If we rely too much on our empathy to guide our decisions, it can carry some risks. We feel less empathy for people from different cultures than we are or who don't share our skin color. It's so important for us to recognize where these biases lie. Empathy is like a spotlight; humans have the ability to direct that spotlight.
For a long time, scientists believed our capacity for empathy remains more or less fixed throughout our lives. But research by Jamil Zaki, a psychology professor at Stanford, shows that empathy is actually a skill we can cultivate. Jamil explains that there are different types of empathy — three, to be exact! — and we can learn to be more discerning about when we apply them. Maya and Jamil also discuss the dangers of caring too much, and how we can show compassion for others while avoiding burnout.
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