LFU:online

Students will be able to analyze and critique the contributions of modern psychological research to the understanding of empathy, especially of its origins and roles in social behavior. They will learn how empathy evolved out of mimicry processes, what its different psychological aspects and manifestations can be, and how empathy is involved in social and societal functioning. Furthermore, the seminar will enable students to explore how empathy may vary in expression according to cultural and social context.

This seminar will examine the ways in which empathy relates to human life across many levels and domains. The course aims to provide a thorough understanding of 1) what empathy is, 2) how it works, 3) what factors influence people’s ability empathize with others, 4) how empathy influences individual, group, and intergroup behavior and experiences in personal, social, economic, and political spheres, and 5) how empathic expression varies by context and culture. Material will be drawn from the life and social sciences, beginning with the evolution of molecular mechanisms of empathic responding to the examination of differences in modes of empathic expressiveness across cultures, to the effects of global systems (such as capitalism) on empathic expression.

The course is based on lectures, video materials, practical activities involving applications of course concepts, group discussions facilitating students’ critical thinking and engagement relevant to students´own experiences and examples.

written examination, multiple choice format

Batson, C.D. & Ahmad, N.Y. (2009). Using empathy to improve intergroup attitudes and relations. Social Issues and Policy Review, 3, 141–177.

de Waal, F.B.M. (2008). Putting the altruism back into altruism: the evolution of empathy. Annual Review of Psychology, 59, 279-300.

Iacoboni, M. (2009). Imitation, empathy, and mirror neurons. Annual Review of Psychology, 60, 653–670.