The Anatomy of Empathy

• In Event: Millennium Hotel Roundtable Session 11
  In Roundtable Session: Brain, Neuroscience, and Education SIG Roundtable

Abstract

Proceeding from a multidimensional conception of empathy consisting of affective, cognitive, and behavioral components, this examination identifies the neurological contributions to considering feelings of others. Separate, but overlapping, circuits for affective and cognitive aspects of empathy suggests a synthesis of their functioning. The connections between CNS structures, their functions, and empathy is important to more fully understanding how empathy abilities may be improved and remedy deficits. Improvements in empathy lead to decreases in conflict and bullying; understanding the feelings and motivations of others yields greater academic, personal, and professional success. By understanding the neurological areas involved in empathy, interventions addressing its cognitive, affective, or behavioral components may be developed to improve the ability to understand and interact with others.

Authors

• John Joseph McCreary, Ball State Unviersity

• Gregory J. Marchant, Ball State University

• Andrew S. Davis, Ball State University