engleski

The Power of Empathy in the Treatment of Vulnerable Subjects

The main task of this paper is to examine the challenges of employing empathy as an aid in improving attitudes toward the vulnerable. One of the challenges is the lack of a clear and widely accepted definition of empathy. In the first part of the paper, I shall present the development of the concept of empathy and current debates related to its definition. Then I shall briefly analyse forms of empathy. Finally, following findings that emotional strategy based on empathy can be more successful in improving attitudes toward the vulnerable than cognitive or behaviour strategies, I shall examine the potential of forms of empathy for attitude change. I conclude that the careful implementation of perspective taking exercises in anti-prejudice and anti- stigmatization programs has a great potential for inducing a positive change in attitudes toward the vulnerable. However, there is no guarantee that increased empathizing will motivate helping behavior.

empathy ; forms of empathy ; vulnerable individuals and groups ; intergroup relation programs

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