Autism spectrum disorder is often associated with impaired Theory of Mind (ToM), which involves reasoning about others’ mental states. A proposed reason for this impairment is altered brain activity in the temporoparietal junctions (TPJ) in autistic individuals compared to typically developed individuals. This systematic review aimed to investigate ToM in autistic individuals further and its relation to emotion understanding, empathy, and relationships, which were found to possibly be related to ToM and the TPJ. Five studies relevant to the aim were included and most of the results showed associations between ToM and different aspects of emotion understanding, empathy, and relationships. Nonetheless, further research on the topic must be done before these results can be generalized.

Climate change is a major threat and human activity has beenone of the main contributing factors to climate change. Whilesome previous research has focused on certain personality traitsand environmental behavior, there hasn’t been much researchfocusing on the relationship between empathy as a trait andpro-environmental behavior. The present study aimed toinvestigate this relationship between empathy as a trait andpro-environmental behavior in Sweden with political orientationas a control variable. Participants (N=110) were asked to answer14 statements measuring empathy as a trait and another 14statements measuring pro-environmental behavior of a 5 pointLikert scale. The results showed a significantly positivecorrelation between these two variables. Also, an individual’spolitical orientation was an important underlying factor to therelationship. The findings from the study contributed additionalinformation to this relationship in Sweden. With these results,we hope to raise awareness for further research in the area sothat pro-environmental behavior can be effectively promoted

Finns det en skillnad i skuldbeläggning beroende på klädsel eller kön? Människor försöker ofta förstå varför människor gör som de gör. När stereotyper skapas för grupper av människor tenderar de att bygga på attribut som särskiljer en grupp från andra. Studier på området visar att kvinnor själva skattar högre empati än män och kvinnor bedöms få lägre straff.  Det visar även att empati är ett fenomen som sker mellan människor. I denna studie användes en vinjettstudie som mätte skuldbeläggning för gärningsman och empati för brottsoffret i en fiktiv misshandelssituation. Via webbenkäter deltog 166 personer, varav 110 kvinnor. Empati mättes med Batsons empati-skala. Resultaten visade att ju högre skattad empati för brottsoffret, desto högre straff tilldelades gärningsmannen. Kvinnor skattade högre empati än män. Gärningsmän som inte bär väst framstår som mer hotfulla än gärningsmän som bär väst vilket inte förväntades. Visuella vinjetter skulle kunna förstärka uppfattningar av situationer i framtida studier.

Figley’s (1995; 2002a) model of compassion stress/fatigue was used as a reference-point to re-examine the role of therapist/counsellor empathy in predicting therapist/counsellor compassion fatigue (CF) and compassion satisfaction (CS). The therapeutic alliance was also examined as a predictor of therapist/counsellor CF and CS. Participants included 146 female-identifying Canadian therapists/counsellors, aged 24-73 years. The Empathy Assessment Index (EAI), a social cognitive neuroscience-based empathy scale, gauged therapist/counsellor empathy; and the Working Alliance Inventory – Short therapist version (WAI-S) gauged therapist/counsellor perceptions of the strength of the therapeutic alliance. The Professional Quality of Life scale – Fifth edition (ProQOL-V) was the outcome measure for therapist/counsellor CF and CS. Contrary to Figley’s model, partial least squares path analyses determined that therapist/counsellor empathy was a significant inverse predictor of therapist/counsellor CF (R2 = .40 for total empathy-based CF model) and a significant positive predictor of therapist/counsellor CS (R2 = .16 for total empathy-based CS model). The therapeutic alliance likewise proved to be a significant inverse predictor of therapist/counsellor CF (R2 = .37 for total therapeutic alliance-based CF model) and a significant positive predictor of therapist/counsellor CS (R2 = .29 for total therapeutic alliance-based CS model). Personal Characteristics including age and years of clinical experience, and Workplace/Organizational factors including supervision and peer support, and percentage of non-distressing clients on therapist/counsellor caseloads, predicted less risk for therapist/counsellor CF and greater likelihood for therapist/counsellor CS. Additional analyses revealed that the therapeutic bond was equivalent to empathy in predicting therapist/counsellor CF, and stronger than empathy in predicting therapist/counsellor CS. / Graduate

Research indicates that the application of historical empathy, defined as using historical evidence to reconstruct past perspectives, engenders critical thinking in students. There is lack of research on the level of comprehension and use of historical empathy as an instructional strategy by high school history instructors. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore teachers' comprehension and application of historical empathy in 2 high schools. This study was grounded in Edmund Husserl's concept of intersubjectivity, which suggests that apperception facilitates the grasp of multiple perspectives. Research questions addressed history teacher comprehension and employment of historical empathy as a tool to improve students' understanding of multiple historical perspectives. All 7 local history teachers participated in this case study. Data collection included classroom observations that were followed by semi-structured teacher interviews to discuss what was observed. Six themes resulted from open, axial, and selective coding of field notes and interview transcriptions. These themes indicated that participants were unfamiliar with historical empathy, emphasized the necessity of emotion in learning, perceived the need to help students understand historical actors, stressed the need for artifacts and site visits to generate context, and used analogies to develop perspectives. These themes informed the project of a position paper recommending professional development for teachers in historical empathy. Increasing awareness of and developing empathetic instructional strategies within the classroom can foster positive social change by engendering apperceptive skills among local history students and has broader potential to increase the efficacy of museum education and heritage programs.

Empathy is one of the most important skills a mental health counselor can have. For instance, empathy plays a key role in retention and engagement in therapy for substance use disorder (SUD), which leads to improved client outcomes. Historically, SUD treatment has been provided by those in recovery with little formal education about counseling. Currently, academic requirements for SUD counselors vary, and most master'€™s level education programs rarely address SUDs. To determine whether SUD experience alone is related to empathy, a 2x2 factorial ANOVA was used in this study to examine the relationship between two independent variables (education status and recovery status) against the dependent variable of empathy for 607 SUD counselors. Findings showed that recovery status was not indicative of SUD counselor empathy, and graduate level education was associated with empathy in SUD counselors. As the epidemic of addiction continues to grow, having a competent workforce of licensed/credentialed SUD counselors is imperative, and this research shows that having a master'€™s degree in counseling may influence empathy in SUD counselors. Thus, the results of this research have the potential to shape licensure/credentialing processes for those seeking a career in the SUD field and improve outcomes for individuals with a SUD.

The purpose of the present study was two-fold: (1) to investigate various degrees of counselor-offered empathy in initial interviews, in order to determine whether consistently high levels of counselor-- offered empathy in the initial therapy interview causes high levels of client anxiety, and (2) to determine whether increased client anxiety or the levels of counselor-offered empathy that the client receives in the initial counseling interview affects the client's likelihood to continue in counseling following one session. To accomplish the purpose of the study 27 high-anxiety and 27 low-anxiety undergraduate, incentive volunteers were seen in an initial counseling session by one of three psychology, graduate-student counselors. During the interview the counselor offered the clients one of three predetermined levels of empathy (high, medium, or low). The subject's state-anxiety level was measured prior to the interview and during the interview by two paper and pencil, self-report measures, and also by heart rate. The likelihood to continue in counseling following the initial interview was also measured by a specially designed questionnaire. Results revealed that there were no differences between the anxiety scores of the subjects receiving high, medium, or low counselor-offered empathy. No relationship was found to exist between the subjects' anxiety scores and their choice to terminate or continue counseling after the initial interview. However, an interaction effect upon the subjects' likelihood to continue in counseling was found to exist between their trait anxiety level and the level of counselor-offered empathy which they received.

The specific objective of this research was to determine the effectiveness of training on understanding empathy in the teacher training process. Subjects were Utah State University students enrolled in Elementary Education during winter quarter 1976. The experimental group was composed of 34 subjects and the control group of 27 subjects. Both groups were administered a pretest. The experimental group then received the treatment which consisted of a training program designed to help them to be able to (1) define, (2) recognize instances of, and (3) to emit empathic behavior. At the conclusion of the training program both the experimental and the control groups were administered a posttest. A hypothesis of significant difference was formulated stating there would be a significant difference between posttest scores of the experimental and control groups on a measure of empathic understanding. Results of the study indicate that in fact a significant difference was found as a result of the experimental treatment. On the criteria measured, the empathy training program did have a significant effect on the emitted empathic behavior of the subjects in the treatment group.

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