A New Perspective on Empathy

IAS Open Programme Fellow Dr Alison Jane Martingano delivers a seminar on their research.

Despite empathy becoming a buzzword over the last decade, and the variety of empathy interventions available, there is still much confusion surrounding how empathy works and how to best promote it. Dr. Alison Jane Martingano proposes a new perspective on empathy that organizes various concepts encompassed under the umbrella of “empathy”, including perspective-taking, compassion, sympathy, emotion recognition, mentalizing, theory of mind, and personal distress. Her work provides a compelling case that some types of empathy require more cognitive resources than others, and, like exercising a muscle, practicing these empathy types will cultivate them over time.

Following this logic, complex interpersonal situations that do not provide clear information about what someone thinks or feels should provide rich opportunities to cultivate empathy. Dr. Alison Jane Martingano has evaluated the empathy enhancing potential of various social activities including active and passive listening, reading fiction, virtual reality, and social media. Dr. Alison Jane Martingano will share insights from her research as well as ongoing projects in this upcoming IAS seminar.

This event is hybrid format, please use the required booking button at the bottom of the page for either in-person or online.
(Please note that in-person spaces are limited and booking is required, so we can manage numbers for catering and also the space inside International House)

By booking a place at this event, attendees agree to behave in a respectful manner such that everyone feels comfortable contributing as they wish. The IAS reserves the right to eject anyone who does not abide by this policy.

IAS seminars are typically recorded, minus any Q&A sessions at the end, again to encourage contributions. The recordings are then uploaded to our website on a Fellows bio page and/or Programme page, along with our IAS YouTube Channel. If you are not able to attend a seminar live, please do still register as we will email everyone who registered to let them know once the recordings are made available.