Empathy in Psychology is the ability of a person to understand feelings and emotions by trying to experience what another person feels. The word has a Greek origin "empátheia" which means "emotional".

Empathy causes people to be kind to others, so it is closely related to generosity, love, concern for others, and a willingness to help.

When a person can feel the sadness or difficulty of others by putting himself in their shoes, this arouses the desire to help and to act according to moral principles.

Characteristics of an empathic person

The empathic person is characterized by his affinities and identifications with another person, so he can listen to others, as well as understand their problems and emotions.

In that sense, when someone says "there was an immediate empathy between us," it means that there was a great connection, an immediate identification.

It is worth saying that empathy is the opposite of antipathy, because contact with the other generates pleasure, joy, and satisfaction. It is a positive attitude that allows the establishment of healthy relationships, generating a better coexistence among individuals.

Concept of empathy for psychology

According to psychology, empathy is the psychological or cognitive ability to feel or perceive what another person would feel if they were in the same situation as them.

One study found that psychotherapy clients saw empathy as an integral part of their personal and professional relationship with a psychotherapist. In view of this, they believed that this characteristic made their sessions easier.

Some of the specific benefits of empathy listed by clients consist of greater levels of trust between client and therapist, greater self-understanding by the client, and higher levels of happiness and security.

Although this study used self-report measures for its findings, the client's opinion of psychotherapy is revealing. Therefore, these findings are important to the field.

Empathy as a value

Empathy can be seen as a positive value that allows an individual to interact with other people with ease and pleasure. Thus, it is important for relationships with others by maintaining your balance.

In addition, empathy enables one person to understand, help, and motivate another who is going through a difficult time. In view of this, it is possible to achieve greater collaboration and understanding among the individuals that make up a society.

Empathy and assertiveness

First of all, assertiveness is the ability to express oneself at the right time and in the right way. In this way, one manages ideas and feelings in relation to a situation effectively.

Therefore, empathy and assertiveness are communication skills that allow better social adaptation, even though both have their differences.

For example, an assertive individual defends his own convictions, while the empathic individual understands other people's convictions. In this case, all ideas that come up in a discussion end up being respected and tolerated.

Empathy and friendliness

Sympathy, on the other hand, is a feeling of affinity that attracts and identifies people. Thus, it leads an individual to feel harmony with another person and arouses alliances.

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Empathy, on the other hand, is the understanding that a person seeks to have of another person's feelings in a given situation. It is worth saying that a person can feel sympathy and empathy for another person at the same time.

Perhaps, on some occasions, you have felt ignored due to a lack of feedback, support, or understanding from other people. In other contexts, you may have realized that you were unable to adequately and empathetically attend to the other person's emotional state. As such, it is normal to ask yourself "what do I need or should I do to be more empathetic?"

The components of empathy

Knowing how to listen

Pay attention to what the other person explains or argues. Also pay attention to non-verbal manifestations. These are the case of gestures that correspond to a person's state of mind and do not interrupt verbal discourse.

Also, reflect on what the other person is communicating to you. Try to express active follow up signals such as feedback. Also look at your interlocutor's face, nod your head, or make facial expressions that are congruent with what the other person is explaining to you.

In addition, it is necessary to show interest by asking for details about the content of the conversation.

Show understanding

You can show understanding of what the other person is explaining to you by using phrases like "I understand why you acted this way," "I understand how you feel," or "the truth is, you must have had a great time."

Always keep in mind that the emotions of the person you are talking to should not be invalidated, rejected, or judged. This is a fundamental premise for demonstrating empathetic sensitivity.

Give emotional help, if necessary

It is important to always ask your interlocutor if he needs any help. However, on many occasions, simply choose to actively listen to the other person. In this way, you will allow him to "air it out" and manage his emotional state.

When the person listening with empathy has already experienced an emotional situation similar to the one being expressed, the communication process is more fluid. After all, there is greater emotional harmony.

Why Practice Empathy

Empathy, as an emotional intelligence skill, is important because it allows you to experience several benefits.

• It enables you to enjoy social relationships, bringing you closer to groups of friends, colleagues, or family members.
• It helps you feel better personally.
• It facilitates conflict resolution.
• Predisposes you to help others
• It increases charisma and attractiveness.
• It helps you to be more respectful.
• It enables the development of leadership, negotiation, and collaboration skills.
• It allows you to be more considered by others.

How to cultivate empathy?

Practicing empathy helps us to expand our perspectives and thus enrich our world with new ideas, points of view, and opportunities.

This is a fundamental social skill that, as we have seen, allows you to listen better to the other person, to understand them, and to ask better questions. These are three fundamental aspects of good communication. Furthermore, empathy is one of the foundations for building solid and enriching relationships.

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Practical and simple exercise to include empathy in your routine

• Ask around and show interest.
• Start any meeting or conversation with open, personalized questions:
  • How are you?
  • What is the status of the project you have started?
  • How was your vacation?
• Show closeness and interest in the other person, leaving room for them to open up.

Final considerations

As we have seen in this article empathy Demonstrating this ability is something that people can do consciously, because there are ways to increase their own levels of empathy.

We can all practice empathy when interacting with our friends, loved ones, and even strangers. In view of this, taking another person's emotions into consideration when interacting with them can go a long way toward establishing positive connections.

We hope you have enjoyed reading this article about empathy in psychology In addition, we invite you to take our online Psychoanalysis course, where we bring fantastic content about issues concerning this world.