What Is Empathy?

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsSignsTypesUsesPitfallsInfluential FactorsLack of EmpathyCausesTips

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

Signs

Types

Uses

Pitfalls

Influential Factors

Lack of Empathy

Causes

Tips

Empathizing with others is essential forhealthy relationshipsand communication. After all, it’s hard to know how to relate to others if you can’t understand their feelings.

Empathyis 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’velost a loved one, you can envision yourself going through that same experience and feel what they are going through.

While people can be well-attuned to their feelings and emotions, getting into someone else’s head can be 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.

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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 auniversal responseto 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:

Are You an Empath? Take the Quiz!

Our fast and freeempath quizwill let you know if your feelings and behaviors indicate high levels of traits commonly associated with empaths.

Signs You May Be an Empath

Types of Empathy

Empathy can come in different forms, depending on the situations. Some of the different types of empathy that you might experience are:

Affective Empathy

Affective empathy involves the ability to understand another person’semotionsand 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

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

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 thetheory of mindor thinking about what other people are thinking.

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

Empathy vs. Sympathy vs. Compassion

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

Cognitive vs. Emotional Empathy

The Many Benefits of Empathy

Being able to experience empathy has many beneficial uses. It’s the ability that helps us see and feel what others might be experiencing. Because we relate to them, we can then respond in ways that foster stronger relationships.

It Strengthens your Relationships

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 havingsocial connectionsis important for both physical and psychological well-being.

It Helps You Regulate Your Emotions

Empathizing with others helps you learn to regulate your own emotions.Emotional regulationis important in that it allows you to manage what you are feeling, even in times of great stress, without becoming overwhelmed.

Research also suggests that our ability to regulate our own emotions influences how we respond to other people’s emotions.Strengthening your self-regulation skills may be helpful if you want to boost your ability to empathize.

It Compels Us to Help Others

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.

Research supports the idea that empathy is a key driver of prosocial behavior.Empathy helps us notice other people’s needs, understand their distress, and inspire us to alleviate their suffering.

Impact of EmpathyYour ability to experience empathy can impact your relationships. Studies involving siblings have found that when empathy is high, siblings haveless conflictand more warmth toward each other.In romantic relationships, having empathy increases your ability to extendforgiveness.

Impact of Empathy

Your ability to experience empathy can impact your relationships. Studies involving siblings have found that when empathy is high, siblings haveless conflictand more warmth toward each other.In romantic relationships, having empathy increases your ability to extendforgiveness.

Can You Have Too Much 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, also known ascompassion fatigue, refers to the emotional and physical exhaustion you might feel after repeatedly being exposed to stressful ortraumatic 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 whenacting 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 towardemotional 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.

Factors That Can Influence Empathy

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:

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 ofnature and nurture.

Parents pass down genes that contribute to overall personality, including the propensity toward sympathy, empathy, and compassion. For example, research indicates that key traits known as theBig Five personality traitsare between 31% and 41% heritable.Being high in traits likeconscientiousnessandagreeablenesscan contribute to increased feelings of empathy for others.

Reasons People Sometimes Lack 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 ofcyberbullying.

A lack of empathy is also one of the defining characteristics ofnarcissistic 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.

6 Ways to Become a Nicer Person

Cognitive Biases

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 into 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 when other people are physically distant.

Otheringis a way of excluding people from the in-group, which can then contribute to dehumanization. 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 those suffering are fundamentally different from themselves.

Victim Blaming

Sometimes, when another person has suffered a terrible experience, people make the mistake ofblaming the victimfor 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.

What to Do If You or a Loved One Lack Empathy

What Causes 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 andrespond with kindness?

Several different theories have been proposed to explain why people experience empathy.

Neuroscientific Explanations

Studies have shown that specificareas of the brainplay 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 throughfacial 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 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 inprosocial behaviorsthat benefit other people. Things such asaltruismandheroismare 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:

Takeaways

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.

How to Develop Empathy in Relationships

17 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Harandi TF, Taghinasab MM, Nayeri TD.The correlation of social support with mental health: A meta-analysis.Electron Physician. 2017;9(9):5212-5222. doi:10.19082/5212Thompson NM, Uusberg A, Gross JJ, Chakrabarti B.Empathy and emotion regulation: An integrative account.Prog Brain Res. 2019;247:273-304. doi:10.1016/bs.pbr.2019.03.024Decety J, Bartal IB, Uzefovsky F, Knafo-Noam A.Empathy as a driver of prosocial behaviour: Highly conserved neurobehavioural mechanisms across species.Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2016;371(1686):20150077. doi:10.1098/rstb.2015.0077Lam CB, Solmeyer AR, McHale SM.Sibling relationships and empathy across the transition to adolescence.J Youth Adolescen. 2012;41:1657-1670. doi:10.1007/s10964-012-9781-8Kimmes 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.12171Cleveland 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.2016.02.015Chikovani 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.2015.07.001Kret ME, De Gelder B.A review on sex difference in processing emotional signals.Neuropsychologia. 2012; 50(7):1211-1221. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2011.12.022Sanchez-Roige S, Gray JC, MacKillop J, Chen CH, Palmer AA.The genetics of human personality.Genes Brain Behav. 2018;17(3):e12439. doi:10.1111/gbb.12439Song Y, Shi M.Associations between empathy and big five personality traits among Chinese undergraduate medical students.PLoS One. 2017;12(2):e0171665. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0171665Schultze-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-130124Baskin-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/per0000061Decety, J.Dissecting the neural mechanisms mediating empathy.Emotion Review. 2011; 3(1): 92-108. doi:10.1177/1754073910374662Shamay-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/awn279Hillis AE.Inability to empathize: Brain lesions that disrupt sharing and understanding another’s emotions.Brain. 2014;137(4):981-997. doi:10.1093/brain/awt317Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.Adam Smith’s moral and political philosophy.

17 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Harandi TF, Taghinasab MM, Nayeri TD.The correlation of social support with mental health: A meta-analysis.Electron Physician. 2017;9(9):5212-5222. doi:10.19082/5212Thompson NM, Uusberg A, Gross JJ, Chakrabarti B.Empathy and emotion regulation: An integrative account.Prog Brain Res. 2019;247:273-304. doi:10.1016/bs.pbr.2019.03.024Decety J, Bartal IB, Uzefovsky F, Knafo-Noam A.Empathy as a driver of prosocial behaviour: Highly conserved neurobehavioural mechanisms across species.Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2016;371(1686):20150077. doi:10.1098/rstb.2015.0077Lam CB, Solmeyer AR, McHale SM.Sibling relationships and empathy across the transition to adolescence.J Youth Adolescen. 2012;41:1657-1670. doi:10.1007/s10964-012-9781-8Kimmes 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.12171Cleveland 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.2016.02.015Chikovani 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.2015.07.001Kret ME, De Gelder B.A review on sex difference in processing emotional signals.Neuropsychologia. 2012; 50(7):1211-1221. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2011.12.022Sanchez-Roige S, Gray JC, MacKillop J, Chen CH, Palmer AA.The genetics of human personality.Genes Brain Behav. 2018;17(3):e12439. doi:10.1111/gbb.12439Song Y, Shi M.Associations between empathy and big five personality traits among Chinese undergraduate medical students.PLoS One. 2017;12(2):e0171665. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0171665Schultze-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-130124Baskin-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/per0000061Decety, J.Dissecting the neural mechanisms mediating empathy.Emotion Review. 2011; 3(1): 92-108. doi:10.1177/1754073910374662Shamay-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/awn279Hillis AE.Inability to empathize: Brain lesions that disrupt sharing and understanding another’s emotions.Brain. 2014;137(4):981-997. doi:10.1093/brain/awt317Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.Adam Smith’s moral and political philosophy.

Harandi TF, Taghinasab MM, Nayeri TD.The correlation of social support with mental health: A meta-analysis.Electron Physician. 2017;9(9):5212-5222. doi:10.19082/5212Thompson NM, Uusberg A, Gross JJ, Chakrabarti B.Empathy and emotion regulation: An integrative account.Prog Brain Res. 2019;247:273-304. doi:10.1016/bs.pbr.2019.03.024Decety J, Bartal IB, Uzefovsky F, Knafo-Noam A.Empathy as a driver of prosocial behaviour: Highly conserved neurobehavioural mechanisms across species.Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2016;371(1686):20150077. doi:10.1098/rstb.2015.0077Lam CB, Solmeyer AR, McHale SM.Sibling relationships and empathy across the transition to adolescence.J Youth Adolescen. 2012;41:1657-1670. doi:10.1007/s10964-012-9781-8Kimmes 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.12171Cleveland 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.2016.02.015Chikovani 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.2015.07.001Kret ME, De Gelder B.A review on sex difference in processing emotional signals.Neuropsychologia. 2012; 50(7):1211-1221. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2011.12.022Sanchez-Roige S, Gray JC, MacKillop J, Chen CH, Palmer AA.The genetics of human personality.Genes Brain Behav. 2018;17(3):e12439. doi:10.1111/gbb.12439Song Y, Shi M.Associations between empathy and big five personality traits among Chinese undergraduate medical students.PLoS One. 2017;12(2):e0171665. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0171665Schultze-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-130124Baskin-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/per0000061Decety, J.Dissecting the neural mechanisms mediating empathy.Emotion Review. 2011; 3(1): 92-108. doi:10.1177/1754073910374662Shamay-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/awn279Hillis AE.Inability to empathize: Brain lesions that disrupt sharing and understanding another’s emotions.Brain. 2014;137(4):981-997. doi:10.1093/brain/awt317Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.Adam Smith’s moral and political philosophy.

Harandi TF, Taghinasab MM, Nayeri TD.The correlation of social support with mental health: A meta-analysis.Electron Physician. 2017;9(9):5212-5222. doi:10.19082/5212

Thompson NM, Uusberg A, Gross JJ, Chakrabarti B.Empathy and emotion regulation: An integrative account.Prog Brain Res. 2019;247:273-304. doi:10.1016/bs.pbr.2019.03.024

Decety J, Bartal IB, Uzefovsky F, Knafo-Noam A.Empathy as a driver of prosocial behaviour: Highly conserved neurobehavioural mechanisms across species.Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2016;371(1686):20150077. doi:10.1098/rstb.2015.0077

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

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

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

Sanchez-Roige S, Gray JC, MacKillop J, Chen CH, Palmer AA.The genetics of human personality.Genes Brain Behav. 2018;17(3):e12439. doi:10.1111/gbb.12439

Song Y, Shi M.Associations between empathy and big five personality traits among Chinese undergraduate medical students.PLoS One. 2017;12(2):e0171665. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0171665

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

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.Adam Smith’s moral and political philosophy.

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Press Play for Advice on Empathy#

Signs of Empathy#

Are You an Empath? Take the Quiz!#

Types of Empathy#

Affective Empathy#

Somatic Empathy#

Cognitive Empathy#

Empathy vs. Sympathy vs. Compassion#

The Many Benefits of Empathy#

It Strengthens your Relationships#

It Helps You Regulate Your Emotions#

It Compels Us to Help Others#

Impact of Empathy#

Can You Have Too Much Empathy?#

Factors That Can Influence Empathy#

Reasons People Sometimes Lack Empathy#

Cognitive Biases#

Dehumanization#

Victim Blaming#

What Causes Empathy?#

Neuroscientific Explanations#

Emotional Explanations#

Prosocial Explanations#

Tips for Practicing Empathy#

Takeaways#