevant studies and empirical findings are presented in support of the theoretical discussion. The following comments have been made about this book by experts and scholars: "Dr. Hojat wisely provides an agenda for future research ranging from selecting prospective medical students for their empathy to evaluating the neurobiological components of empathy and compassion. Hojat’s utopia wisely provides goals which medical practitioners and teachers can ponder and try to reach for in their daily activities. We are in his debt." Howard Spiro, M.D., Emeritus Professor of Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine (Excerpted from the book’s foreword) "This book is unique in combining an encyclopedic overview of empathy with a fine-grained, precise way of measuring it. Clinicians, researchers, students, and educators will find in this book both a resource for work already done and a blueprint for what still needs to be done." Herbert Adler, M.D., Ph.D., Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Jefferson Medical College "This book should be essential reading for all those engaged in medical education. The author writes clearly and covers the broad area of empathy, with theoretical depth and practical suggestions based on his ownresearch and that of others. He is a foremost leader in this field and his book sets a standard for all to follow." Marvin Zuckerman, Ph.D., Emeritus Professor of Psychology, University of Delaware "This book is a scholarly achievement in the field. All will benefit from its comprehensiveness." Joseph Gonnella, M.D., Emeritus Dean and Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Jefferson Medical College "This book is an outstanding contribution to the scholarly and clinical understanding of empathy. Most importantly, it combines conceptual rigor with an empirical foundation. Dr. Hojat has devoted himself to developing ways of measuring empathy, and in this book he combines his own findings with an encyclopedic knowledge of other relevant empirical work. This book will be important for any serious student of empathy, including medical educators who are seeking to truly transform professional training." Jodi Halpern, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor of Bioethics and Medical Humanities, University of California, Berkeley. Author of "From Detached Concern to Empathy: Humanizing Medical Practice."