reflective essay on empathy

Essays About Empathy: Top 5 Examples Plus Prompts

If you’re writing essays about empathy, check out our essay examples and prompts to get started. 

Empathy is the ability to understand and share other people’s emotions. It is the very notion which To Kill a Mockingbird character Atticus Finch was driving at when he advised his daughter Scout to “climb inside [other people’s] skin and walk around in it.” 

Being able to feel the joy and sorrow of others and see the world from their perspective are extraordinary human capabilities that shape our social landscape. But beyond its effect on personal and professional relationships, empathy motivates kind actions that can trickle positive change across society. 

If you are writing an article about empathy, here are five insightful essay examples to inspire you: 

1. Do Art and Literature Cultivate Empathy? by Nick Haslam

2. empathy: overrated by spencer kornhaber, 3. in our pandemic era, why we must teach our children compassion by rebecca roland, 4. why empathy is a must-have business strategy by belinda parmar, 5. the evolution of empathy by frans de waal, 1. teaching empathy in the classroom., 2. how can companies nurture empathy in the workplace, 3. how can we develop empathy, 4. how do you know if someone is empathetic, 5. does empathy spark helpful behavior , 6. empathy vs. sympathy., 7. empathy as a winning strategy in sports. , 8. is there a decline in human empathy, 9. is digital media affecting human empathy, 10. your personal story of empathy..

“Exposure to literature and the sorts of movies that do not involve car chases might nurture our capacity to get inside the skins of other people. Alternatively, people who already have well-developed empathic abilities might simply find the arts more engaging…”

Haslam, a psychology professor, laid down several studies to present his thoughts and analysis on the connection between empathy and art. While one study has shown that literary fiction can help develop empathy, there’s still lacking evidence to show that more exposure to art and literature can help one be more empathetic. You can also check out these essays about character .

“Empathy doesn’t even necessarily make day-to-day life more pleasant, they contend, citing research that shows a person’s empathy level has little or no correlation with kindness or giving to charity.”

This article takes off from a talk of psychology experts on a crusade against empathy. The experts argue that empathy could be “innumerate, parochial, bigoted” as it zooms one to focus on an individual’s emotions and fail to see the larger picture. This problem with empathy can motivate aggression and wars and, as such, must be replaced with a much more innate trait among humans: compassion.

“Showing empathy can be especially hard for kids… Especially in times of stress and upset, they may retreat to focusing more on themselves — as do we adults.”

Roland encourages fellow parents to teach their kids empathy, especially amid the pandemic, where kindness is needed the most. She advises parents to seize everyday opportunities by ensuring “quality conversations” and reinforcing their kids to view situations through other people’s lenses. 

“Mental health, stress and burnout are now perceived as responsibilities of the organization. The failure to deploy empathy means less innovation, lower engagement and reduced loyalty, as well as diluting your diversity agenda.”

The spike in anxiety disorders and mental health illnesses brought by the COVID-19 pandemic has given organizations a more considerable responsibility: to listen to employees’ needs sincerely. Parmar underscores how crucial it is for a leader to take empathy as a fundamental business strategy and provides tips on how businesses can adjust to the new norm. 

“The evolution of empathy runs from shared emotions and intentions between individuals to a greater self/other distinction—that is, an “unblurring” of the lines between individuals.”

The author traces the evolutionary roots of empathy back to our primate heritage — ultimately stemming from the parental instinct common to mammals. Ultimately, the author encourages readers to conquer “tribal differences” and continue turning to their emotions and empathy when making moral decisions.

10 Interesting Writing prompts on Essays About Empathy

Check out below our list of exciting prompts to help you buckle down to your writing:

This essay discuss teaching empathy in the classroom. Is this an essential skill that we should learn in school? Research how schools cultivate children’s innate empathy and compassion. Then, based on these schools’ experiences, provide tips on how other schools can follow suit. 

An empathetic leader is said to help boost positive communication with employees, retain indispensable talent and create positive long-term outcomes. This is an interesting topic to research, and there are plenty of studies on this topic online with data that you can use in your essay. So, pick these best practices to promote workplace empathy and discuss their effectiveness.

Write down a list of deeds and activities people can take as their first steps to developing empathy. These activities can range from volunteering in their communities to reaching out to a friend in need simply. Then, explain how each of these acts can foster empathy and kindness. 

Based on studies, list the most common traits, preferences, and behaviour of an empathetic person. For example, one study has shown that empathetic people prefer non-violent movies. Expound on this list with the support of existing studies. You can support or challenge these findings in this essay for a compelling argumentative essay. Make sure to conduct your research and cite all the sources used. 

Empathy is a buzzword closely associated with being kind and helpful. However, many experts in recent years have been opining that it takes more than empathy to propel an act of kindness and that misplaced empathy can even lead to apathy. Gather what psychologists and emotional experts have been saying on this debate and input your analysis. 

Empathy and sympathy have been used synonymously, even as these words differ in meaning. Enlighten your readers on the differences and provide situations that clearly show the contrast between empathy and sympathy. You may also add your take on which trait is better to cultivate.

Empathy has been deemed vital in building cooperation. A member who empathizes with the team can be better in tune with the team’s goals, cooperate effectively and help drive success. You may research how athletic teams foster a culture of empathy beyond the sports fields. Write about how coaches are integrating empathy into their coaching strategy. 

Several studies have warned that empathy has been on a downward trend over the years. Dive deep into studies that investigate this decline. Summarize each and find common points. Then, cite the significant causes and recommendations in this study. You can also provide insights on whether this should cause alarm and how societies should address the problem. 

There is a broad sentiment that social media has been driving people to live in a bubble and be less empathetic — more narcissistic. However, some point out that intensifying competition and increasing economic pressures are more to blame for reducing our empathetic feelings. Research and write about what experts have to say and provide a personal touch by adding your experience. 

Acts of kindness abound every day. But sometimes, we fail to capture or take them for granted. Write about your unforgettable encounters with empathetic people. Then, create a storytelling essay to convey your personal view on empathy. This activity can help you appreciate better the little good things in life. 

Check out our general resource of essay writing topics and stimulate your creative mind! 

See our round-up of the best essay checkers to ensure your writing is error-free.

Yna Lim is a communications specialist currently focused on policy advocacy. In her eight years of writing, she has been exposed to a variety of topics, including cryptocurrency, web hosting, agriculture, marketing, intellectual property, data privacy and international trade. A former journalist in one of the top business papers in the Philippines, Yna is currently pursuing her master's degree in economics and business.

View all posts

Home — Essay Samples — Life — Emotions & Feelings — Empathy

Empathy Essays

Hook examples for empathy essays, anecdotal hook.

"As I witnessed a stranger's act of kindness towards a struggling neighbor, I couldn't help but reflect on the profound impact of empathy—the ability to connect with others on a deeply human level."

Rhetorical Question Hook

"What does it mean to truly understand and share in the feelings of another person? The concept of empathy prompts us to explore the complexities of human connection."

Startling Statistic Hook

"Studies show that empathy plays a crucial role in building strong relationships, fostering teamwork, and reducing conflicts. How does empathy contribute to personal and societal well-being?"

"'Empathy is seeing with the eyes of another, listening with the ears of another, and feeling with the heart of another.' This profound quote encapsulates the essence of empathy and its significance in human interactions."

Historical Hook

"From ancient philosophies to modern psychology, empathy has been a recurring theme in human thought. Exploring the historical roots of empathy provides deeper insights into its importance."

Narrative Hook

"Join me on a journey through personal stories of empathy, where individuals bridge cultural, social, and emotional divides. This narrative captures the essence of empathy in action."

Psychological Impact Hook

"How does empathy impact mental health, emotional well-being, and interpersonal relationships? Analyzing the psychological aspects of empathy adds depth to our understanding."

Social Empathy Hook

"In a world marked by diversity and societal challenges, empathy plays a crucial role in promoting understanding and social cohesion. Delving into the role of empathy in society offers important insights."

Empathy in Literature and Arts Hook

"How has empathy been depicted in literature, art, and media throughout history? Exploring its representation in the creative arts reveals its enduring significance in culture."

Teaching Empathy Hook

"What are effective ways to teach empathy to individuals of all ages? Examining strategies for nurturing empathy offers valuable insights for education and personal growth."

Raymond Carver's "Cathedral": Summary

Examples of hardships in my life, made-to-order essay as fast as you need it.

Each essay is customized to cater to your unique preferences

+ experts online

The Choice of Compassion: Cultivating Empathy

How empathy and understanding others is important for our society, the key components of empathy, importance of the empathy in my family, let us write you an essay from scratch.

• 450+ experts on 30 subjects ready to help
• Custom essay delivered in as few as 3 hours

The Importance of Promoting Empathy in Children

Steps for developing empathy in social situations, the impacts of digital media on empathy, the contributions of technology to the decline of human empathy, get a personalized essay in under 3 hours.

Expert-written essays crafted with your exact needs in mind

The Role of Empathy in Justice System

Importance of empathy for blind people, the most effective method to tune in with empathy in the classroom, thr way acts of kindness can change our lives, the power of compassion and its main aspects, compassion and empathy in teaching, acts of kindness: importance of being kind, the concept of empathy in "do androids dream of electric sheep", the vital values that comprise the definition of hero, critical analysis of kwame anthony appiah’s theory of conversation, development of protagonist in philip k. novel "do androids dream of electric sheep", talking about compassion in 100 words, barbara lazear aschers on compassion, my purpose in life is to help others: helping behavior, humility and values, adolescence stage experience: perspective taking and empathy, random act of kindness, helping others in need: importance of prioritizing yourself, toni cade bambara the lesson summary, making a positive impact on others: the power of influence.

Empathy is the capacity to understand or feel what another person is experiencing from within their frame of reference, that is, the capacity to place oneself in another's position.

Types of empathy include cognitive empathy, emotional (or affective) empathy, somatic empathy, and spiritual empathy.

Empathy-based socialization differs from inhibition of egoistic impulses through shaping, modeling, and internalized guilt. Empathetic feelings might enable individuals to develop more satisfactory interpersonal relations, especially in the long-term. Empathy-induced altruism can improve attitudes toward stigmatized groups, and to improve racial attitudes, and actions toward people with AIDS, the homeless, and convicts. It also increases cooperation in competitive situations.

Empathetic people are quick to help others. Painkillers reduce one’s capacity for empathy. Anxiety levels influence empathy. Meditation and reading may heighten empathy.

Relevant topics

• Forgiveness
• Responsibility
• Winter Break

By clicking “Check Writers’ Offers”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy . We’ll occasionally send you promo and account related email

No need to pay just yet!

We use cookies to personalyze your web-site experience. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .

• Instructions Followed To The Letter
• Deadlines Met At Every Stage
• Unique And Plagiarism Free

Understanding others’ feelings: what is empathy and why do we need it?

Senior Lecturer in Social Neuroscience, Monash University

Disclosure statement

Pascal Molenberghs receives funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC Discovery Early Career Research Award: DE130100120) and Heart Foundation (Heart Foundation Future Leader Fellowship: 1000458).

Monash University provides funding as a founding partner of The Conversation AU.

View all partners

This is the introductory essay in our series on understanding others’ feelings. In it we will examine empathy, including what it is, whether our doctors need more of it, and when too much may not be a good thing.

Empathy is the ability to share and understand the emotions of others. It is a construct of multiple components, each of which is associated with its own brain network . There are three ways of looking at empathy.

First there is affective empathy. This is the ability to share the emotions of others. People who score high on affective empathy are those who, for example, show a strong visceral reaction when watching a scary movie.

They feel scared or feel others’ pain strongly within themselves when seeing others scared or in pain.

Cognitive empathy, on the other hand, is the ability to understand the emotions of others. A good example is the psychologist who understands the emotions of the client in a rational way, but does not necessarily share the emotions of the client in a visceral sense.

Finally, there’s emotional regulation. This refers to the ability to regulate one’s emotions. For example, surgeons need to control their emotions when operating on a patient.

Another way to understand empathy is to distinguish it from other related constructs. For example, empathy involves self-awareness , as well as distinction between the self and the other. In that sense it is different from mimicry, or imitation.

Many animals might show signs of mimicry or emotional contagion to another animal in pain. But without some level of self-awareness, and distinction between the self and the other, it is not empathy in a strict sense. Empathy is also different from sympathy, which involves feeling concern for the suffering of another person and a desire to help.

That said, empathy is not a unique human experience. It has been observed in many non-human primates and even rats .

People often say psychopaths lack empathy but this is not always the case. In fact, psychopathy is enabled by good cognitive empathic abilities - you need to understand what your victim is feeling when you are torturing them. What psychopaths typically lack is sympathy. They know the other person is suffering but they just don’t care.

Research has also shown those with psychopathic traits are often very good at regulating their emotions .

Why do we need it?

Empathy is important because it helps us understand how others are feeling so we can respond appropriately to the situation. It is typically associated with social behaviour and there is lots of research showing that greater empathy leads to more helping behaviour.

However, this is not always the case. Empathy can also inhibit social actions, or even lead to amoral behaviour . For example, someone who sees a car accident and is overwhelmed by emotions witnessing the victim in severe pain might be less likely to help that person.

Similarly, strong empathetic feelings for members of our own family or our own social or racial group might lead to hate or aggression towards those we perceive as a threat. Think about a mother or father protecting their baby or a nationalist protecting their country.

People who are good at reading others’ emotions, such as manipulators, fortune-tellers or psychics, might also use their excellent empathetic skills for their own benefit by deceiving others.

Interestingly, people with higher psychopathic traits typically show more utilitarian responses in moral dilemmas such as the footbridge problem. In this thought experiment, people have to decide whether to push a person off a bridge to stop a train about to kill five others laying on the track.

The psychopath would more often than not choose to push the person off the bridge. This is following the utilitarian philosophy that holds saving the life of five people by killing one person is a good thing. So one could argue those with psychopathic tendencies are more moral than normal people – who probably wouldn’t push the person off the bridge – as they are less influenced by emotions when making moral decisions.

How is empathy measured?

Empathy is often measured with self-report questionnaires such as the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) or Questionnaire for Cognitive and Affective Empathy (QCAE).

These typically ask people to indicate how much they agree with statements that measure different types of empathy.

The QCAE, for instance, has statements such as, “It affects me very much when one of my friends is upset”, which is a measure of affective empathy.

Cognitive empathy is determined by the QCAE by putting value on a statement such as, “I try to look at everybody’s side of a disagreement before I make a decision.”

Using the QCAE, we recently found people who score higher on affective empathy have more grey matter, which is a collection of different types of nerve cells, in an area of the brain called the anterior insula.

This area is often involved in regulating positive and negative emotions by integrating environmental stimulants – such as seeing a car accident - with visceral and automatic bodily sensations.

We also found people who score higher on cognitive empathy had more grey matter in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex.

This area is typically activated during more cognitive processes, such as Theory of Mind, which is the ability to attribute mental beliefs to yourself and another person. It also involves understanding that others have beliefs, desires, intentions, and perspectives different from one’s own.

Can empathy be selective?

Research shows we typically feel more empathy for members of our own group , such as those from our ethnic group. For example, one study scanned the brains of Chinese and Caucasian participants while they watched videos of members of their own ethnic group in pain. They also observed people from a different ethnic group in pain.

The researchers found that a brain area called the anterior cingulate cortex, which is often active when we see others in pain, was less active when participants saw members of ethnic groups different from their own in pain.

Other studies have found brain areas involved in empathy are less active when watching people in pain who act unfairly . We even see activation in brain areas involved in subjective pleasure , such as the ventral striatum, when watching a rival sport team fail.

Yet, we do not always feel less empathy for those who aren’t members of our own group. In our recent study , students had to give monetary rewards or painful electrical shocks to students from the same or a different university. We scanned their brain responses when this happened.

Brain areas involved in rewarding others were more active when people rewarded members of their own group, but areas involved in harming others were equally active for both groups.

These results correspond to observations in daily life. We generally feel happier if our own group members win something, but we’re unlikely to harm others just because they belong to a different group, culture or race. In general, ingroup bias is more about ingroup love rather than outgroup hate.

Yet in some situations, it could be helpful to feel less empathy for a particular group of people. For example, in war it might be beneficial to feel less empathy for people you are trying to kill, especially if they are also trying to harm you.

To investigate, we conducted another brain imaging study . We asked people to watch videos from a violent video game in which a person was shooting innocent civilians (unjustified violence) or enemy soldiers (justified violence).

While watching the videos, people had to pretend they were killing real people. We found the lateral orbitofrontal cortex, typically active when people harm others, was active when people shot innocent civilians. The more guilt participants felt about shooting civilians, the greater the response in this region.

However, the same area was not activated when people shot the soldier that was trying to kill them.

The results provide insight into how people regulate their emotions. They also show the brain mechanisms typically implicated when harming others become less active when the violence against a particular group is seen as justified.

This might provide future insights into how people become desensitised to violence or why some people feel more or less guilty about harming others.

Our empathetic brain has evolved to be highly adaptive to different types of situations. Having empathy is very useful as it often helps to understand others so we can help or deceive them, but sometimes we need to be able to switch off our empathetic feelings to protect our own lives, and those of others.

Tomorrow’s article will look at whether art can cultivate empathy.

• Theory of mind
• Emotional contagion
• Understanding others' feelings

Lecturer / Senior Lecturer - Marketing

Student Wellbeing Officer

Assistant Editor - 1 year cadetship

Executive Dean, Faculty of Health

Lecturer/Senior Lecturer, Earth System Science (School of Science)

Reflective Essay on Empathy

The virtue I feel I need in my life is empathy. Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. Empathy is caring for another person, and understanding what they are going through. I struggle with empathy. I have a hard time understanding what another is going through, especially if I have not experienced the situation before. 

Empathy is a way to show you care for one another. Without empathy, you can come across as ignorant and rude. I know at times I have come across that way because I did not know how to show empathy for the person. Working on showing empathy can teach me how to express care for what another person is dealing with. Empathy is needed for a person to become their best self. This is because when we interact with others, we come off as friendly and caring. Coming off as rude or ignorant is not what creates a “good person”. I would be considered a “good person”, someone who cares for one another.

If I possessed more empathy in my life, I could help and show care for more people. I could help those who are going through hard times, by showing understanding of what they are going through. I could help care for another person. I feel empathy is needed in everyone's life, especially mine. When I possess more empathy, I show more compassion and make other people feel better. By showing more people you care about them, you are showing love. God shows his love to us, therefore we should show others we love and care for them. By showing I love and care for others this is helping me become a good moral person. 

Empathy would help me to become a better person. By changing bad habits, and teaching myself to understand others situations, I improve my character. BY improving my character, I can also help others improve their character. By showing more people empathy, I not only help myself but also make a positive impact on others around me. 

The second virtue I feel I need in my life is openness. Openness is being accepting of ideas and new changes. Openness allows you to experience new ideas and changes instead of something you already know or understand. Openness is benign, open to trying new activities, listening to new ideas, and even trying new foods. When you are open to the world, you can experience many new things, and experience can improve who you are as a person. 

I struggle with not being open to new ideas or actions. I like experiencing the same, and not trying something new. If I became more open I could expand who I am. I do not like trying new foods. I have a mindset that I feel it's okay to always eat the same food over and over again without trying something else. I am not open to new ideas, and would like to work on that. I am also not always open to other people's ideas. It can be hard for me to feel open about trying someone else's idea because I feel as if I already have the solution to the problem. This can cause me to be closed off to other people's ideas, and I do not want that. This is why I would want to work on being more open with others, and new ideas. 

If I became more open, a lot would change in my character. Being open would lead me to more learning experiences, and learning experiences would help me grow into a better person. Also, if I were more open, I could view solutions to a problem from someone else's point of view. That would help me to learn how others think differently than me. Seeing how others think differently than me would help me to realize the many different ways of dealing with problems. Being more open would also show me other people's thoughts/options. It would lead me to have a different view from my own thoughts/opinions. 

If I were to be more open, I would learn more about the world and people around me. Knowing more about everything around me would help me to improve myself into a more open person. A person who would listen to others ideas. A person who would not mind trying something new. Being open would teach  me lessons, and make myself more awhere.

Related Samples

• Reflection Essay about Being an Outsider
• Republic by Plato Analysis Essay
• Philosophy Essay on Imitation
• The Dashing Depression Rate Among High Schoolers
• Personal Experience Essay: Being Black Girl
• Essay On Effects Of Social Media On Teen Self Esteem
• Philosophy of Education Essay Example
• John Jefferson And Johan Von Herder Essay Example
• The Kindness Shown Around Philosophy Essay Example
• The Impact of Society Essay Example

Didn't find the perfect sample?

You can order a custom paper by our expert writers

• Bipolar Disorder
• Therapy Center
• When To See a Therapist
• Types of Therapy
• Best Online Therapy
• Best Couples Therapy
• Best Family Therapy
• Managing Stress
• Sleep and Dreaming
• Understanding Emotions
• Self-Improvement
• Healthy Relationships
• Student Resources
• Personality Types
• Guided Meditations
• Verywell Mind Insights
• 2024 Verywell Mind 25
• Mental Health in the Classroom
• Editorial Process
• Meet Our Review Board
• Crisis Support

What Is Empathy?

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Amy Morin, LCSW, is a psychotherapist and international bestselling author. Her books, including "13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do," have been translated into more than 40 languages. Her TEDx talk,  "The Secret of Becoming Mentally Strong," is one of the most viewed talks of all time.

Verywell / Bailey Mariner

Empathy is the ability to emotionally understand what other people feel, see things from their point of view, and imagine yourself in their place. Essentially, it is putting yourself in someone else's position and feeling what they are feeling.

Empathy means that when you see another person suffering, such as after they've lost a loved one , you are able to instantly envision yourself going through that same experience and feel what they are going through.

While people can be well-attuned to their own feelings and emotions, getting into someone else's head can be a bit more difficult. The ability to feel empathy allows people to "walk a mile in another's shoes," so to speak. It permits people to understand the emotions that others are feeling.

Press Play for Advice on Empathy

Hosted by therapist Amy Morin, LCSW, this episode of The Verywell Mind Podcast , featuring empathy expert Dr. Kelsey Crowe, shares how you can show empathy to someone who is going through a hard time. Click below to listen now.

Follow Now : Apple Podcasts / Spotify / Google Podcasts

Signs of Empathy

For many, seeing another person in pain and responding with indifference or even outright hostility seems utterly incomprehensible. But the fact that some people do respond in such a way clearly demonstrates that empathy is not necessarily a universal response to the suffering of others.

If you are wondering whether you are an empathetic person, here are some signs that show that you have this tendency:

• You are good at really listening to what others have to say.
• People often tell you about their problems.
• You are good at picking up on how other people are feeling.
• You often think about how other people feel.
• Other people come to you for advice.
• You often feel overwhelmed by tragic events.
• You try to help others who are suffering.
• You are good at telling when people aren't being honest .
• You sometimes feel drained or overwhelmed in social situations.
• You care deeply about other people.
• You find it difficult to set boundaries in your relationships.

Are You an Empath? Take the Quiz!

Our fast and free empath quiz will let you know if your feelings and behaviors indicate high levels of traits commonly associated with empaths.

Types of Empathy

There are several types of empathy that a person may experience. The three types of empathy are:

• Affective empathy involves the ability to understand another person's emotions and respond appropriately. Such emotional understanding may lead to someone feeling concerned for another person's well-being, or it may lead to feelings of personal distress.
• Somatic empathy involves having a physical reaction in response to what someone else is experiencing. People sometimes physically experience what another person is feeling. When you see someone else feeling embarrassed, for example, you might start to blush or have an upset stomach.
• Cognitive empathy involves being able to understand another person's mental state and what they might be thinking in response to the situation. This is related to what psychologists refer to as the theory of mind or thinking about what other people are thinking.

Empathy vs. Sympathy vs. Compassion

While sympathy and compassion are related to empathy, there are important differences. Compassion and sympathy are often thought to be more of a passive connection, while empathy generally involves a much more active attempt to understand another person.

Uses for Empathy

Being able to experience empathy has many beneficial uses.

• Empathy allows you to build social connections with others . By understanding what people are thinking and feeling, you are able to respond appropriately in social situations. Research has shown that having social connections is important for both physical and psychological well-being.
• Empathizing with others helps you learn to regulate your own emotions . Emotional regulation is important in that it allows you to manage what you are feeling, even in times of great stress, without becoming overwhelmed.
• Empathy promotes helping behaviors . Not only are you more likely to engage in helpful behaviors when you feel empathy for other people, but other people are also more likely to help you when they experience empathy.

Potential Pitfalls of Empathy

Having a great deal of empathy makes you concerned for the well-being and happiness of others. It also means, however, that you can sometimes get overwhelmed, burned out , or even overstimulated from always thinking about other people's emotions. This can lead to empathy fatigue.

Empathy fatigue refers to the exhaustion you might feel both emotionally and physically after repeatedly being exposed to stressful or traumatic events . You might also feel numb or powerless, isolate yourself, and have a lack of energy.

Empathy fatigue is a concern in certain situations, such as when acting as a caregiver . Studies also show that if healthcare workers can't balance their feelings of empathy (affective empathy, in particular), it can result in compassion fatigue as well.

Other research has linked higher levels of empathy with a tendency toward emotional negativity , potentially increasing your risk of empathic distress. It can even affect your judgment, causing you to go against your morals based on the empathy you feel for someone else.

Impact of Empathy

Your ability to experience empathy can impact your relationships. Studies involving siblings have found that when empathy is high, siblings have less conflict and more warmth toward each other. In romantic relationships, having empathy increases your ability to extend forgiveness .

Not everyone experiences empathy in every situation. Some people may be more naturally empathetic in general, but people also tend to feel more empathetic toward some people and less so toward others. Some of the factors that play a role in this tendency include:

• How you perceive the other person
• How you attribute the other individual's behaviors
• What you blame for the other person's predicament
• Your past experiences and expectations

Research has found that there are gender differences in the experience and expression of empathy, although these findings are somewhat mixed. Women score higher on empathy tests, and studies suggest that women tend to feel more cognitive empathy than men.  

At the most basic level, there appear to be two main factors that contribute to the ability to experience empathy: genetics and socialization. Essentially, it boils down to the age-old relative contributions of nature and nurture .

Parents pass down genes that contribute to overall personality, including the propensity toward sympathy, empathy, and compassion. On the other hand, people are also socialized by their parents, peers, communities, and society. How people treat others, as well as how they feel about others, is often a reflection of the beliefs and values that were instilled at a very young age. 

Barriers to Empathy

Some people lack empathy and, therefore, aren't able to understand what another person may be experiencing or feeling. This can result in behaviors that seem uncaring or sometimes even hurtful. For instance, people with low affective empathy have higher rates of cyberbullying .

A lack of empathy is also one of the defining characteristics of narcissistic personality disorder . Though, it is unclear whether this is due to a person with this disorder having no empathy at all or having more of a dysfunctional response to others.

A few reasons why people sometimes lack empathy include cognitive biases, dehumanization, and victim-blaming.

Cognitive Biases

Sometimes the way people perceive the world around them is influenced by cognitive biases . For example, people often attribute other people's failures to internal characteristics, while blaming their own shortcomings on external factors.

These biases can make it difficult to see all the factors that contribute to a situation. They also make it less likely that people will be able to see a situation from the perspective of another.

Dehumanization

Many also fall victim to the trap of thinking that people who are different from them don't feel and behave the same as they do. This is particularly common in cases when other people are physically distant.

For example, when they watch reports of a disaster or conflict in a foreign land, people might be less likely to feel empathy if they think that those who are suffering are fundamentally different from themselves.

Victim Blaming

Sometimes, when another person has suffered a terrible experience, people make the mistake of blaming the victim for their circumstances. This is the reason that victims of crimes are often asked what they might have done differently to prevent the crime.

This tendency stems from the need to believe that the world is a fair and just place. It is the desire to believe that people get what they deserve and deserve what they get—and it can fool you into thinking that such terrible things could never happen to you.

Causes of Empathy

Human beings are certainly capable of selfish, even cruel, behavior. A quick scan of the news quickly reveals numerous unkind, selfish, and heinous actions. The question, then, is why don't we all engage in such self-serving behavior all the time? What is it that causes us to feel another's pain and respond with kindness ?

The term empathy was first introduced in 1909 by psychologist Edward B. Titchener as a translation of the German term einfühlung (meaning "feeling into"). Several different theories have been proposed to explain empathy.

Neuroscientific Explanations

Studies have shown that specific areas of the brain play a role in how empathy is experienced. More recent approaches focus on the cognitive and neurological processes that lie behind empathy. Researchers have found that different regions of the brain play an important role in empathy, including the anterior cingulate cortex and the anterior insula.

Research suggests that there are important neurobiological components to the experience of empathy.   The activation of mirror neurons in the brain plays a part in the ability to mirror and mimic the emotional responses that people would feel if they were in similar situations.

Functional MRI research also indicates that an area of the brain known as the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) plays a critical role in the experience of empathy. Studies have found that people who have damage to this area of the brain often have difficulty recognizing emotions conveyed through facial expressions .  

Emotional Explanations

Some of the earliest explorations into the topic of empathy centered on how feeling what others feel allows people to have a variety of emotional experiences. The philosopher Adam Smith suggested that it allows us to experience things that we might never otherwise be able to fully feel.

This can involve feeling empathy for both real people and imaginary characters. Experiencing empathy for fictional characters, for example, allows people to have a range of emotional experiences that might otherwise be impossible.

Prosocial Explanations

Sociologist Herbert Spencer proposed that empathy served an adaptive function and aided in the survival of the species. Empathy leads to helping behavior, which benefits social relationships. Humans are naturally social creatures. Things that aid in our relationships with other people benefit us as well.

When people experience empathy, they are more likely to engage in prosocial behaviors that benefit other people. Things such as altruism and heroism are also connected to feeling empathy for others.

Tips for Practicing Empathy

Fortunately, empathy is a skill that you can learn and strengthen. If you would like to build your empathy skills, there are a few things that you can do:

• Work on listening to people without interrupting
• Pay attention to body language and other types of nonverbal communication
• Try to understand people, even when you don't agree with them
• Ask people questions to learn more about them and their lives
• Imagine yourself in another person's shoes
• Strengthen your connection with others to learn more about how they feel
• Seek to identify biases you may have and how they affect your empathy for others
• Look for ways in which you are similar to others versus focusing on differences
• Be willing to be vulnerable, opening up about how you feel
• Engage in new experiences, giving you better insight into how others in that situation may feel
• Get involved in organizations that push for social change

A Word From Verywell

While empathy might be lacking in some, most people are able to empathize with others in a variety of situations. This ability to see things from another person's perspective and empathize with another's emotions plays an important role in our social lives. Empathy allows us to understand others and, quite often, compels us to take action to relieve another person's suffering.

Reblin M, Uchino BN. Social and emotional support and its implication for health .  Curr Opin Psychiatry . 2008;21(2):201‐205. doi:10.1097/YCO.0b013e3282f3ad89

Cleveland Clinic. Empathy fatigue: How stress and trauma can take a toll on you .

Duarte J, Pinto-Bouveia J, Cruz B. Relationships between nurses' empathy, self-compassion and dimensions of professional quality of life: A cross-sectional study . Int J Nursing Stud . 2016;60:1-11. doi:10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2016.02.015

Chikovani G, Babuadze L, Iashvili N, Gvalia T, Surguladze S. Empathy costs: Negative emotional bias in high empathisers . Psychiatry Res . 2015;229(1-2):340-346. doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2015.07.001

Lam CB, Solmeyer AR, McHale SM. Sibling relationships and empathy across the transition to adolescence . J Youth Adolescen . 2012;41:1657-1670. doi:10.1007/s10964-012-9781-8

Kimmes JG, Durtschi JA. Forgiveness in romantic relationships: The roles of attachment, empathy, and attributions . J Marital Family Ther . 2016;42(4):645-658. doi:10.1111/jmft.12171

Kret ME, De Gelder B. A review on sex difference in processing emotional signals . Neuropsychologia . 2012; 50(7):1211-1221. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2011.12.022

Schultze-Krumbholz A, Scheithauer H. Is cyberbullying related to lack of empathy and social-emotional problems? Int J Develop Sci . 2013;7(3-4):161-166. doi:10.3233/DEV-130124

Baskin-Sommers A, Krusemark E, Ronningstam E. Empathy in narcissistic personality disorder: From clinical and empirical perspectives . Personal Dis Theory Res Treat . 2014;5(3):323-333. doi:10.1037/per0000061

Decety, J. Dissecting the neural mechanisms mediating empathy . Emotion Review . 2011; 3(1): 92-108. doi:10.1177/1754073910374662

Shamay-Tsoory SG, Aharon-Peretz J, Perry D. Two systems for empathy: A double dissociation between emotional and cognitive empathy in inferior frontal gyrus versus ventromedial prefrontal lesions . Brain . 2009;132(PT3): 617-627. doi:10.1093/brain/awn279

Hillis AE. Inability to empathize: Brain lesions that disrupt sharing and understanding another's emotions . Brain . 2014;137(4):981-997. doi:10.1093/brain/awt317

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Self-Empathy Is Required to Empathize With Others

Creating a receptive space to help you empathize without projecting..

Posted March 5, 2021 | Reviewed by Jessica Schrader

In our previous post, " The Light and Dark Side of Empathy, " we wrote about how your motivations and intentions determine whether you use empathy to help or to harm. Self-empathy, as a practice, guides you to tune in to your inner world and to understand, or even modify, motivations and intentions.

By choosing to practice self-empathy, as a deeply personal exploration, you observe and integrate your own experiences. You bring awareness to your inner experiential, emotional and mental state. A part of yourself observes the aspect of yourself that experiences in an empathic manner. You create a space within yourself by bringing your mind into the inner world of your own experiences of thought and feeling and by suspending judgments you may have about yourself (Jordan, 1994). This inner space is open, expansive, and receptive.

Your inner life may be noisy with random fragments of thought and feeling. The practice of self-empathy orders these fragments.

After going through the process of noticing, centering, sensing, suspending judgment, intention setting, and attending to self, you will have the tools to reopen yourself to the situation at hand with conscious equanimity. You created a receptive space to the experiences of others which prepares you to empathize without the often unconscious habit of projecting yourself onto them.

This is what the practice is about. You need to deal with tensions at work, you need to get your job done, and you are hardly ever independent of the people around you. Although you might be willing and inclined to empathize with others, you will not successfully do so if you are not aware of your own influence on the situation as it evolves. Coming back to your own inner experiences and understanding that they are intrinsically yours to work with, will help you to create space for the experience and action of others.

Is empathizing with others different from empathizing with yourself?

Yes and no. Yes, because empathizing with others is empathizing with the inherently unknowable experience of other people. Their experiences, thoughts, and feelings are not yours. And more importantly, they are not meant to be either. Empathizing with others does not mean experiencing what others are going through. It is meant to attentively tune into their expressions of those experiences. To open up to their perspectives on a given situation, to broaden your own views on it, and to hold a space for others to be as they are.

But empathizing with others is also not different from empathizing with yourself.

Although the practices are different, they require a similar reflective presence: noticing, taking ethical responsibility, suspending judgment, setting intentions, and attending to others.

Self-empathy helps you to develop agency, the awareness of yourself as being the initiator of actions, desires, thoughts, and feelings (Decety & Jackson, 2004). With self-empathy you become aware of your own experiential state in the moment, enabling you to differentiate your own emotional experience from the experience of someone else. This differentiation prepares you to face professional and interpersonal challenges ahead.

We consider empathy to be useful as a means to an end. You may choose to practice empathy quietly in your own life, in interaction with the people close to you. But it becomes truly powerful when people acting together to fulfill a cause, engage in mutual empathic interaction. This has led us to develop an empathic method of structured interaction for people working together: Empathic Intervision.

Empathic Intervision: Practicing empathy with others

Empathic Intervision (Niezink & Train, 2020) is an organised peer-support method for people working together to identify opportunities and co-create solutions to challenges. It includes exercises in integrative empathy, to help you to engage beyond cultural differences, to listen and hear each other's experiences, thoughts, and feelings about a topic and to identify and take the perspective of others. The process can either be guided by an external facilitator or it can be self-organized. It requires you to maintain the reflective presence attained during the self-empathy exercise. However, the presence of noticing, taking ethical responsibility, suspending judgment, setting intentions, and attending is focussed on others.

In the Empathic Intervision too, each person engages a self-empathy exercise. Yet prior to self-empathy, participants set a collective intention. Since empathy is applied here as a means to an end, the intention guides the process towards an identified outcome. It ensures that participants are able to identify a shared goal for the group.

This introduction and setting of the scene are followed by three layers of empathy practice, all directed towards the collective intention set at the start of the meeting. They are kinesthetic, reflective, and imaginative empathy.

Kinesthetic empathy, the capacity to participate in somebody’s movement, or their sensory experience of movement (Niezink & Train, 2020) . This helps you to connect with others through coordination and synchronization. With kinesthetic empathy, you explore and become more aware of how you influence each other’s physical space. Kinesthetic empathy practices support the role of coordination and synchronization in empathy and enable people to hold physical space for others, hence experience the effects of being "seen" and "followed" in action.

Reflective empathy enables you to deepen your connection with others through literal reflection and advanced reflective empathy dialogue. Reflective empathy helps you to explore difficult or stressful situations without losing sight of your own self. Problems are clarified, and listening is intensified, through reflective empathic dialogue.

Imaginative empathy uses imagination and "as-if" acting to enable you to understand the perspectives of others you are working with and to experience the effects of having a problem explored from multiple perspectives. It is used as a means to explore difficult or stressful situations or to diversify perspectives and enable creativity .

The fifth and last aspect of Empathic Intervision is empathic creativity (Niezink & Train, 2020). During the full intervision process, the empathic practices described above guide and stimulate actions and reactions. The act of empathizing awakens creative insights. People become aroused in a particular way. These moments highlight significant change events and are ripe to be harvested and preserved. The consequences of empathic interactions can be quickly forgotten or get lost if not brought to attention . Empathic creativity is the practice of preserving that which is created and brings possible solutions to the issue at hand. As the final step in the intervision process, the gathered insights are transformed into actionable outcomes.

Self-empathy provides a foundation and is a prerequisite for each of the other four integrative empathy practices. As a deeply personal and transformative practice, it guides you to create a receptive space to empathize with others.

If you enjoyed the stunning artwork we have used throughout this series of posts, we encourage you to have a look at the fantastic work of our friend Candace Charlton . The human form, in particular the portrait, is the main focus of Charlton’s work. She strives to discover and reveal the mystery and depth of the human psyche in her intensively studied portraits and figurative compositions.

Decety J, Jackson PL. The functional architecture of human empathy. Behav Cogn Neurosci Rev. 2004 Jun;3(2):71-100. doi: 10.1177/1534582304267187.

Jordan, Judith. (1997). Relational development through mutual empathy. doi:10.1037/10226-015

Niezink, L.W. & Train, K.J. (2020). Empathic Intervision: A Peer-to-Peer Practice. France & South Africa: Empathic Intervision. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/339484113_Empathic_Intervision… [accessed Mar 2, 2021].

Lidewij Niezink, Ph.D., and Katherine Train, Ph.D., are the co-founders of Empathic Intervision.

• Find a Therapist
• Find a Treatment Center
• Find a Psychiatrist
• Find a Support Group
• Find Online Therapy
• United States
• Brooklyn, NY
• Chicago, IL
• Houston, TX
• Los Angeles, CA
• New York, NY
• Portland, OR
• San Diego, CA
• San Francisco, CA
• Seattle, WA
• Washington, DC
• Asperger's
• Bipolar Disorder
• Chronic Pain
• Eating Disorders
• Passive Aggression
• Personality
• Goal Setting
• Positive Psychology
• Stopping Smoking
• Low Sexual Desire
• Relationships
• Child Development
• Therapy Center NEW
• Diagnosis Dictionary
• Types of Therapy

At any moment, someone’s aggravating behavior or our own bad luck can set us off on an emotional spiral that threatens to derail our entire day. Here’s how we can face our triggers with less reactivity so that we can get on with our lives.

• Emotional Intelligence
• Gaslighting
• Affective Forecasting
• Neuroscience

Reflections on Empathy

• by Mayte Picco-Kline
• on September 1, 2020

The word “empathy” came to me through diverse situations and sparked my enthusiasm to share a few thoughts on the topic in the context of a “Life Lived Forward.”

Empathy is a broad concept that refers to the cognitive and emotional reactions of an individual to the observed, wide range of experiences of another.  Emotion researchers generally define empathy as the ability to sense other people’s emotions, coupled with the ability to imagine what someone else might be thinking or feeling.  It is usually associated with being able to “put ourselves in another person’s shoes” – understanding the other person’s perspective and appreciation of reality so we can better respond to the situation and the potential to develop compassion and offer a helping hand.

Becoming empathetic requires thinking beyond ourselves and our personal concerns, in the understanding that others concerns and points of view are as valuable as our own.  We enhance our ability to do so by opening to the varied ways in which others approach life. Empathy has abundant benefits.  It is a key ingredient of successful relationships as it facilitates understanding the perspectives, needs, and intentions of others.  It creates a sense of well-being.  It reduces stress and fosters resilience. Empathy expands the potential for personal and social growth, and for creative thinking and action.

Communications are impacted by the degree of our empathy.  When we understand the feelings of another person in a given situation and understand why their actions make sense to them, we are better equipped to communicate our own ideas in a way that may make sense to them.  Enhancing communication requires intent listening without preconceived assumptions.    Understanding the individual uniqueness of our personal experience facilitates this process.

Some ways to cultivate empathy involve challenging ourselves, exploring  feelings in addition to thoughts, and finding ways to ask questions that are conducive to deeper communication and understanding.

Some affirmations I have found valuable in highlighting the potential for becoming more empathetic include:

•         I constantly rejoice in the good that comes to others.
•         My heart is receptive to new understanding from every source.
•          Everyday I enter every experience with the whole of myself.
•          My heart re-echoes peace from every heart.
•          I acknowledge the infinity of resource.

By Mayte Picco-Kline

This Post Has 2 Comments

Hello! Do you use Twitter? Id like to follow you if that would be okay. Im undoubtedly enjoying your blog and look forward to new updates.

Several of the points associated with this weblog publish are usually advantageous nonetheless had me personally wanting to understand, did they critically imply that? One stage I have got to say is your writing experience are excellent and Ill be returning back again for any brand-new weblog post you come up with, you may probably have a brand-new supporter. I bookmarked your weblog for reference.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Subscribe via email.

• Enter your email address: *

Font Resizer

A Decrease font size. A Reset font size. A Increase font size.

Author Spotlight

Recent Posts

• Organized Photos: What’s the fuss all about?
• The Best Way to Cook Greens
• Is It Time To Own Up To Your Hearing Loss?
• Testing Berries and Nuts, Two of the Best Brain Foods
• Over-the-Counter Hearing Aids: One Audiologist’s Perspective

Recent Comments

• rama on Four Tips to Practice Good Mental Hygiene During the Coronavirus Outbreak
• rama on The Effect of Avocados on Small, Dense, LDL Cholesterol
• rama on Takeaways from My Webinar on COVID-19

The word “empathy” came to me through diverse situations and sparked my enthusiasm to share a few thoughts on the

Follow Willow Valley Communities

Sponsored by: Willow Valley Communities 

Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Assignments

• Annotated Bibliography
• Analyzing a Scholarly Journal Article
• Group Presentations
• Dealing with Nervousness
• Using Visual Aids
• Grading Someone Else's Paper
• Types of Structured Group Activities
• Group Project Survival Skills
• Leading a Class Discussion
• Multiple Book Review Essay
• Reviewing Collected Works
• Writing a Case Analysis Paper
• Writing a Case Study
• About Informed Consent
• Writing Field Notes
• Writing a Policy Memo
• Writing a Reflective Paper
• Writing a Research Proposal
• Generative AI and Writing
• Acknowledgments

Reflective writing is a process of identifying, questioning, and critically evaluating course-based learning opportunities, integrated with your own observations, experiences, impressions, beliefs, assumptions, or biases, and which describes how this process stimulated new or creative understanding about the content of the course.

A reflective paper describes and explains in an introspective, first person narrative, your reactions and feelings about either a specific element of the class [e.g., a required reading; a film shown in class] or more generally how you experienced learning throughout the course. Reflective writing assignments can be in the form of a single paper, essays, portfolios, journals, diaries, or blogs. In some cases, your professor may include a reflective writing assignment as a way to obtain student feedback that helps improve the course, either in the moment or for when the class is taught again.

How to Write a Reflection Paper . Academic Skills, Trent University; Writing a Reflection Paper . Writing Center, Lewis University; Critical Reflection . Writing and Communication Centre, University of Waterloo; Tsingos-Lucas et al. "Using Reflective Writing as a Predictor of Academic Success in Different Assessment Formats." American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education 81 (2017): Article 8.

Benefits of Reflective Writing Assignments

As the term implies, a reflective paper involves looking inward at oneself in contemplating and bringing meaning to the relationship between course content and the acquisition of new knowledge . Educational research [Bolton, 2010; Ryan, 2011; Tsingos-Lucas et al., 2017] demonstrates that assigning reflective writing tasks enhances learning because it challenges students to confront their own assumptions, biases, and belief systems around what is being taught in class and, in so doing, stimulate student’s decisions, actions, attitudes, and understanding about themselves as learners and in relation to having mastery over their learning. Reflection assignments are also an opportunity to write in a first person narrative about elements of the course, such as the required readings, separate from the exegetic and analytical prose of academic research papers.

Reflection writing often serves multiple purposes simultaneously. In no particular order, here are some of reasons why professors assign reflection papers:

• Enhances learning from previous knowledge and experience in order to improve future decision-making and reasoning in practice . Reflective writing in the applied social sciences enhances decision-making skills and academic performance in ways that can inform professional practice. The act of reflective writing creates self-awareness and understanding of others. This is particularly important in clinical and service-oriented professional settings.
• Allows students to make sense of classroom content and overall learning experiences in relation to oneself, others, and the conditions that shaped the content and classroom experiences . Reflective writing places you within the course content in ways that can deepen your understanding of the material. Because reflective thinking can help reveal hidden biases, it can help you critically interrogate moments when you do not like or agree with discussions, readings, or other aspects of the course.
• Increases awareness of one’s cognitive abilities and the evidence for these attributes . Reflective writing can break down personal doubts about yourself as a learner and highlight specific abilities that may have been hidden or suppressed due to prior assumptions about the strength of your academic abilities [e.g., reading comprehension; problem-solving skills]. Reflective writing, therefore, can have a positive affective [i.e., emotional] impact on your sense of self-worth.
• Applying theoretical knowledge and frameworks to real experiences . Reflective writing can help build a bridge of relevancy between theoretical knowledge and the real world. In so doing, this form of writing can lead to a better understanding of underlying theories and their analytical properties applied to professional practice.
• Reveals shortcomings that the reader will identify . Evidence suggests that reflective writing can uncover your own shortcomings as a learner, thereby, creating opportunities to anticipate the responses of your professor may have about the quality of your coursework. This can be particularly productive if the reflective paper is written before final submission of an assignment.
• Helps students identify their tacit [a.k.a., implicit] knowledge and possible gaps in that knowledge . Tacit knowledge refers to ways of knowing rooted in lived experience, insight, and intuition rather than formal, codified, categorical, or explicit knowledge. In so doing, reflective writing can stimulate students to question their beliefs about a research problem or an element of the course content beyond positivist modes of understanding and representation.
• Encourages students to actively monitor their learning processes over a period of time . On-going reflective writing in journals or blogs, for example, can help you maintain or adapt learning strategies in other contexts. The regular, purposeful act of reflection can facilitate continuous deep thinking about the course content as it evolves and changes throughout the term. This, in turn, can increase your overall confidence as a learner.
• Relates a student’s personal experience to a wider perspective . Reflection papers can help you see the big picture associated with the content of a course by forcing you to think about the connections between scholarly content and your lived experiences outside of school. It can provide a macro-level understanding of one’s own experiences in relation to the specifics of what is being taught.
• If reflective writing is shared, students can exchange stories about their learning experiences, thereby, creating an opportunity to reevaluate their original assumptions or perspectives . In most cases, reflective writing is only viewed by your professor in order to ensure candid feedback from students. However, occasionally, reflective writing is shared and openly discussed in class. During these discussions, new or different perspectives and alternative approaches to solving problems can be generated that would otherwise be hidden. Sharing student's reflections can also reveal collective patterns of thought and emotions about a particular element of the course.

Bolton, Gillie. Reflective Practice: Writing and Professional Development . London: Sage, 2010; Chang, Bo. "Reflection in Learning." Online Learning 23 (2019), 95-110; Cavilla, Derek. "The Effects of Student Reflection on Academic Performance and Motivation." Sage Open 7 (July-September 2017): 1–13; Culbert, Patrick. “Better Teaching? You Can Write On It “ Liberal Education (February 2022); McCabe, Gavin and Tobias Thejll-Madsen. The Reflection Toolkit . University of Edinburgh; The Purpose of Reflection . Introductory Composition at Purdue University; Practice-based and Reflective Learning . Study Advice Study Guides, University of Reading; Ryan, Mary. "Improving Reflective Writing in Higher Education: A Social Semiotic Perspective." Teaching in Higher Education 16 (2011): 99-111; Tsingos-Lucas et al. "Using Reflective Writing as a Predictor of Academic Success in Different Assessment Formats." American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education 81 (2017): Article 8; What Benefits Might Reflective Writing Have for My Students? Writing Across the Curriculum Clearinghouse; Rykkje, Linda. "The Tacit Care Knowledge in Reflective Writing: A Practical Wisdom." International Practice Development Journal 7 (September 2017): Article 5; Using Reflective Writing to Deepen Student Learning . Center for Writing, University of Minnesota.

How to Approach Writing a Reflection Paper

Thinking About Reflective Thinking

Educational theorists have developed numerous models of reflective thinking that your professor may use to frame a reflective writing assignment. These models can help you systematically interpret your learning experiences, thereby ensuring that you ask the right questions and have a clear understanding of what should be covered. A model can also represent the overall structure of a reflective paper. Each model establishes a different approach to reflection and will require you to think about your writing differently. If you are unclear how to fit your writing within a particular reflective model, seek clarification from your professor. There are generally two types of reflective writing assignments, each approached in slightly different ways.

1.  Reflective Thinking about Course Readings

This type of reflective writing focuses on thoughtfully thinking about the course readings that underpin how most students acquire new knowledge and understanding about the subject of a course. Reflecting on course readings is often assigned in freshmen-level, interdisciplinary courses where the required readings examine topics viewed from multiple perspectives and, as such, provide different ways of analyzing a topic, issue, event, or phenomenon. The purpose of reflective thinking about course readings in the social and behavioral sciences is to elicit your opinions, beliefs, and feelings about the research and its significance. This type of writing can provide an opportunity to break down key assumptions you may have and, in so doing, reveal potential biases in how you interpret the scholarship.

If you are assigned to reflect on course readings, consider the following methods of analysis as prompts that can help you get started :

• Examine carefully the main introductory elements of the reading, including the purpose of the study, the theoretical framework being used to test assumptions, and the research questions being addressed. Think about what ideas stood out to you. Why did they? Were these ideas new to you or familiar in some way based on your own lived experiences or prior knowledge?
• Develop your ideas around the readings by asking yourself, what do I know about this topic? Where does my existing knowledge about this topic come from? What are the observations or experiences in my life that influence my understanding of the topic? Do I agree or disagree with the main arguments, recommended course of actions, or conclusions made by the author(s)? Why do I feel this way and what is the basis of these feelings?
• Make connections between the text and your own beliefs, opinions, or feelings by considering questions like, how do the readings reinforce my existing ideas or assumptions? How the readings challenge these ideas or assumptions? How does this text help me to better understand this topic or research in ways that motivate me to learn more about this area of study?

2.  Reflective Thinking about Course Experiences

This type of reflective writing asks you to critically reflect on locating yourself at the conceptual intersection of theory and practice. The purpose of experiential reflection is to evaluate theories or disciplinary-based analytical models based on your introspective assessment of the relationship between hypothetical thinking and practical reality; it offers a way to consider how your own knowledge and skills fit within professional practice. This type of writing also provides an opportunity to evaluate your decisions and actions, as well as how you managed your subsequent successes and failures, within a specific theoretical framework. As a result, abstract concepts can crystallize and become more relevant to you when considered within your own experiences. This can help you formulate plans for self-improvement as you learn.

If you are assigned to reflect on your experiences, consider the following questions as prompts to help you get started :

• Contextualize your reflection in relation to the overarching purpose of the course by asking yourself, what did you hope to learn from this course? What were the learning objectives for the course and how did I fit within each of them? How did these goals relate to the main themes or concepts of the course?
• Analyze how you experienced the course by asking yourself, what did I learn from this experience? What did I learn about myself? About working in this area of research and study? About how the course relates to my place in society? What assumptions about the course were supported or refuted?
• Think introspectively about the ways you experienced learning during the course by asking yourself, did your learning experiences align with the goals or concepts of the course? Why or why do you not feel this way? What was successful and why do you believe this? What would you do differently and why is this important? How will you prepare for a future experience in this area of study?

NOTE: If you are assigned to write a journal or other type of on-going reflection exercise, a helpful approach is to reflect on your reflections by re-reading what you have already written. In other words, review your previous entries as a way to contextualize your feelings, opinions, or beliefs regarding your overall learning experiences. Over time, this can also help reveal hidden patterns or themes related to how you processed your learning experiences. Consider concluding your reflective journal with a summary of how you felt about your learning experiences at critical junctures throughout the course, then use these to write about how you grew as a student learner and how the act of reflecting helped you gain new understanding about the subject of the course and its content.

ANOTHER NOTE: Regardless of whether you write a reflection paper or a journal, do not focus your writing on the past. The act of reflection is intended to think introspectively about previous learning experiences. However, reflective thinking should document the ways in which you progressed in obtaining new insights and understandings about your growth as a learner that can be carried forward in subsequent coursework or in future professional practice. Your writing should reflect a furtherance of increasing personal autonomy and confidence gained from understanding more about yourself as a learner.

Structure and Writing Style

There are no strict academic rules for writing a reflective paper. Reflective writing may be assigned in any class taught in the social and behavioral sciences and, therefore, requirements for the assignment can vary depending on disciplinary-based models of inquiry and learning. The organization of content can also depend on what your professor wants you to write about or based on the type of reflective model used to frame the writing assignment. Despite these possible variations, below is a basic approach to organizing and writing a good reflective paper, followed by a list of problems to avoid.

Pre-flection

In most cases, it's helpful to begin by thinking about your learning experiences and outline what you want to focus on before you begin to write the paper. This can help you organize your thoughts around what was most important to you and what experiences [good or bad] had the most impact on your learning. As described by the University of Waterloo Writing and Communication Centre, preparing to write a reflective paper involves a process of self-analysis that can help organize your thoughts around significant moments of in-class knowledge discovery.

• Using a thesis statement as a guide, note what experiences or course content stood out to you , then place these within the context of your observations, reactions, feelings, and opinions. This will help you develop a rough outline of key moments during the course that reflect your growth as a learner. To identify these moments, pose these questions to yourself: What happened? What was my reaction? What were my expectations and how were they different from what transpired? What did I learn?
• Critically think about your learning experiences and the course content . This will help you develop a deeper, more nuanced understanding about why these moments were significant or relevant to you. Use the ideas you formulated during the first stage of reflecting to help you think through these moments from both an academic and personal perspective. From an academic perspective, contemplate how the experience enhanced your understanding of a concept, theory, or skill. Ask yourself, did the experience confirm my previous understanding or challenge it in some way. As a result, did this highlight strengths or gaps in your current knowledge? From a personal perspective, think introspectively about why these experiences mattered, if previous expectations or assumptions were confirmed or refuted, and if this surprised, confused, or unnerved you in some way.
• Analyze how these experiences and your reactions to them will shape your future thinking and behavior . Reflection implies looking back, but the most important act of reflective writing is considering how beliefs, assumptions, opinions, and feelings were transformed in ways that better prepare you as a learner in the future. Note how this reflective analysis can lead to actions you will take as a result of your experiences, what you will do differently, and how you will apply what you learned in other courses or in professional practice.

Basic Structure and Writing Style

Reflective Background and Context

The first part of your reflection paper should briefly provide background and context in relation to the content or experiences that stood out to you. Highlight the settings, summarize the key readings, or narrate the experiences in relation to the course objectives. Provide background that sets the stage for your reflection. You do not need to go into great detail, but you should provide enough information for the reader to understand what sources of learning you are writing about [e.g., course readings, field experience, guest lecture, class discussions] and why they were important. This section should end with an explanatory thesis statement that expresses the central ideas of your paper and what you want the readers to know, believe, or understand after they finish reading your paper.

Reflective Interpretation

Drawing from your reflective analysis, this is where you can be personal, critical, and creative in expressing how you felt about the course content and learning experiences and how they influenced or altered your feelings, beliefs, assumptions, or biases about the subject of the course. This section is also where you explore the meaning of these experiences in the context of the course and how you gained an awareness of the connections between these moments and your own prior knowledge.

Guided by your thesis statement, a helpful approach is to interpret your learning throughout the course with a series of specific examples drawn from the course content and your learning experiences. These examples should be arranged in sequential order that illustrate your growth as a learner. Reflecting on each example can be done by: 1)  introducing a theme or moment that was meaningful to you, 2) describing your previous position about the learning moment and what you thought about it, 3) explaining how your perspective was challenged and/or changed and why, and 4) introspectively stating your current or new feelings, opinions, or beliefs about that experience in class.

It is important to include specific examples drawn from the course and placed within the context of your assumptions, thoughts, opinions, and feelings. A reflective narrative without specific examples does not provide an effective way for the reader to understand the relationship between the course content and how you grew as a learner.

Reflective Conclusions

The conclusion of your reflective paper should provide a summary of your thoughts, feelings, or opinions regarding what you learned about yourself as a result of taking the course. Here are several ways you can frame your conclusions based on the examples you interpreted and reflected on what they meant to you. Each example would need to be tied to the basic theme [thesis statement] of your reflective background section.

• Your reflective conclusions can be described in relation to any expectations you had before taking the class [e.g., “I expected the readings to not be relevant to my own experiences growing up in a rural community, but the research actually helped me see that the challenges of developing my identity as a child of immigrants was not that unusual...”].
• Your reflective conclusions can explain how what you learned about yourself will change your actions in the future [e.g., “During a discussion in class about the challenges of helping homeless people, I realized that many of these people hate living on the street but lack the ability to see a way out. This made me realize that I wanted to take more classes in psychology...”].
• Your reflective conclusions can describe major insights you experienced a critical junctures during the course and how these moments enhanced how you see yourself as a student learner [e.g., "The guest speaker from the Head Start program made me realize why I wanted to pursue a career in elementary education..."].
• Your reflective conclusions can reconfigure or reframe how you will approach professional practice and your understanding of your future career aspirations [e.g.,, "The course changed my perceptions about seeking a career in business finance because it made me realize I want to be more engaged in customer service..."]
• Your reflective conclusions can explore any learning you derived from the act of reflecting itself [e.g., “Reflecting on the course readings that described how minority students perceive campus activities helped me identify my own biases about the benefits of those activities in acclimating to campus life...”].

NOTE: The length of a reflective paper in the social sciences is usually less than a traditional research paper. However, don’t assume that writing a reflective paper is easier than writing a research paper. A well-conceived critical reflection paper often requires as much time and effort as a research paper because you must purposeful engage in thinking about your learning in ways that you may not be comfortable with or used to. This is particular true while preparing to write because reflective papers are not as structured as a traditional research paper and, therefore, you have to think deliberately about how you want to organize the paper and what elements of the course you want to reflect upon.

ANOTHER NOTE: Do not limit yourself to using only text in reflecting on your learning. If you believe it would be helpful, consider using creative modes of thought or expression such as, illustrations, photographs, or material objects that reflects an experience related to the subject of the course that was important to you [e.g., like a ticket stub to a renowned speaker on campus]. Whatever non-textual element you include, be sure to describe the object's relevance to your personal relationship to the course content.

Problems to Avoid

A reflective paper is not a “mind dump” . Reflective papers document your personal and emotional experiences and, therefore, they do not conform to rigid structures, or schema, to organize information. However, the paper should not be a disjointed, stream-of-consciousness narrative. Reflective papers are still academic pieces of writing that require organized thought, that use academic language and tone , and that apply intellectually-driven critical thinking to the course content and your learning experiences and their significance.

A reflective paper is not a research paper . If you are asked to reflect on a course reading, the reflection will obviously include some description of the research. However, the goal of reflective writing is not to present extraneous ideas to the reader or to "educate" them about the course. The goal is to share a story about your relationship with the learning objectives of the course. Therefore, unlike research papers, you are expected to write from a first person point of view which includes an introspective examination of your own opinions, feelings, and personal assumptions.

A reflection paper is not a book review . Descriptions of the course readings using your own words is not a reflective paper. Reflective writing should focus on how you understood the implications of and were challenged by the course in relation to your own lived experiences or personal assumptions, combined with explanations of how you grew as a student learner based on this internal dialogue. Remember that you are the central object of the paper, not the research materials.

A reflective paper is not an all-inclusive meditation. Do not try to cover everything. The scope of your paper should be well-defined and limited to your specific opinions, feelings, and beliefs about what you determine to be the most significant content of the course and in relation to the learning that took place. Reflections should be detailed enough to covey what you think is important, but your thoughts should be expressed concisely and coherently [as is true for any academic writing assignment].

Critical Reflection . Writing and Communication Centre, University of Waterloo; Critical Reflection: Journals, Opinions, & Reactions . University Writing Center, Texas A&M University; Connor-Greene, Patricia A. “Making Connections: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Journal Writing in Enhancing Student Learning.” Teaching of Psychology 27 (2000): 44-46; Good vs. Bad Reflection Papers , Franklin University; Dyment, Janet E. and Timothy S. O’Connell. "The Quality of Reflection in Student Journals: A Review of Limiting and Enabling Factors." Innovative Higher Education 35 (2010): 233-244: How to Write a Reflection Paper . Academic Skills, Trent University; Amelia TaraJane House. Reflection Paper . Cordia Harrington Center for Excellence, University of Arkansas; Ramlal, Alana, and Désirée S. Augustin. “Engaging Students in Reflective Writing: An Action Research Project.” Educational Action Research 28 (2020): 518-533; Writing a Reflection Paper . Writing Center, Lewis University; McGuire, Lisa, Kathy Lay, and Jon Peters. “Pedagogy of Reflective Writing in Professional Education.” Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (2009): 93-107; Critical Reflection . Writing and Communication Centre, University of Waterloo; How Do I Write Reflectively? Academic Skills Toolkit, University of New South Wales Sydney; Reflective Writing . Skills@Library. University of Leeds; Walling, Anne, Johanna Shapiro, and Terry Ast. “What Makes a Good Reflective Paper?” Family Medicine 45 (2013): 7-12; Williams, Kate, Mary Woolliams, and Jane Spiro. Reflective Writing . 2nd edition. London: Red Globe Press, 2020; Yeh, Hui-Chin, Shih-hsien Yang, Jo Shan Fu, and Yen-Chen Shih. “Developing College Students’ Critical Thinking through Reflective Writing.” Higher Education Research and Development (2022): 1-16.

Writing Tip

Focus on Reflecting, Not on Describing

Minimal time and effort should be spent describing the course content you are asked to reflect upon. The purpose of a reflection assignment is to introspectively contemplate your reactions to and feeling about an element of the course. D eflecting the focus away from your own feelings by concentrating on describing the course content can happen particularly if "talking about yourself" [i.e., reflecting] makes you uncomfortable or it is intimidating. However, the intent of reflective writing is to overcome these inhibitions so as to maximize the benefits of introspectively assessing your learning experiences. Keep in mind that, if it is relevant, your feelings of discomfort could be a part of how you critically reflect on any challenges you had during the course [e.g., you realize this discomfort inhibited your willingness to ask questions during class, it fed into your propensity to procrastinate, or it made it difficult participating in groups].

Writing a Reflection Paper . Writing Center, Lewis University; Reflection Paper . Cordia Harrington Center for Excellence, University of Arkansas.

Another Writing Tip

Helpful Videos about Reflective Writing

These two short videos succinctly describe how to approach a reflective writing assignment. They are produced by the Academic Skills department at the University of Melbourne and the Skills Team of the University of Hull, respectively.

• << Previous: Writing a Policy Memo
• Next: Writing a Research Proposal >>
• Last Updated: May 7, 2024 9:45 AM
• URL: https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/assignments

Beyond Intractability

The Hyper-Polarization Challenge to the Conflict Resolution Field: A Joint BI/CRQ Discussion BI and the Conflict Resolution Quarterly invite you to participate in an online exploration of what those with conflict and peacebuilding expertise can do to help defend liberal democracies and encourage them live up to their ideals.

Follow BI and the Hyper-Polarization Discussion on BI's New Substack Newsletter .

Hyper-Polarization, COVID, Racism, and the Constructive Conflict Initiative Read about (and contribute to) the  Constructive Conflict Initiative  and its associated Blog —our effort to assemble what we collectively know about how to move beyond our hyperpolarized politics and start solving society's problems. 

By Richard Salem

July 2003  

The Benefits of Empathic Listening

Empathic listening (also called active listening or reflective listening) is a way of listening and responding to another person that improves mutual understanding and trust. It is an essential skill for third parties and disputants alike, as it enables the listener to receive and accurately interpret the speaker's message, and then provide an appropriate response. The response is an integral part of the listening process and can be critical to the success of a negotiation or mediation. Among its benefits, empathic listening

• builds trust and respect,
• enables the disputants to release their emotions,
• reduces tensions,
• encourages the surfacing of information, and
• creates a safe environment that is conducive to collaborative problem solving .

Though useful for everyone involved in a conflict, the ability and willingness to listen with empathy is often what sets the mediator apart from others involved in the conflict.

Even when the conflict is not resolved during mediation, the listening process can have a profound impact on the parties. Jonathon Chace, associate director of the U.S. Community Relations Service, recalls a highly charged community race-related conflict he responded to more than 30 years ago when he was a mediator in the agency's Mid-Atlantic office. It involved the construction of a highway that would physically divide a community centered around a public housing project. After weeks of protest activity, the parties agreed to mediation. In the end, the public officials prevailed and the aggrieved community got little relief. When the final session ended, the leader of the community organization bolted across the floor, clasped the mediator's hand and thanked him for being "different from the others."

"How was I different?" Chace asked. "You listened," was the reply. "You were the only one who cared about what we were saying."[1]

William Simkin, former director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service and one of the first practitioners to write in depth about the mediation process, noted in 1971 that "understanding has limited utility unless the mediator can somehow convey to the parties the fact that [the mediator] knows the essence of the problem. At that point," he said, "and only then, can (the mediator) expect to be accorded confidence and respect."[2]

Simkin was writing about more than the need to understand and project an understanding of the facts. Understanding "is not confined to bare facts," he said. "Quite frequently the strong emotional background of an issue and the personalities involved may be more significant than the facts." He suggested that mediators apply "sympathetic understanding,"[3] which in reality is empathic listening.

How to Listen with Empathy

Empathy is the ability to project oneself into the personality of another person in order to better understand that person's emotions or feelings. Through empathic listening the listener lets the speaker know, "I understand your problem and how you feel about it, I am interested in what you are saying and I am not judging you." The listener unmistakably conveys this message through words and non-verbal behaviors, including body language. In so doing, the listener encourages the speaker to fully express herself or himself free of interruption, criticism or being told what to do. It is neither advisable nor necessary for a mediator to agree with the speaker, even when asked to do so. It is usually sufficient to let the speaker know, "I understand you and I am interested in being a resource to help you resolve this problem."

While this article focuses on mediation, it should be apparent that empathic listening is a core skill that will strengthen the interpersonal effectiveness of individuals in many aspects of their professional and personal lives.[4] Parties to unassisted negotiations -- those that do not involve a mediator -- can often function as their own mediator and increase their negotiating effectiveness through the use of empathy. Through the use of skilled listening these "mediational negotiators" can control the negotiation by their:

• willingness to let the other parties dominate the discussion,
• attentiveness to what is being said,
• care not to interrupt,
• use of open-ended questions,
• sensitivity to the emotions being expressed, and
• ability to reflect back to the other party the substance and feelings being expressed.

The power of empathic listening in volatile settings is reflected in Madelyn Burley-Allen's description of the skilled listener. "When you listen well," Burley-Allen says, "you:

• acknowledge the speaker,
• increase the speaker's self-esteem and confidence,
• tell the speaker, "You are important" and "I am not judging you,"
• gain the speaker's cooperation,
• reduce stress and tension,
• build teamwork,
• gain trust,
• elicit openness,
• gain a sharing of ideas and thoughts, and
• obtain more valid information about the speakers and the subject."[5]

To obtain these results, Burly-Allen says, a skilled listener:

• "takes information from others while remaining non-judgmental and empathic,
• acknowledges the speaker in a way that invites the communication to continue, and
• provides a limited but encouraging response, carrying the speaker's idea one step forward."

Empathic Listening in Mediation

Before a mediator can expect to obtain clear and accurate information about the conflict from a party who is emotionally distraught, it is necessary to enable that party to engage in a cathartic process, according to Lyman S. Steil,[6] a former president of the American Listening Association. He defines catharsis as "the process of releasing emotion, the ventilation of feelings, the sharing of problems or frustrations with an empathic listener. Catharsis," he continues, "basically requires an understanding listener who is observant to the cathartic need cues and clues. People who need catharsis will often give verbal and non-verbal cues, and good listeners will be sensitive enough to recognize them. Cathartic fulfillment is necessary for maximized success" at all other levels of communication.

"Cathartic communication," Steil continues, "requires caring, concerned, risk-taking and non-judgmental listening. Truly empathic people suspend evaluation and criticism when they listen to others. Here the challenge is to enter into the private world of the speaker, to understand without judging actions or feelings."

Providing empathic responses to two or more parties to the same conflict should not present a problem for a mediator who follows the basic principles of active listening. The mediator demonstrates objectivity and fairness by remaining non-judgmental throughout the negotiation, giving the parties equal time and attention and as much time as each needs to express themselves.

Parties to volatile conflicts often feel that nobody on the other side is interested in what they have to say. The parties often have been talking at each other and past each other, but not with each other. Neither believes that their message has been listened to or understood. Nor do they feel respected. Locked into positions that they know the other will not accept, the parties tend to be close-minded, distrustful of each other, and often angry , frustrated, discouraged, or hurt.

When the mediator comes onto the scene, he or she continuously models good conflict-management behaviors, trying to create an environment where the parties in conflict will begin to listen to each other with clear heads. For many disputants, this may be the first time they have had an opportunity to fully present their story. During this process, the parties may hear things that they have not heard before, things that broaden their understanding of how the other party perceives the problem. This can open minds and create a receptivity to new ideas that might lead to a settlement.[7] In creating a trusting environment, it is the mediator's hope that some strands of trust will begin to connect the parties and replace the negative emotions that they brought to the table.

Mediator Nancy Ferrell, who formerly responded to volatile community race-related conflicts for the Dallas Office of the U.S. Community Relations Service, questions whether mediation can work if some measure of empathy is not developed between the parties. She describes a multi-issue case involving black students and members of a white fraternity that held an annual "black-face" party at a university in Oklahoma. At the outset, the student president of the fraternity was convinced that the annual tradition was harmless and inoffensive. It wasn't until the mediator created an opportunity for him to listen to the aggrieved parties at the table that he realized the extraordinary impact his fraternity's antics had on black students. Once he recognized the problem, a solution to that part of the conflict was only a step away.

Ferrell seeks clues that the parties will respond to each other with some measure of empathy before bringing them to the table. Speaking of conflicts between parties who had a continuing relationship, she said, "One of my decisions about whether they were ready to meet at the table was whether or not I could get any glimmer of empathy from all sides. ... If I couldn't get some awareness of sensitivity to the other party's position, I was reluctant to go to the table. ... If you can't create empathy, you can't have a relationship. Without that, mediation is not going to work."[8]

George Williams, who was a volunteer mediator at Chicago 's Center for Conflict Resolution after he retired as president of American University, recalled an incident in an entirely different type of dispute in the mid-1980s. The conflict was between a trade school and a student who had been expelled for what appeared to him to be a minor infraction of the rules, shortly after paying his full tuition. After losing his internal appeal, he considered a lawsuit, but chose mediation. The young man fared no better at mediation, yet later profusely thanked Williams for being "the first person who listened to what I had to say."

Listening: A Learnable Skill

As many mediators, including myself, have come to understand, listening is a learnable skill. Unfortunately, it is not typically taught along with other communication skills at home or in school. I spend more time listening than using any other form of communication, yet as a youngster I was never taught the skill. I spent long hours learning to read and write and even had classroom training in public speaking, but I never had a lesson in listening or thought of listening as a learnable skill until I entered the world of mediation as an adult. While some may have had better experiences during their formative years, for many listening is often treated the same as "hearing." We do not ordinarily receive instruction in using our other senses -- smell, sight, touch and taste -- so why give lessons in hearing (sound)? A message that listening was an important skill to learn would have fallen on deaf ears when I was a child. Perhaps now that peer mediation is being taught in many classrooms across the nation, when children are taught to "Listen to your elders," they also will be taught by elders who model good listening skills.

Guidelines for Empathic Listening

Madelyn Burley-Allen offers these guidelines for empathic listening:

• Be attentive. Be interested. Be alert and not distracted. Create a positive atmosphere through nonverbal behavior.
• Be a sounding board -- allow the speaker to bounce ideas and feelings off you while assuming a nonjudgmental, non-critical manner.
• Don't ask a lot of questions. They can give the impression you are "grilling" the speaker.
• Act like a mirror -- reflect back what you think the speaker is saying and feeling.
• Don't discount the speaker's feelings by using stock phrases like "It's not that bad," or "You'll feel better tomorrow."
• Don't let the speaker "hook" you. This can happen if you get angry or upset, allow yourself to get involved in an argument, or pass judgment on the other person.
• Providing brief, noncommittal acknowledging responses, e.g., "Uh-huh," "I see."
• Giving nonverbal acknowledgements, e.g., head nodding, facial expressions matching the speaker, open and relaxed body expression, eye contact.
• Invitations to say more, e.g., "Tell me about it," "I'd like to hear about that."
• Don't interrupt.
• Don't change the subject or move in a new direction.
• Don't rehearse in your own head.
• Don't interrogate.
• Don't teach.
• Don't give advice.
• Do reflect back to the speaker what you understand and how you think the speaker feels.[9]

The ability to listen with empathy may be the most important attribute of interveners who succeed in gaining the trust and cooperation of parties to intractable conflicts and other disputes with high emotional content. Among its other advantages, as Burley-Allen points out, empathic listening has empowering qualities. Providing an opportunity for people to talk through their problem may clarify their thinking as well as provide a necessary emotional release. Thomas Gordon agrees that active listening facilitates problem-solving and, like Burley-Allen's primer on listening,[10] Gordon's "Leadership Effectiveness Training"[11] provides numerous exercises and suggestions for those seeking to strengthen their listening skills.

[1] Richard Salem, "Community Dispute Resolution Through Outside Intervention," Peace & Change Journal VIII, no. 2/3 (1982)

[2] William Simkin, Mediation and the Dynamics of Collective Bargaining (BNA Books, 1971)

[4] Books on effective listening cited in this paper primarily address the topic in one-on-one situations and use examples in both personal and professional settings. Three books by Thomas Gordon all use the same communication models in a variety of settings. They are Gordon's Leadership Effectiveness Training , (Bantam Books, 1977), Teacher Effectiveness Training, (1974), and Parent Effectiveness Training .

[5] Madelyn Burley-Allen, Listening the Forgotten Skill , (John Wiley & sons, 1982). Burley-Allen is a former president of the American Listening Assn.

[6] Lyman K. Steil, "On Listening...and Not Listening," Executive Health , (newsletter, 1981). Dr. Steil is a former president of the American Listening Assn. See also, "Effective Listening," by Steil, Barker and Watson, McGraw Hill, 1983 and "Listening Leaders," Beaver Press, forthcoming, 2003.

[7] Labor mediator Walter Maggiolo wrote that the effective mediator performs the following four essential tasks: (1) Understand and appreciate "the problems confronting the parties;" (2) Impart to the parties "the fact that the mediator knows and appreciates their problems;" (3) create "doubts in the minds of the parties about the validity of the positions they have assumed with respect to the problems;" and (4) surface or suggest "alternative approaches which may facilitate agreement." W. Maggiolo, "Techniques of Mediation," 1985.

[8] Nancy Ferrell, Oral History, Civil Rights Mediation Project, available at http://www.civilrightsmediation.org/ .

[9] Ibid, 101-102.

[11] Thomas Gordon, Leadership Effectiveness Training , (Bantam Books, 1977). See also, Thomas Gordon, Teacher Effectiveness Training (1974).

Use the following to cite this article: Salem, Richard. "Empathic Listening." Beyond Intractability . Eds. Guy Burgess and Heidi Burgess. Conflict Information Consortium, University of Colorado, Boulder. Posted: July 2003 < http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/empathic-listening >.

Additional Resources

The intractable conflict challenge.

Our inability to constructively handle intractable conflict is the most serious, and the most neglected, problem facing humanity. Solving today's tough problems depends upon finding better ways of dealing with these conflicts.   More...

Selected Recent BI Posts Including Hyper-Polarization Posts

• Massively Parallel Peace and Democracy Building Roles - Part 2 -- The first of two posts explaining the actor roles needed for a massively parallel peacebuilding/democracy building effort to work, which combined with an earlier post on strategy roles, makes up the current MPP role list.
• Lorelei Kelly on Strengthening Democracy at the Top and the Bottom -- Lorelei Kelly describes the work of the bipartisan Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress which passed 202 recommendations, many unanimously. Over 1/2 have been implemented and most others are in progress.
• Massively Parallel Peace and Democracy Building Links for the Week of March 24, 2024 -- A rename of our regular "colleague and context links" to highlight how these readings and the activities they describe all fit within our "massively parallel" peace and democracy building framework--or show why it is needed.

Get the Newsletter Check Out Our Quick Start Guide

Educators Consider a low-cost BI-based custom text .

Constructive Conflict Initiative

Join Us in calling for a dramatic expansion of efforts to limit the destructiveness of intractable conflict.

Things You Can Do to Help Ideas

Practical things we can all do to limit the destructive conflicts threatening our future.

Conflict Frontiers

A free, open, online seminar exploring new approaches for addressing difficult and intractable conflicts. Major topic areas include:

Scale, Complexity, & Intractability

Massively Parallel Peacebuilding

Authoritarian Populism

Constructive Confrontation

Conflict Fundamentals

An look at to the fundamental building blocks of the peace and conflict field covering both “tractable” and intractable conflict.

Beyond Intractability / CRInfo Knowledge Base

Home / Browse | Essays | Search | About

BI in Context

Links to thought-provoking articles exploring the larger, societal dimension of intractability.

Colleague Activities

Information about interesting conflict and peacebuilding efforts.

Disclaimer: All opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Beyond Intractability or the Conflict Information Consortium.

Beyond Intractability 

Unless otherwise noted on individual pages, all content is... Copyright © 2003-2022 The Beyond Intractability Project c/o the Conflict Information Consortium All rights reserved. Content may not be reproduced without prior written permission.

Guidelines for Using Beyond Intractability resources.

Citing Beyond Intractability resources.

Photo Credits for Homepage, Sidebars, and Landing Pages

Contact Beyond Intractability    Privacy Policy The Beyond Intractability Knowledge Base Project  Guy Burgess and Heidi Burgess , Co-Directors and Editors  c/o  Conflict Information Consortium Mailing Address: Beyond Intractability, #1188, 1601 29th St. Suite 1292, Boulder CO 80301, USA Contact Form

Powered by  Drupal

production_1

Overview of Writing an Essay with Empathy: Why is It Important?

As writers, one of our primary goals is to connect with our readers and leave a lasting impression. This is particularly important when writing essays, where our aim is to engage our audience in a meaningful way. One of the key ways to achieve this is by developing empathetic skills and using them in writing.

Empathy is a vital skill that is often overlooked in writing, regardless of whether your goal is to create character empathy or not. It is not just about understanding the emotions of others but also about putting yourself in their shoes and seeing things from their perspective. When writing an essay, it is important to consider your reader's needs and concerns.

One way to show reader empathy in your writing is by using inclusive language. This means using words and phrases that are inclusive of different genders, races, religions, and cultures. By doing this, you are showing your reader that you understand and respect their identity and experiences. It also helps to create a sense of belonging and community, which can make your writing more engaging.

Another way to demonstrate empathy in your writing is by acknowledging and validating the other person's emotions, regardless of whether you're referring to your reader's emotions or building character empathy. This can be done by sharing personal stories or experiences that relate to the topic of your essay. By doing this, you are showing your reader that you understand their struggles and that you are there to support them.

Tips for Writing with Empathy

So, which technique does the author use to engage the reader? Let's find out more about the expert tips for writing an essay with empathy prepared by our paper writing service !

Understand the Reader

Before you wonder how to start writing with empathy, take some time to understand your audience and consider which techniques are used to engage a reader. Who are they? What do they care about? What are their concerns and questions? By understanding your reader, you can tailor your writing style and approach to their needs, using techniques such as storytelling, vivid descriptions, rhetorical questions, and emotional appeals.

Choose an Engaging Topic

Consider your reader's interests and what topics are relevant and meaningful to them. Brainstorm a range of ideas and select a topic that ignites your own passion. By choosing a topic that resonates with your reader, you establish a connection right from the start. This connection, rooted in shared interests and relevance, enables your writing to have a more profound impact. Being one of the best tips for essay writing, remember that an engaging topic sets the stage for an engaging and impactful piece of writing.

Create an Emotional Connection

Emotions are a powerful tool in essay writing, whether you decide - 'I'll pay someone to write my paper ' or not. By connecting with your reader on an emotional level, you can help them relate to your essay and feel invested in your ideas. Use vivid language, storytelling, and personal anecdotes to engage your reader's emotions. This can be one of the helpful tips for writing common app essay, too, creating a deeper connection with your reader and making your writing more impactful.

Structure the Essay for Impact

When it comes to understanding how to start writing with empathy, whether it's for a book report or any other type of writing, the structure of your essay is key. Use a clear and logical structure, with a strong introduction that captures your reader's attention, even if you're thinking, 'Who can write my book report for me ?' and a conclusion that leaves a lasting impression.

Break up your text into smaller sections with headings, bullet points, or numbered lists to make it easier for your reader to follow along. By structuring your essay in a way that is easy to follow, you can help your reader stay engaged and invested in your ideas.

Use Empathetic Language

The same words can be interpreted differently by each individual. So, choose your language carefully and use words that resonate with your reader. Use inclusive language, avoid jargon, and speak to your reader directly. This is one of the most impactful essay writing tips for students that can help your reader feel seen and understood in your writing.

Engage the Reader through Active Engagement

Active engagement is one of the key tips for writing an essay that keeps your reader invested, leveraging the intricate workings of the human brain. Use questions, prompts, and calls to action to encourage your reader to think about your ideas and interact with your writing. By tapping into their innate curiosity and encouraging interaction, you foster a sense of ownership in your reader, making them more likely to remember and internalize your concepts. This active engagement activates various cognitive mechanisms within the human brain, enhancing the overall impact and memorability of your essay.

Craft a Memorable Conclusion

When crafting the conclusion of your essay, it is essential to present your main claims in an objectively explicit manner. Summarize your points with sensitivity and clarity, ensuring that the emotional resonance of your essay carries through. Consider leaving your reader with a memorable quote or insightful reflection, inviting them to further contemplate the topic at hand. By asking a thought-provoking question, you engage your readers' empathy and encourage them to connect their own experiences with the essay's themes. A well-crafted conclusion, infused with genuine empathy, can ensure that your writing resonates deeply and leaves an indelible mark on your reader's mind.

Edit and Revise with Empathy

Finally, when it comes to grammar tips for essay writing, remember to revise and edit your essay with empathy. Put yourself in your reader's shoes and read your essay as if you were a member of your audience. Look for areas where you can clarify your ideas, improve flow, or add more engagement points. By editing and revising with empathy, not only can you ensure grammatical correctness, but you can also write an essay that truly resonates with your reader.

Examples of Writing with Empathy

Here are some examples of writing with empathy in different essay types, along with helpful tips and suggestions to create vivid descriptions that resonate with your readers.

Tips for writing a narrative essay : To create more empathy, incorporate sensory details, vivid descriptions, and a reflective tone. This will captivate your readers and immerse them in your narrative, creating a compelling and memorable essay.

• Example: 'I still remember the day vividly, as if it happened just yesterday. The wind carried the scent of freshly bloomed flowers, and the sun painted the sky in hues of gold. It was a day of joy and innocence, a day when I believed that anything was possible. Little did I know that life had a different plan in store for me, one that would test my resilience and redefine my understanding of strength.'

Tips for writing a personal essay : Share your authentic experiences, emotions, or even character flaws. To develop empathy, use introspection, vulnerability, and personal reflection to connect with your readers on a profound level and create empathy.

• Example: 'Life has a way of throwing unexpected challenges our way. It was during one such difficult period that I realized the true power of love and support. My family stood by my side, offering unwavering encouragement and a comforting shoulder to lean on. Their presence became my anchor, guiding me through the storm and reminding me that I was never alone.'

Tips for writing a persuasive essay : Present a strong argument supported by credible evidence and logical reasoning. Use persuasive language, appeal to the emotions of your audience, and anticipate and address counterarguments to strengthen your stance.

• Example: 'Imagine a world where our children can breathe in fresh air without the fear of pollution. Picture a future where lush green landscapes replace concrete jungles and endangered species thrive in their natural habitats. This vision can become a reality if human beings unite in our efforts to combat climate change. By adopting sustainable practices and advocating for renewable energy initiatives, we can safeguard the beauty of our planet for generations to come.'

Tips for writing an argumentative essay : Present a clear and well-supported argument. Conduct thorough research, gather compelling evidence, and address opposing viewpoints to strengthen your position. Structure your essay with a strong introduction, coherent body paragraphs, and a compelling conclusion that reinforces your main points.

• Example: 'The urgency of addressing climate change cannot be overstated. Scientific evidence unequivocally points to the grave consequences of inaction. From rising sea levels to extreme weather events, the impacts of climate change are already being felt across the globe. Denying the reality or downplaying the severity of this crisis is a disservice to ourselves and future generations. It is imperative that we take immediate action to mitigate and adapt to the changing climate before it's too late.'

Final Thoughts

By incorporating empathy into your writing, you can create a more engaging and impactful piece. Use these tips for essay writing from our custom essay writing service to help you develop meaningful connections with your reader and create a lasting impression with your paper.

Frequently asked questions

She was flawless! first time using a website like this, I've ordered article review and i totally adored it! grammar punctuation, content - everything was on point

This writer is my go to, because whenever I need someone who I can trust my task to - I hire Joy. She wrote almost every paper for me for the last 2 years

Term paper done up to a highest standard, no revisions, perfect communication. 10s across the board!!!!!!!

I send him instructions and that's it. my paper was done 10 hours later, no stupid questions, he nailed it.

Sometimes I wonder if Michael is secretly a professor because he literally knows everything. HE DID SO WELL THAT MY PROF SHOWED MY PAPER AS AN EXAMPLE. unbelievable, many thanks

You Might Also Like

New Posts to Your Inbox!

Stay in touch

Advertisement

The Moral Importance of Reflective Empathy

• Original Paper
• Open access
• Published: 15 December 2017
• Volume 11 , pages 183–193, ( 2018 )

Cite this article

You have full access to this open access article

• Ingmar Persson 1 , 2 &
• Julian Savulescu   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-1691-6403 2  

13k Accesses

30 Citations

19 Altmetric

Explore all metrics

This is a reply to Jesse Prinz and Paul Bloom’s skepticism about the moral importance of empathy. It concedes that empathy is spontaneously biased to individuals who are spatio-temporally close, as well as discriminatory in other ways, and incapable of accommodating large numbers of individuals. But it is argued that we could partly correct these shortcomings of empathy by a guidance of reason because empathy for others consists in imagining what they feel, and, importantly, such acts of imagination can be voluntary – and, thus, under the influence of reflection – as well as automatic . Since empathizing with others motivates concern for their welfare, a reflectively justified empathy will lead to a likewise justified altruistic concern. In addition, we argue that such concern supports another central moral attitude, namely a sense of justice or fairness.

Similar content being viewed by others

Identity Theory

Principlism

Representationalism and rationality: why mental representation is real

Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.

What Empathy Is and the Case Against its Moral Importance

It has generally been taken for granted that empathy is important for morality, so it was to be expected that this assumption would eventually be challenged. Paul Bloom’s Against Empathy [ 1 ] is a full-scale challenge; Jesse Prinz makes a similar, smaller scale challenge in Is Empathy Necessary for Morality [ 2 ] and Against Empathy [ 3 ]. We will argue that empathy can have an essential role to play in moral motivation, but then it needs to be harshly disciplined by other factors – in particular, reasoning – to play its role properly.

To begin with, what is empathy? Bloom understands it to be ‘the act of feeling what you believe other people feel – experiencing what they experience’ [ 1 , p.3]. Prinz’ conception is similar: ‘it’s feeling what one takes another person to be feeling’ [ 2 , p.212]. Bloom distinguishes empathy from cognitive empathy [ 1 , p.17], sympathy and pity [ 1 , p.40], and compassion and concern [ 1 , pp.40–1]. For instance, ‘if I understand that you are feeling pain without feeling it myself’ [ 1 , p.17], this is cognitive empathy. Cognitive empathy is ‘morally neutral’ [ 1 , p.38]: people who are morally good share it with ‘successful con men, seducers, and torturers’ [ 1 , p.37]. So, Bloom seems to think – correctly, to our minds – that cognitive empathy is not enough to motivate moral behaviour, whereas empathy in the proper sense – ‘emotional empathy’ – can be. Indeed, what he sees as defects of empathy implies that it is a motivator. He objects that:

it is a spotlight focusing on certain people in the here and now. This makes us care more about them, but it leaves us insensitive to the long-term consequences of our acts and blind as well to the suffering of those we do not or cannot empathize with. Empathy is biased, pushing us in the direction of parochialism and racism. It is shortsighted, motivating actions that might make things better in the short term but lead to tragic results in the future. It is innumerate, favoring the one over the many. It can spark violence; our empathy for those close to us is a powerful force for war and atrocity toward others. [ 1 , p.9].

These critical remarks imply that empathy motivates; Bloom’s point is that empathy often motivates us in ways that are morally objectionable. Thus, ‘empathy is not sufficient to guide moral action’ [ 1 , p.191], but it is not disputed that it is a motivating factor, that it could make us ‘care’ about others.

Empathy, then, is not a reliable guide to moral action because it is directed first and foremost at people (bracketing other sentient beings for present purposes) we know well or who are present before our eyes – those who are ‘spatially near’ – at the expense of those who are strangers to us, or beyond the reach of our senses. With respect to people who are spatially near – including ourselves – it is especially focussed on how they will fare in the more immediate future. That is, its focus is on what is temporally near as well as spatially near. Furthermore, even among people who are present to our senses, some may not easily be the target of our empathy because they are different from us in some conspicuous ways: their skin colour is different, they are deformed, dirty, etc. – that is, empathy is discriminatory. Finally, empathy is ‘innumerate’: we cannot empathize with groups of people in proportion to their number. The larger the group, the more of a drawback this limitation is.

Prinz voices similar objections to empathy: it ‘may lead to preferential treatment’, ‘may be subject to unfortunate biases, including the cuteness effects’, ‘is prone to in-group biases’,‘is subject to proximity effects’, and so on [ 2 , p.226]; cf. [ 3 , pp.227–30]. Yet he adds to the list of accusations that ‘empathy is not very motivating’ [ 2 , p.225]. But this is hard to square with what he says to support his other accusations. As regards preferential treatment, he reports that when subjects had been presented with a vignette about a woman awaiting medical treatment, ‘they overwhelmingly elected to move her up at the expense of those in greater need’ [ 2 , p.226]; cf. [ 3 , p.228] who were anonymous to them. And as regards in-group biases, he refers to some studies that have ‘found that empathy leads to helping only when the person in need is a member of the in-group’ [ 2 , p.226]. But then empathy does after all motivate us to favour or help some. Thus, the more plausible moral objection to empathy is not that it is not motivating, but that it often leads us morally astray because it is motivating.

Bloom does not have that much to say much about the attitudes of sympathy, pity, compassion and concern to which he is more favourably disposed than empathy (as Prinz is to concern, [ 3 , pp.230–1]). He writes that ‘ sympathy and pity are about your reaction to the feelings of others, not the mirroring of them… If you feel bad for someone in pain, that’s sympathy, but if you feel their pain, that’s empathy’ [ 1 , p.40]. We believe the same holds for compassion: it is the emotion of feeling sad or unhappy because you believe that someone else is suffering or is having a hard time. By contrast, we regard being concerned about others, or their welfare, as a desire that things go well for them for their own sake. To be concerned about someone in this sense is to adopt an attitude of benevolence or altruism towards them. If you have the power to see to it that things go well for those towards whom you have adopted this attitude, you need not be put in a position in which it is proper to feel sympathy, pity or compassion for them, that is, to feel bad or sad because things are not going well for them.

Bloom insists that concern and compassion do not require empathy [ 1 , p.41]. This allegedly makes them ‘more diffuse than empathy’; as a result, it is ‘weird to talk about having empathy for the millions of victims of malaria, say, but perfectly normal to say that you are concerned about them or feel compassion for them’ [ 1 , pp.40–1]. Thus, on his view, concern and compassion are not innumerate as is empathy, and exposed to criticism on this score. Due to the fact that compassion, like pity and sympathy, are in place only if the subjects they target are faring badly in some way, we will concentrate on the attitude of benevolent or altruistic concern and ask what motivational role empathy does or could play in relation to this attitude, that is, for a desire that others fare well for their own sake – though we may in fact empathize more frequently with others when in fact they do not fare well. Footnote 1

But more needs to be said about what empathy is – or rather what it will here be taken to be. It is not actually feeling what you believe others to be feeling, as Bloom and Prinz would have it. For instance, when you empathize with somebody whom you believe to be feeling physical pain, e.g. because they have hit their thumb with a hammer, you do not feel physical pain; instead, you more or less vividly imagine feeling a pain like the one you believe they are feeling. You imagine what it is like to be them, feeling what they do. Notice that it is not imagining that you yourself are feeling what you believe they are feeling (which is what e.g. Smith usually takes sympathy to involve); it is imagining being them , feeling as they are believed to be feeling. Footnote 2 However, it would be too strict to demand that empathizing with someone requires succeeding in imagining feeling something which is quite similar to what this individual is in fact feeling. You may be said to empathize with someone when you imagine feeling as you believe they do, though your belief is only very roughly right. Nonetheless, empathizing requires imagining having the right kind of feeling: for instance, you cannot be said to be empathizing with somebody if you imagine being glad when that individual is in fact sad.

According to this conception of empathy, it is a mistake to talk about feeling empathy, emotional empathy, or empathic feelings , as Bloom and Prinz do. This is a respect in which empathizing with someone’s feelings differs from what is often called emotional contagion : for example, if you are surrounded by sad people, this is likely to make you sad, while if you are met with smiles, this liable to put you in a good mood. In these cases, you are actually feeling the emotions that others are having, not imagining feeling them. Bloom notes that emotional contagion is ‘not quite the same as’ empathy [ 1 , p.40], but he fails to see this salient difference. Prinz’s claim is more explicitly inconsistent with the present understanding of ‘empathy: ‘empathy in its simplest form is just emotional contagion’ [ 2 , p.212].

Anyway, empathizing with somebody, as we conceive it, is imagining feeling how this individual is feeling, especially in ways that are good or bad for him or her. Footnote 3 Admittedly, the term ‘empathy’ is often used in other ways, and this accounts for the fact that it may seem odd to say, e.g. that Schadenfreude or malice involves empathy. But to our minds, there are other terms, like ‘sympathy’, which are better suited to designate what is at issue here (or a technical term like ‘emotional empathy’ may be introduced).

Some of Bloom’s arguments against empathy trade on the failure to separate it clearly from emotional contagion. He correctly points out that we might find ourselves sad without realizing that this is the result of the sadness of others having infected us. Then we will not be motivated to do anything to relieve their sadness: ‘Without an appreciation of the source of one’s suffering, the shared feeling is inert’ [ 1 , p.173]. But we cannot intelligibly empathize with someone’s sadness without realizing that the sadness we imagine feeling is the sort of sadness that we believe this individual to be feeling because it is imagining feeling a sort of sadness precisely for the reason that it is the sort we believe this individual to be feeling. Thus, empathy cannot be motivationally inert because it lacks a target in the sense described by Bloom.

At some points, Bloom’s misconception of empathy as comprising actual feelings appears to mislead him to overlook the involvement of empathy in concern. He writes: ‘you see the victim’s face contorted in anguish, but you don’t see anguish in the consolers, just concern’ [ 1 , p.175]. However, in so far as the consolers empathize they do not feel anguish, but imagine feeling it, and it should not be expected that imagined anguish needs to show up in the face in the same fashion as genuine anguish does. If this imagined feeling motivates concern, it is precisely concern that we should expect to see in the face of an empathizer, not anguish.

Spontaneous Empathy and Voluntary, Reflective Empathy

We have seen that cognitive empathy is not sufficient to make us concerned: if we acquire a belief that somebody is suffering on the basis of a verbal report, we might not be the least motivated to relieve the suffering. On the other hand, empathy with sufferers does motivate us to relieve the suffering. It has already been observed that if that were not so, Prinz and Bloom’s case against empathy to the effect that it is a poor guide to moral action, since it is biased and innumerate, would be undercut. So, let us proceed on the plausible assumption that it does motivate. Footnote 4

It is true that, as Bloom maintains, we ‘cannot empathize with more than one or two people at the same time’ [ 1 , p.33]; cf. [ 2 , p.229]. It also true that we find it harder to empathize with people who are different from us in conspicuous ways, such as having a different skin colour, or who repel us by being deformed, dirty, etc., and that this is likely to lead to discrimination, or exclusion of individuals from concern on morally unjustifiable grounds. Empathy is also biased towards the near future in the sense that we empathize more readily with the suffering that individuals – ourselves included – will feel in the near than in the more distant future. These are reasons why Bloom – rightly – thinks that ‘empathy is a terrible guide to moral judgment’ [ 1 , p.45].

On the other hand, he admits that ‘it can be strategically used to motivate people to do good things’ [ 1 , p.45]. (In this respect, he appears more conciliatory than Prinz, as will be seen below.) The question then arises whether it is not a better strategy to try to discipline empathy than try to do without it. The latter seems to be what Bloom recommends when he claims that ‘on balance, we are better off without it’ [ 1 , p.39]; similarly, Prinz hopes for ‘the extirpation of empathy’ [ 3 , p.228]. This is primarily where we part company. The risk is that without empathy we would not be concerned with anyone’s well-being, not even our own beyond the present moment. As has been seen, Bloom believes that such concern does not require empathy, but he concedes that cognitive empathy is not sufficient for concern when he writes that people who lack concern can have it, e.g. con men, torturers, and psychopaths. What, then, could fill the slack left by cognitive empathy? Bloom does not seem to answer this question.

His appeal to compassion and concern are unhelpful because they are biased and innumerate just like empathy: we feel more compassion and concern for suffering that is close in time, for people who we know well and who have been friendly towards us, and for single identifiable individuals than for masses of anonymous people. A readily available explanation of this fact is that empathy is the motivational source of these attitudes.

Empathy with someone is capable of motivating because it is imagining what it is like for this individual to have a (positive or negative) sensory or affective experience, and this consists in having an ‘image’ or, better, a sensuous representation of the experience which is similar or isomorphic to the experience and derived from having this kind of experience oneself. Thus, as Bloom notes [ 1 , pp.147–9], in order to be able to empathize adequately with somebody who is feeling pain, say, it is necessary to have felt a similar pain yourself – so, those rare individuals who are congenitally insensitive to pain cannot empathize with those who are exposed to pain. Since having pain motivates you to try to rid yourself of it, it would not be surprising if imagining somebody having the pain that you believe this individual to have could motivate you to try to rid them of it, given that the imagined pain is similar to an actually felt pain. The evolutionary explanation of why we so readily imagine feeling a pain we think we will ourselves suffer if we do not take action is surely that this will motivate us to take action to avoid the pain. Then, provided it could serve our reproductive fitness, we should expect that the same device is put to use in the case of others, so that imagining someone else having a pain could also motivate action to save them from the pain, as both commonsensical experience and experimental evidence indicate. But since the imagined pain is not as vivid or forceful as a felt pain (unless it is hallucinatory), it will not motivate to the same degree (cf. [ 4 , p.764]).

If you had been hooked up to someone else’s nervous system by something functioning like afferent pathways, so you actually felt the pain this individual feels in his or her body, you would be more strongly motivated to eliminate it, probably as strongly motivated as this individual. But then you could not empathize with the pain this individual is feeling for the same reason that you cannot empathize with the pain that you are now feeling in your own body. The reason is that you cannot imagine feeling a pain that you are actually feeling; the actual feeling so to speak overshadows any imagined feeling. It follows from this that Prinz is right when he points out [ 2 , p.214]; [ 3 , p.219] that empathy cannot be necessary for each and every moral attitude that we could adopt, e.g. the indignation that we may feel because of the pain we are now suffering unjustly.

When you attribute the pain you imagine to someone else, it is their pain you will seek to relieve in the first instance. At a pre-linguistic stage, the belief that another is in pain would have to be expressed in a medium of sensuous representation; so there would then be no distinction between so-called cognitive empathy and empathy in our terminology. You would be moved to some extent to relieve the pain you imagine the other to be having. But if you cannot relieve the pain of the other, you may resort to relieving only the pain you imagine and, thereby, the pity you feel. As Bloom mentions [ 1 , pp.74–5], if you empathize with the pain of somebody writhing in front of your eyes, and find that you can do nothing to remove the pain of this individual, you may resort to changing your location so that this individual is no longer within sight. For if you can no longer see this individual, your empathy is liable to subside and, thereby, your desire that the victim’s pain be relieved, alongside the pity and frustration that you will feel because this desire cannot be satisfied.

If the account of empathy given here is correct, is it possible to ‘exploit people’s empathy for good causes’ [ 1 , p.49], by trying to give it better direction? Such a strategy would seem preferable to the strategy of removing empathy that would risk leaving us motivationally dry and unconcerned about the weal and woe of our future selves and others. According to the account given here, we are capable of modifying the direction of empathy because it is not only true that we spontaneously or automatically imagine having sensory experiences we believe that others undergo or that we might undergo in the future; we can also do this voluntarily or at will . Footnote 5

To take a simple case involving only yourself: if you are told that you will probably feel acute pain later today, you will immediately be seriously concerned, think desperately about ways of escaping this pain, and feel fear it cannot be avoided. This is because you automatically empathize with yourself later today, i.e. you automatically imagine feeling the pain you believe that you might feel shortly. Footnote 6 By contrast, your automatically imagining the acute pain you hear that you might suffer next year will be much more fleeting and perfunctory, if it occurs at all. But your reason could inform you that your pain next year will one day be just as real and unbearable as your pain later today, and this may induce you to imagine voluntarily feeling next year’s pain if this could help motivate you to find ways of avoiding it. If this imagining is done with some persistence, it will most likely increase your concern about feeling this pain, though it is unlikely to become as great as your concern about the pain later today, since the outcome of your act of voluntary imagination will probably be less vivid or detailed. True, a voluntary act of imagination presupposes that you are motivated to perform it, but the deliverance of your reason along with your automatic empathy, though perfunctory, may be enough to supply this amount of motivation which could inflate itself by means of a voluntary act of imagination.

Thus, we can counteract our bias towards the near future in matters concerning ourselves, though we are unlikely to overcome it completely. More often than we would like, it will continue to make us act in ways that we recognize as weak-willed and irrational. But although it would now often be better for us to be able to rise above this bias, it has probably served us well in the past before the rational powers of our species developed to anything like the present extent because the situations that it is most pressing to deal with are as a rule those in the nearer future.

Similarly, from an evolutionary point of view it is not hard understand why our empathy with others is spontaneously selective. Spontaneously, we empathize with individuals who we know well and with whom we have cooperated advantageously, like our kin and people in our community, and not with strangers who might be treacherous or hostile for all we know. This makes evolutionary sense if benevolent or altruistic concern rides on the back of empathy because then we shall be concerned about people in our own tribe and unconcerned about outsiders, and this is likely to make our own tribe successful in the struggle for resources with these outsiders.

But although we do not spontaneously empathize with some individuals for such reasons and, therefore, have little or no concern for them, our intellect can tell us that some or all of the indicated exclusionary reasons are not sound reasons to think that the suffering of these individuals is morally less bad. Suppose that we are repelled by some people because they are deformed or dirty and therefore do not take time to empathize with their suffering. Then, on reflection, we could realize that these features are not anything for which they are responsible and which makes their suffering morally less important. This gives us reason to make a voluntary effort to imagine vividly the suffering of these individuals, despite their unappealing features. As a result, we will be more concerned about their suffering, though probably not as much concerned as we are about the suffering of those whom we find congenial, and with whom we automatically empathize.

Consequently, by means of our power of reasoning, we can expand the range of our empathy, and thereby our benevolent concern, to other individuals and further into the future, and make these attitudes less discriminatory. We can also extend our empathy to a greater number of people, by voluntarily imagining the suffering of a single, arbitrary individual from a large group and telling ourselves that the suffering of each individual of the group is as real and morally bad as is the suffering of this individual and, thus, that our concern for the sufferings of the entire group should be proportionally greater. This is likely to make our concern for the collective suffering significantly greater than our concern for a single individual’s suffering, though hardly as great as it ideally should be.

In sum, by means of our reason we can counteract the fact that our empathy is spatio-temporally biased, unjustifiably discriminatory, and innumerate, and develop a more reflective empathy, though we would be hard put to overcome completely these shortcomings of our spontaneous empathy. Such a reflective empathy would motivate a correspondingly more reflective and justifiable altruistic concern, as well as greater, more rational prudential concern for our future selves. In other words, we are capable of a sort of motivational bootstrapping: we find ourselves concerned about others because we automatically empathize with them to some degree, and this concern could motivate us to reflect on the unjustifiability of the grounds that tend to eclipse our automatic empathy for these individuals, and modify our concern for them in ways we see as rationally justified by voluntarily imagining more vividly what it is like to be them. By this procedure we could surmount obstacles that evolutionary programming has put in the path of our empathy and benevolent concern. This is clearly a superior strategy to trying to divest ourselves of empathy because it is misdirected or restrictive, and thereby risk divesting ourselves of concern for others.

As already indicated, the point can also be made in terms of prudential concern for our own more distant future. It would be a poor strategy to give up empathizing with our possible suffering in the distant future, say from lung cancer from smoking cigarettes. Rather, we should develop a more reflective empathy which extends further into our future, by heeding our reason’s advice to imagine more distant suffering as vividly as we spontaneously imagine suffering that is closer in time. This strategy is more likely to generate motivation to give up smoking now than refraining from such a voluntary direction of imagination.

Empathy, Justice and Anger

Some grounds for excluding individuals from, or pushing them to the periphery of, empathy and concern are however warranted. Bloom notes that ‘you feel more empathy for someone who treats you fairly than for someone who cheats you’ [ 1 , p.68]. We put this down to our being equipped with a sense of justice or fairness . This sense expresses itself not only in our making judgments about what is (un)just or (un)fair, but also in our being motivated to some extent to rectify what we judge to be unjust or unfair.

Like many other animals, we practice the tit-for-tat strategy which consists in responding in the same coin: being angry at and inclined to punish those who harm us, or those close to us, and being grateful and inclined to reward those who benefit us, or those close to us. From an evolutionary point of view, it is not hard to comprehend why we abide by this strategy. But in contrast to (most) other animals, we have the power to contemplate whether our spontaneous angry or grateful reactions are justifiable. The upshot of this contemplation may be that after all an angry and punitive response would not be just or justifiable because, say, the harm inflicted on us was accidental or unavoidable, or that it was inflicted in order to protect somebody else from much greater harm. So, reason may command us to hold back our spontaneous angry and punitive responses.

We may however fail to comply with this command if we empathize strongly with the victims of the harmful act but not at all with its perpetrator. Indeed, such biased empathy might even get in the way of our making reasonable judgments about what is justifiable. We might be so incensed by the fact that we have been harmed that we overlook that the infliction of the harm was unavoidable or justifiable, just as we might be unable to control our temper and retaliate, though we realize that it is unjustifiable. This is of course less likely to happen if we empathize not only with the victims of a harmful act but also with its agent.

Although Bloom concedes that ‘empathy can serve as the brakes’ on aggression and violence for such reasons, he argues that ‘it’s just as often the gas ’ [ 1 , p.188]: ‘the empathy one feels toward an individual can fuel anger toward those who are cruel to that individual’ [ 1 , p.208]. But it is not empathy with the cruelly treated victim that triggers the aggression toward the offender; it is our adherence to the tit-for-tat strategy that drives us to punish agents who are cruel to those we care about. Certainly, if we empathize with victims – but not with the aggressors – this will amplify our aggression, but it is not empathy, or its absence, that makes us angry at aggressors. If it is claimed that it is such an amplification of anger beyond reason that is what makes empathy undesirable in this connection, it should be retorted that it offers the compensating good of serving as a brake on our anger if we direct it at the aggressors. Surely, this is not what you expect of something that is properly characterized as ‘a powerful force for war and atrocity’ [ 1 , p.9].

In any case, it is doubtful that the removal of empathy is a recommendable remedy (were it feasible). Although our sense of justice by itself motivates us to do what we judge to be just, the risk is that this motivation will be so weak in many of us that we will do little to rectify instances of injustice. For when we attempt to punish offenders, or extract compensation from them, we usually have to stick our necks out, and we are disinclined to do so for people we do not care about. Likewise, we are also likely to incur costs should we reward those who have acted justly. Benefiting people who are unfairly worse off or in greater need than others when this is simply the result of bad luck and not the wrong-doing of any moral agents is of course also costly. A better strategy than removal of empathy would seem to be to involve empathizing with those at the receiving end of unfair acts and misfortunes, but balancing it with a reasonable amount of empathy for possible offenders.

The importance of empathy as a brake on unjustified aggression and violence may be even clearer in the case of psychopaths. Bloom’s conclusion about them is: ‘They do tend to be low in empathy. But there is no evidence that this lack of empathy is responsible for their bad behavior’ [ 1 , p.201]. Here it is important to bear in mind that empathy has a function to fill not only with respect to others, but with respect to our own future as well. Psychopaths are characteristically unconcerned not only about other individuals, but about their own long-term future (and past), too. Hence, their ‘lack of realistic long-term goals’, their ‘impulsivity’ and ‘irresponsibility’ [ 1 , p.198]; their being ‘relatively indifferent to punishment’ and ‘unmoved by love withdrawal’, as mentioned by Prinz [ 1 , p.218]; cf. [ 3 , p.222]. Now suppose – as seems true – that psychopaths are also prone to aggression and excessive vanity. It is obvious that such people could easily be driven to crime and other immoral behaviour to gain short-term profits because neither concern for others nor fear of punishment and social condemnation of themselves will hold them back.

Like the instinctive grounds for excluding people from empathy and altruistic concern, the instinctive grounds for how justice requires people to be treated are then subject to revision in light of reason. These grounds seem partly to overlap. For instance, earlier on in human history the fact that some people were deformed or disabled appears to have been regarded not only as a ground for excluding them from empathy and concern but, even more absurdly, as grounds making it just (deserving, fitting etc.) that they be worse off than others.

Prinz considers the possibility ‘to overcome the selective nature of empathy by devising a way to make us empathize with a broader range of people’ [ 2 , p.228], but rejects it because he thinks that empathy is ‘intrinsically biased’ [ 3 , p.229]. Instead, he favours a ‘less demanding’ alternative which dispenses with empathy. This alternative appeals, in the negative case, only to feelings of disapprobation like anger and guilt, and types of action that evoke them:

If we focus our moral judgments on types of actions (stealing, torture, rape, etc.) and make an effort not to reflect on the specific victims, we may be able to achieve a kind of impartiality… any focus on the victim of a transgression should be avoided, because of a potential bias. [ 2 , p.228]; [ 3 , p.220]

The emotions of disapprobation are more powerful motivators of moral action than empathy, according to him. And ‘anger can be conditioned through imitation. If we express our outrage at injustice, our children will feel outrage at injustice’ [ 2 , p.229]. Sure, but children can be taught to feel outrage at types of actions that many of us would not nowadays regard as morally wrong, such as working on Sundays or consensual homosexual acts between adults. To explain why such acts are not morally wrong while others are, it seems that we would have to refer to the fact that they do not harm or make anyone unjustly worse off, whereas morally wrongful acts do. But then it can be objected, again, that it seems that the realization that some individuals have been unjustly harmed will elicit little, if any, anger or indignation if we are unconcerned about those harmed and that we are likely to be unconcerned about them if we have never empathized with them. Prinz recognizes that we need ‘a keen sense that human suffering is outrageous’ [ 2 , p.229], but can we develop such a sense if we strive for an impartiality that ‘involves bracketing off thoughts about victims’ [ 2 , p.229]? And what about cases in which human suffering is due to bad luck which does not involve any moral wrongdoing, like instances of congenital disabilities and natural disasters? In such cases, emotions like anger, indignation and outrage are out of place or irrational.

Additionally, anger can be as at least biased and immoral as empathy, say, the anger you feel at your opponent because you have lost a game, though you realize that the game was perfectly fair, and you entered into it voluntarily. Prinz is on firmer ground when he speaks about outrage and indignation, since these emotions seem to be anger which you believe to be morally justified. But because of the excessiveness of your self-concern, these emotions can still be overblown when you yourself are the victim of immoral behaviour.

Whether Empathy Is Necessary for Moral Concern, or could Block it

So much about exploiting empathy for good purposes. It might be objected, however, that in order to act out of concern, we evidently do not need to empathize. For instance, we might grab a pedestrian to prevent him or her from stepping out in front of a bus, without having had time to do any empathizing. True, but this may be because we have acquired a habit of acting in such ways because we have often in the past empathized with people in similar circumstances and, thereby, acquired a standing motivation to help them out. Thus, empathy may be necessary to make us concerned about others to start with, without subsequently being necessary for action out of concern on each and every occasion. Footnote 7

In the case of the pedestrian, there are no competing interests. But when there is such competition, one party often claims our spontaneous concern at the expense of others. Then our voluntarily directed, reflective empathy should step in to rectify matters. Consequently, the fact that we have developed standing desires that enable us to do the right thing on many occasions does not mean that engaging in empathy has been rendered redundant. Sooner or later spontaneous, selective empathy will assert itself, and the combat against its distortions must be resumed.

Prinz relates studies that show that people who found a dime in a phone booth are much more likely to help a passerby who has dropped some papers than people who did not find a dime. He concludes that a ‘small dose of happiness seems to promote considerable altruism’ [ 2 , p.220]. Certainly, a standing disposition to be of assistance is more likely to manifest itself if we are happy. When we feel that things are going well for ourselves, we are more bent on making efforts to assist those who are less fortunate and imaginatively to put ourselves in their shoes. Prinz thinks that this imaginative act could reduce the inclination to help because the ‘vicarious distress’ he sees empathy as involving ‘presumably has a negative correlation with positive happiness’ [ 2 , p.220]. But here it should be remembered, first, that empathy with the distressed does not involve actually feeling distress, but imagining feeling the distress others are believed to be feeling, which is less of a negative experience. Secondly, if we can do something to help the distressed, we may end up actually feeling satisfied.

Prinz also affirms that guilt ‘is a great motivator’ on the ground that subjects were much more disposed ‘to make some fund-raising calls for a charity organization after they administered shocks to an innocent person’ [ 2 , p.221]. But the fact that we are inclined to make up for an immoral act we believe we have committed by doing good is an expression of our sense of justice, and has been seen this does not rule out being motivated by empathy as well.

There is however something backward about Prinz’ conception of guilt as a motivator. He claims: ‘If we anticipate that an action will make us feel guilty, we will thereby be inclined to avoid the action’ [ 2 , p.219]. However, if an act makes us feel guilty, we must take it to be wrong. Now he also maintains: ‘A person who judges that stealing is wrong, for example, will be motivated to resist the urge to steal’ [ 2 , p.219]. It follows that if we anticipate that an act will make us feel guilty once we have committed it, we already conceive of it as wrong – since our committing it does not make it wrong – and, hence, we will already ‘be motivated to resist the urge’ to commit it, independently of the guilt we would feel were we to commit it.

It should be stressed, however, that empathy is not an end in itself; it is emphatically not the case that the more we empathize, the better. Voluntarily empathizing is a means to boost motivation to assist those in need, to enhance concern for them. But, as Bloom points out [ 1 , pp.133–46], people can empathize too much, so much that it can be harmful both to themselves and to those in need of their help. It can ‘burn out’ empathizers, make them depressed and emotionally exhausted. This is not surprising: after all, imagining feeling suffering is an unpleasant experience in itself, though not as unpleasant as actually feeling the suffering imagined. And it is not hard to understand how, say, doctors who are absorbed by acts of imagining the suffering of their patients might be overwhelmed and paralyzed by what they imagine and unable to help their patients effectively.

But conceding that empathy can be excessive, that there can be too much of it, is not conceding that it is redundant, that there cannot be too little of it. In moderate measures it may be an efficient means of enhancing flagging concern. A Buddhist scholar quoted by Bloom states the appropriate recipe thus: ‘meditation-based training enables practitioners to move quickly from feeling the distress of others to acting with compassion to alleviate it’ ([ 1 , p.141], emphasis added). Footnote 8 Bloom himself says essentially the same: ‘we know that feeling empathy for another makes you more likely to help them’, though ‘too much empathy can be paralyzing’ [ 1 , pp.155–6]. However, even if we do not get caught up in excessive empathy, but use it wisely to quicken our benevolent concern, it should be observed that we run the risk of being burnt out: for those who are greatly concerned to relieve the suffering in a world so full of misery as this one, awareness of the fact that, even if they were to comply with a very demanding morality, they could at best only relieve a tiny fraction of it could well be crushing. But the fact that a state of mind is crushing does not count against it being the state of a morally enlightened person, at least not as long as this is not allowed to prevent complying with moral demands. In itself, the contentment of a moral agent is not an objective of morality.

It could be desirable to enhance our capacity for empathy and concern by drugs, like oxytocin etc. if the discomfort this would cause us would be outweighed by the greater amount of good we would thereby accomplish. It might be asked whether these drugs work by making us more disposed to empathize, or be more motivated by the outcome of our empathizing. But these aspects are not easily separable, since if we become more disposed to engage in acts of imagination, these acts will be more protracted, and their content more vivid or detailed and, thus, it will have greater motivational impact. However that may be, such enhancement cannot render a reflective direction of imagination superfluous.

Conclusion: Better to Reform Empathy than Remove it

All in all, the picture that emerges is this. We have beliefs about how other individuals feel and how we can help them to feel better. There is both a set of properties such that: (1) if we believe individuals have any of these properties, this facilitates spontaneous empathy with these individuals, i.e. disposes us to imagine spontaneously how they feel, and (2) a set of properties such that if we believe that individuals have any of them, this hinders spontaneous empathy with them. In the former case, we will be spontaneously concerned about the well-being of these individuals; in the latter case, it will take voluntary reflection to empathize and be concerned about the individuals in question. We are also in possession of a sense of justice or fairness which not only animates us to benefit those whom justice requires to be benefited, but also to harm those whom justice requires be harmed. If, however, we do not empathize with individuals who should be benefited, or have been harmed, we will often not be sufficiently motivated to rectify injustices inflicted on them. Similarly, the incentive to punish is reduced if we empathize with those who have unjustly harmed.

Because we are equipped with a power to scrutinize the rationality of our responses, we might realize that some of the properties that we unthinkingly use to exclude individuals from our spontaneous concern do not in fact justify such exclusion. This would provide us with reason voluntarily to imagine more vividly the feelings of these individuals who have previously received little empathy from us and, as a result, be more concerned about their welfare, though presumably not as much as we are concerned about those with whom we spontaneously emphasize. Still, we should be wary not to employ voluntary empathy excessively, so that it gets in the way of acting out of concern.

This is basically in agreement with a picture we have earlier put forward [ 5 ]. We then suggested that there are two ‘core moral dispositions’ [ 5 , p.108], altruism and a sense of justice. They seem to be biologically based in part and, therefore, in principle open to enhancement by biomedical means. But we pointed out that such enhancement is not sufficient because our spontaneous altruistic concern is subject to various distortions, like the bias towards the near future [ 5 , pp.27–8], innumerateness or insensitivity to numbers [ 5 , p.30]), and in-group bias [ 5 , pp.119–20]. None of these considerations stands up to rational scrutiny. This realization is liable to change the pattern of our spontaneous concern, but our sense of justice is in even greater need of reflective refinement. It comprises a disposition to do what we think is just or fair. But what is just or fair is a topic of heated philosophical controversy, whether it is a matter of getting what we deserve, or something more egalitarian, etc. Footnote 9

Bloom writes that he has ‘been arguing throughout this book that fair and moral and ultimately beneficial policies are best devised without empathy’ [ 1 , p.207]. It might indeed be true that such policies are best devised without empathy, but it is doubtful whether we can be best motivated to act in accordance with them without empathy. Consider again a simpler situation in the realm of prudence. If we have to devise a general policy for possible future circumstances in which we have to choose between a smaller, but still acute, pain the same day and a significantly bigger pain a week later, it is easy to tell what the best policy is: to opt for the smaller pain the same day. The hard bit is to stick to this policy when the smaller pain will occur later today. To avoid backsliding we then have to counteract our spontaneous empathy with ourselves in the imminent future by voluntarily imagining what it will be like for us to suffer the greater pain a week later. We shall most probably never succeed in voluntarily directing our empathy to the extent that we become temporally neutral and care as much about the more remote as the closer future. But it is still better to have such an imperfectly reformed empathy than being without all empathy, spontaneous as well as reflective.

Bloom seems to concede something like this when, in speculating about how he would genetically engineer a child, he writes that he would be wary of removing empathy, but ‘would ensure that it could be modified, shaped, directed, and overriden by rational deliberation’ [ 1 , p.212]. This would be what we have called reflective empathy. Since he thinks that this child should be equipped with empathy, he must think it can do some good. His case against empathy must then rest on it being impossible in fact to modify it to the extent that its existence is better than its non-existence. Granted, empathy cannot be modified to the extent that it perfectly concords with the deliverances of rational deliberation, but it can be sufficiently reshaped that we are better off with it than without it, since in the latter case it seems that we would risk being totally unmotivated by any mental states beyond those of ourselves in the present.

Bloom concludes about empathy: ‘its negatives outweigh its positives – and there are better alternatives [ 1 , p.241]. The present conclusion is to the contrary that it is the positives that outweigh the negatives, and that there is no better alternative to empathy. Bloom seems to have reason in mind, but reason is not an alternative to empathy: it needs empathy as a motivator, and empathy needs reason for its motivational force to be properly directed and encompassing. Compassion and concern on which he places higher value than empathy are no more reliable as moral compasses. They, too, are biased and parochial, underpinned as they are by empathy, and in need of supervision by reason. Footnote 10

Concurring with Adam Smith that, in contrast to ‘pity’ and ‘compassion’, ‘sympathy’ may ‘without much impropriety, be made use of to denote our fellow-feeling with any passion whatever’ p765 [ 4 ], we have earlier employed the term ‘sympathetic concern’ (e.g. p109 [ 5 ]).

Cf. Coplan’s distinction between self-oriented and other-oriented perspective-taking pp9–15 [ 6 ].

Thus, empathizing is not imagining having any experience, as Bloom’s claim that it is ‘experiencing what they experience’ p3 [ 1 ] could suggest. If, say, we imagine seeing what others are seeing from their points of view, this does not qualify as empathy because it is not any feeling that is imagined. Additionally, it is odd to talk about empathizing with somebody who is feeling warm or surprised when these feelings are neither positive nor negative.

Experimental evidence for this hypothesis is summarized e.g. in Batson [ 7 ].

This is a reason why it is important not to confuse empathy with emotional contagion: we cannot directly infect ourselves with emotions at will.

Prinz claims: ‘Imagination sounds like a kind of mental act that requires effort on the part of the imaginer’ p212 [ 2 ]. But, as for instance Hume stressed, if we have regularly experienced one type of event being succeeded by another type of event, experiencing the first is likely to make us automatically imagine experiencing the other, especially if it is pleasant or unpleasant.

Here surfaces a difference between concern, on the one hand, and sympathy, pity and compassion, on the other, for although we might say that your act expressed concern for the well-being of the pedestrian, we would scarcely say that you felt sympathy, pity or compassion for the pedestrian. These emotions do seem to involve empathy on each and every occasion.

For a survey of the ancient Buddhist tradition of cultivating empathy, see McRae [ 8 ]. In this tradition, ‘empathy as imaginative projection’ ‘is assumed to be highly trainable’, ‘vastly under-utilitized’ p124 [ 8 ], and also that it ‘will stimulate compassion’ p125 [ 8 ]. That is to say, virtually what we argue.

Followers of Hume and Smith, like e.g. Kaupinnen [ 9 ], who believe that empathy is involved in moral judgment also contend that it can be regulated, but their view is different, and more contentious, than ours in at least two respects. First, we explore the role of empathy in one species of moral motivation , not its role in the making of moral judgments , let alone all kinds of moral judgments. In addition, Kaupinnen thinks that for his purpose empathy as regards reactive attitudes like resentment and gratitude is more central than empathy as regards concern for the well-being of others. Secondly, these theorists propose regulation by reference to an ideal perspective , which goes beyond the regulation we have here considered.

Many thanks to the reviewers and editor for valuable comments on an earlier version of this paper.

Bloom, Paul. 2016. Against empathy . London: Bodley Head.

Google Scholar  

Prinz, Jesse. 2011. Is empathy necessary for morality? In Empathy , ed. Amy Coplan and Peter Goldie, 211–229. Oxford: Oxford U. P.

Prinz, Jesse. 2011. ‘Against Empathy’, Southern Journal of Philosophy , 49, Spindel Suppl., 214–33.

Smith, Adam. 1790. The theory of moral sentiments. In British moralists 1650–1800, II, ed. D. D. Raphael, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1969.

Persson, Ingmar, and Julian Savulescu. 2012. Unfit for the future . Oxford: Oxford U. P.

Book   Google Scholar  

Coplan, Amy. 2011. Understanding empathy: Its features and effect. In Empathy , ed. Amy Coplan and Peter Goldie, 3–18. Oxford: Oxford U. P.

Batson, C. Daniel. 2012. The empathy-altruism hypothesis: Issues and implications. In Empathy: From bench to bedside , ed. Jean Decety, 41–54. Cambridge: The MIT Press.

McRae, Emily. 2017. Empathy, compassion, and “exchanging self and other” in indo-Tibetan Buddhism. In The Routledge handbook of the philosophy of empathy , ed. Heidi Maibom, 123–133. London & New York: Routledge.

Kaupinnen, Antti. 2014. Empathy, emotion regulation, and moral judgment. In Empathy & Morality , ed. Heidi Maibom, 97–121. Oxford: Oxford U. P.

Chapter   Google Scholar  

Download references

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Department of Philosophy, Linguistics, and the Theory of Science, Göteborgs universitet, Gothenburg, Sweden

Ingmar Persson

Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, University of Oxford, Suite 8, Littlegate House, 16/17 St Ebbe’s St, Oxford, OX1 1PT, UK

Ingmar Persson & Julian Savulescu

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Julian Savulescu .

Rights and permissions

Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Persson, I., Savulescu, J. The Moral Importance of Reflective Empathy. Neuroethics 11 , 183–193 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12152-017-9350-7

Download citation

Received : 19 July 2017

Accepted : 20 November 2017

Published : 15 December 2017

Issue Date : July 2018

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s12152-017-9350-7

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Sense of justice or fairness
• Jesse Prinz
• Find a journal
• Publish with us
• Track your research

Digging Deep into Purpose and Importance of Reflective Essay

Reflection writing is a powerful tool for students and professionals as they offer a unique opportunity for self-exploration, growth, and understanding. This guide on the importance and purpose of  reflective essays  aims to change your perception of writing and shed light on the many benefits of incorporating reflection into your life.

With our amazing  paper help  resources and expert guidance, you can master the art of reflective essay writing and unlock your full potential.

Table of Contents

What is a Reflective Essay?

A reflective essay is a type of writing that allows the author to explore their thoughts, feelings, and experiences in a structured and analytical manner. This form of writing encourages critical thinking and personal growth by examining the author’s experiences, thoughts, actions, and reactions. 

Reflective essays often focus on personal development, learning experiences, or the impact of specific events on the author’s life. However, reflection writing is also used for  college essays  or other forms of academic writing.

Types of Reflection Writing

Reflection essays come in various forms, each with its unique focus and purpose. In this note, we will delve into five types of reflective writing;

Personal Reflective Writing

Professional reflection, academic reflective essay, creative reflection.

• Social or Cultural Reflection Writing

Understanding these different approaches will enable you to choose the most suitable reflection essay type for your needs and make your writing more coherent, insightful and trustworthy.

Journaling, manifestation dairies, and written meditations are common ideas. But would you believe these are all forms and branches of personal reflection writing?

Personal reflection essays explore what you’re going through, emotionally, mentally, and provide insights. These could be about their learning, inner conflicts, resolutions and growth.

This type of reflective writing allows individuals to examine their values, beliefs, and actions, fostering self-awareness and personal development. 

Personal reflection essays may focus on topics such as significant life events, personal challenges, or the impact of relationships on one’s identity and growth.

Professional reflection writing is common in academic or workplace settings. They involve analyzing personal and professional skills and challenges and identifying areas for improvement. 

This reflection essay encourages individuals to examine their professional experiences, decisions, and outcomes, fostering critical thinking and problem-solving skills. 

Professional reflection essays may focus on workplace conflicts, leadership experiences, or developing specific professional competencies.

As a  college paper writing service  platform, we know that most students are intimidated by reflective essay writing. In an academic setting, the reflection essay blurs the lines between informal and formal writing. 

You might be assigned an essay account of your experience with an event, but you’ll still need to follow strict rules of academic writing, i.e., formatting or  organizing a paper . 

Academic reflective writing involves analyzing and evaluating academic materials, such as readings, lectures, or research projects, and connecting them to personal experiences or broader concepts. 

It encourages students to engage with course content on a deeper level, fostering a better understanding of the material and its relevance to their lives and future careers.

For example:

You can be assigned to write a reflection essay on  modernism in literature . You’d have to write your thoughts and observations about this era. Still, you must follow the rules like citation, proper referencing, and contextual analysis of the ideas presented in that era. 

Creative reflection essays are often utilized in artistic or creative fields, allowing individuals to examine their creative process, inspirations, and outcomes. 

This reflective writing fosters self-awareness, critical thinking, and artistic growth, enabling individuals to explore their creative motivations, challenges, and successes. 

Creative reflection essays may focus on topics such as the development of a specific artistic project, the influence of personal experiences on one’s creative work, or the role of collaboration in the creative process.

Social or Cultural Reflection

These reflection essays focus on exploring and understanding social or cultural phenomena. It involves analyzing personal experiences, observations, or interactions with others and reflecting on their significance and broader societal implications. 

Social or cultural reflection essays encourage individuals to engage with the world around them, fostering empathy, critical thinking, and a deeper understanding of social and cultural issues. 

These essays may focus on topics such as the impact of social media on interpersonal relationships, the role of cultural identity in shaping one’s worldview, or the challenges of navigating diverse social environments.

Students must grasp all of these forms of reflective essay writing. Understanding the different types of reflective writing and their unique purposes is required for crafting effective reflection essays.

By selecting the most appropriate reflection essay type for your needs, you can create a coherent, understandable, and persuasive piece of writing that fosters personal and professional growth.

Reflective writing offers a valuable opportunity for self-exploration, critical thinking, and meaningful learning, whether you are exploring your personal experiences, professional challenges, academic materials, creative endeavors, or social and cultural phenomena.

 What is the Purpose of Reflective Essay Writing?

The amazing thing about reflective essay writing is that, although we have discussed its few meaningful purposes, there’s still a long list to cover. 

These numerous goals are particularly for students dealing with academic stress and professionals experiencing work-related challenges. Here are 8 key purposes of reflective paper writing. 

• Self-awareness : Reflective essays help individuals develop a deeper understanding of themselves, their values, beliefs, and emotions.
• Critical thinking : It encourages the examination of one’s thoughts and experiences, fostering the development of critical thinking skills.
• Personal growth : Reflection writing enables individuals to learn from their experiences, identify areas for improvement, and set goals for personal development.
• Problem-solving : Reflection essay writing can help identify the root causes of problems and generate potential solutions.
• Emotional processing : Writing about emotional experiences can help individuals process and cope with their feelings.
• Learning from mistakes : Reflection writing encourages individuals to examine their failures, learn from them, and develop resilience.
• Enhancing communication skills : Reflective writing helps improve written communication skills and promotes effective self-expression.
• Empathy development:  The reflective essays can foster empathy by encouraging individuals to consider the perspectives and experiences of others.

Why Is Reflection Essay Important for Students?

Reflection writing is a crucial aspect of a student’s academic journey. Here are several reasons why reflection writing is essential for students:

Promotes Self-Awareness

Self-awareness in a student involves recognizing their academic learning style, studying habits, strengths, and weaknesses. Reflective Writing plays a crucial role in building self-awareness in students. 

Most students struggle with consulting adults or peers with issues like processing information, retaining knowledge, and solving problems effectively. They have a hard time coming to terms with certain values, beliefs, goals, and emotions. 

And an even harder time in exploring and creating their identities. Practicing reflective thought writing enables students to make informed decisions, set realistic goals, and develop healthy relationships. 

Self-aware students take ownership of their learning and personal development, seeking feedback, reflecting on experiences, and adapting their approaches. Thus, reflective essay writing contributes to effective communication, collaboration, and navigating challenges.

Develops Critical Thinking Skills

Reflective writing develops critical thinking skills in students by prompting them to analyze and evaluate their thoughts, experiences, and perspectives. 

It encourages questioning assumptions, considering alternative viewpoints, and making informed judgments. Students practice higher-order thinking skills such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation through reflection. 

They learn to articulate their ideas clearly and support them with evidence. Overall, reflective writing plays a crucial role in fostering critical thinking by promoting deep thinking, evaluation of evidence, and effective communication of thoughts.

Practical Academic Stress Dealing

Reflective writing induces practical academic stress dealing in students by improving self-expression, facilitating self-composition, promoting goal-setting and problem-solving, enhancing writing skills, and fulfilling academic requirements. These benefits empower students to navigate their academic challenges more effectively and succeed in their studies.

• Improves self-expression : Reflection writing helps students enhance their written communication skills and promotes effective self-expression, which is vital for academic success and personal growth.
• Self-composition:  Reflective writing allows students to compose their thoughts and ideas in a structured and coherent manner. It encourages them to organize their reflections, leading to clearer and more articulate writing.
• Setting better goals:  Engaging in reflective writing prompts students to set better academic goals. It helps them assess their strengths and weaknesses, identify areas for improvement, and establish realistic objectives for their studies.
• Problem-solving : Reflective writing encourages students to analyze academic challenges and develop strategies to overcome them. It fosters critical thinking and problem-solving skills, enabling students to tackle obstacles and find effective solutions.
• Organized and better-polished writing skills : Regular practice of reflective writing hones students’ writing skills. It enhances their ability to structure their thoughts, use appropriate language, and present coherent arguments, leading to more organized and polished writing.
• Fulfills academic requirements : Reflective essays are often assigned as part of the coursework, and students need to write them to meet academic requirements. Developing reflection writing skills ensures students can effectively complete these assignments while meeting the expectations of their instructors.

Navigating Life Transitions 

Students often face significant life transitions, such as moving away from home or choosing a career path. Reflection essay writing can help them process these changes, identify their goals, and make informed decisions. 

By engaging in reflective writing, students can explore their thoughts, emotions, and experiences related to the transitions they are facing. This process allows them to gain clarity, understand their values and aspirations, and evaluate different options. 

Reflective writing is a valuable tool for self-reflection and self-discovery, empowering students to navigate life’s transitions with a deeper understanding of themselves and their desired path forward.

Addresses Emotional and Mental Conflicts 

Students may experience emotional or  mental conflicts  due to various factors, such as relationships, academic pressure, or personal issues. Reflection writing provides an opportunity to explore and resolve these conflicts, promoting mental well-being. 

By engaging in reflective writing, students can express and process their emotions, gain insights into their turmoil’s underlying causes, and develop coping and problem-solving strategies. It offers a safe and therapeutic outlet for self-expression, self-reflection, and self-care. 

Reflective essay writing empowers students to navigate their emotional and mental challenges, fostering resilience, self-awareness, and overall psychological well-being.

Balancing Work and Studies 

Many students juggle work and studies simultaneously. Reflection writing can help them assess their time management and prioritization skills, identify areas for improvement, and develop strategies to maintain a healthy work-study balance.

Encourages Empathy Development

Reflective essays can foster empathy by encouraging students to consider the perspectives and experiences of others, an essential skill for building strong relationships and navigating diverse social environments.

Reflection Essay Writing Format

Reflection essays require a structured approach to ensure coherence and clarity in presenting one’s thoughts, emotions, and experiences. This detailed tutorial will provide an overview of the reflection essay writing format and offer instructions on how to apply APA and  MLA formatting to your reflection essay.

A well-structured reflection essay typically includes the following elements:

• Introduction : Provide an overview of the topic or experience you will be reflecting on and briefly explain its significance.
• Description : Describe the experience or event in detail, including relevant facts, feelings, and observations.
• Analysis : Examine your thoughts, emotions, and reactions to the experience, and consider the factors that influenced your response.
• Evaluation : Assess the impact of the experience on your personal growth, learning, or development and discuss any lessons learned.
• Conclusion : Summarize your reflections, reiterate the significance of the experience, and discuss any future implications or goals.

APA Formatting for Reflection Essays

The American Psychological Association (APA) formatting style is commonly used in social sciences and education.

Here are the key formatting instructions for a reflection essay in APA style:

• Title Page : Include a title page with the title of your essay, your name, and the name of your institution, all centered and double-spaced.
• Running Head : Include a running head on the top-left corner of each page, consisting of a shortened version of your essay title (in capital letters) and the page number.
• Font and Spacing : Use a 12-point, Times New Roman font with double-spacing throughout the essay.
• Margins : Set 1-inch margins on all sides of the page.
• Headings : Use headings to organize your essay, with level one headings centered and bold, level two headings flush left and bold, and level three headings flush left, bold, and italicized.
• Citations :  If you refer to any external sources, use in-text citations with the author’s last name and the publication year in parentheses.
• Reference List : Include a reference list at the end of your essay, with a centered and bold “References” heading, and list all cited sources in alphabetical order by the author’s last name.

MLA Formatting for Reflection Essays

The Modern Language Association (MLA) formatting style is commonly used in humanities and liberal arts. Here are the key formatting instructions for a reflection essay in MLA style:

• Header :  Include a header on the top-right corner of each page, consisting of your last name and the page number.
• Title :  Center the title of your essay at the top of the first page, using standard capitalization. Do not underline, italicize, or place the title in quotation marks.
• Indentation : Indent the first line of each paragraph by 0.5 inches.
• Citations :  If you refer to any external sources, use in-text citations with the author’s last name and the page number in parentheses.
• Works Cited : Include a Works Cited page at the end of your essay, with a centered “Works Cited” heading, and list all cited sources in alphabetical order by the author’s last name.

Topics for Reflection Essays

Reflective essay topics can vary widely, depending on the individual’s experiences, interests, and goals. Some examples of reflective essay topics include:

• A significant personal experience and its impact on your life.
• A challenging academic or professional situation and the lessons learned.
• A personal or professional failure and how it has shaped your development.
• A meaningful relationship or encounter with someone who has influenced your perspective.
• A volunteer or community service experience and its effect on your values or beliefs.
• A time when you faced a moral or ethical dilemma and how you resolved it.
• A personal or professional goal and the steps taken to achieve it.
• A cultural or travel experience that broadened your understanding of the world.

Examples of Reflective Essay

Our writers have written numerous examples of reflective essays here are some of them. 

Reflection Essay Example 1

A Poetic Turnaround: How an Online Assignment Platform Reshaped My Perception

Reflection Paper Example 2 

A Day Among Colors and Canvas: Art Exhibition at School 

Reflection Writing Example 3 

Spinning the Semester Around: Witnessing a Friend Succeeding in Their Academic Battles 

Reflective essay writing can polish your being in many ways. By understanding the purpose and importance of reflective essays, as well as mastering the format and selecting meaningful topics, you can transform your writing and unlock the full potential of self-reflection. For additional help, you can avail of our top-of-the-line writing service and confidently pursue your goals, knowing you have the best support for securing impressive grades.

Order Original Papers & Essays

Your First Custom Paper Sample is on Us!

Timely Deliveries

No Plagiarism & AI

100% Refund

Try Our Free Paper Writing Service

Related blogs.

Connections with Writers and support

Privacy and Confidentiality Guarantee

Average Quality Score

Home / Essay Samples / Life / Emotion / Empathy

Empathy Essay Examples

Building empathy with communicating with others.

Why is empathy such an important role in communication? Why is it so hard to show empathy for someone facing a situation you never experienced? Does complex thinking effect empathy in way or are they different when communicating? What is the difference between sympathy and...

The Essence of Good Character

Good character is a fundamental aspect of human nature that shapes our interactions, decisions, and overall demeanor. It goes beyond external appearances and delves into the qualities that define our moral and ethical integrity. While the concept of good character may vary across cultures and...

The Power of Small Acts: Exploring the Importance of Kindness

There are different emotions and feeling that people like to see in other people. It is huge list but today we are focusing one of the main one which is kindness. We can pretty much say Kindness is one of the most important human qualities....

Empathy in a Moral System

Frequently morality and empathy are used interchangeably in both formal and informal conversation. This suggests that the two are so closely related that it is a common mistake to confuse the two. Additionally, it is accepted that empathy plays a foundational role in morality. The...

Understanding the Concept of Empathy

Hoffman (1984) defined empathy as the “cognitive awareness of another person’s internal states (thoughts, feelings, perceptions, intentions) and the vicarious affective response to another person” (p. 103). This definition explains empathy as a multidimensional construct referring to it as a cognitive phenomenon, while also recognising...

Good Country People with Emphathy

An individual who is to be considered as a good country person is one who is empathic – one who thinks of other people’s feelings and is able to put themselves in the shoes of their counterparts in certain situations. Also, to be a good...

The Role of Empathy in Medical Profession

“Empathy is about standing in someone else’s shoes, feeling with his or her heart, seeing with his or her eyes. Not only empathy is hard to outsource and automate, but it makes the world a better place”, an exceptional quote by Daniel H. Pink. With...

Empathy Expressed Through Jamaica Kincaid’s Poem 

Throughout the story “A Clean Well-Lighted Place,” Ernest Hemingway shows how the concept of “loneliness” is displayed throughout the entire story. This suggests that the people who seem rich and happy will eventually have some of the darkest times in their life. The story “Girl”...

Empathy and Emotional Intelligence

What is empathy? “Empathy means to recognize others’ feelings, the causes of these feelings, and to be able to participate in the emotional experience of an individual without becoming part of it” (Ioannidou & Konstantikaki, 2008). Many people confuse sympathy with empathy, but they are...

The Relationship Between Prosocial Behavior and Animal Attitudes in a South African and Non-south African Population

The relationship established between prosocial behaviour and animal attitudes is one considered quite complex and contradictory. The goal of the study was to determine the relationship between prosocial behaviour and animal attitudes in a South African and non-South African population. A sample of 71 students...

Trying to find an excellent essay sample but no results?

Don’t waste your time and get a professional writer to help!

You may also like

• Responsibility
• Inspiration
• Thankfulness
• Betrayal Essays
• Compassion Essays
• Ambition Essays
• Fear Essays
• Forgiveness Essays
• Hate Essays
• Honor Essays
• Confidence Essays
• Laughter Essays
• Loneliness Essays

About Empathy

Empathy is the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner

Renowned psychologists Daniel Goleman and Paul Ekman have identified three components of empathy: Cognitive, Emotional and Compassionate.

Affective and cognitive empathy influence, and are influenced by, biological systems and processes that contribute to everyday feelings, thoughts, beliefs, decisions, and behavior. Empathetic feelings might enable individuals to develop more satisfactory interpersonal relations, especially in the long-term. Empathy-induced altruism can improve attitudes toward stigmatized groups, and to improve racial attitudes, and actions toward people with AIDS, the homeless, and convicts.

Painkillers reduce one’s capacity for empathy. Observation of another human being experiencing emotions lights up the same neurons in our brain as if we're experiencing the same feeling. Empathy exists because we know we’ve got only one life to live. Painkillers Reduce Your Capacity For Empathy Meditation May Heighten Empathy.

samplius.com uses cookies to offer you the best service possible.By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .--> -->