Empathizing with an individual can unlock our care and understanding for an entire group. A study conducted in the 1990s showed that people who empathized with Julie, a person suffering from AIDS, not only cared for her but also cared more about people with AIDS in general. This suggests that relationships are not just connections between individuals but also keys that unlock our ability to connect with entire groups of people. Building empathy with an individual can have positive spillover effects for how we think about communities worldwide. It is not just about gaining new perspectives or knowledge, but also about learning emotionally and understanding what others care about, making it easier for us to care as well.
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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