There's a study from almost 25 years ago that shows how empathizing with an individual can unlock our care and understanding for an entire group. So again, in this way, relationships aren't just connections between one person and another. They're keys that unlock our ability to connect with all sorts of people and entire groups of people. Yeah, it just makes my heart happy that there's hope in this space.
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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