EMPATHY

 Empathy (Greek empátheia "suffering") - in psychology, the ability to feel the mental states of other beings (emotional empathy), the ability to adopt their way of thinking, and look at reality from their perspective (cognitive empathy).

A person without this skill is emotionally "blind" and unable to assess or perceive the emotional states of others.

Strong empathy manifests itself, among other things, in the feeling of pain when we look at the suffering of another person, the ability to empathize and empathize with the perspective of seeing the world of other people.

Empathy is a derivative of cognitive development.

Thinking of preschool children and sometimes at early school age is associated with the so-called egocentrism of thinking, not realizing that the perspective of seeing other people may be different from ours.

The child is unable to empathize with another person, because it requires a complex cognitive process, and therefore is devoid of empathy.

Margaret Mahler's theory

The early relationship between mother and child involves, among other things, the unconscious process of emotional flow and the existence of an "emotional umbilical cord" between mother and child.

In the first months of life, the mother's emotions are transferred to the child, while the child's moods are transmitted to the mother.

  If certain traumas occur during this period of life (for example, the mother experiences very negative feelings, she is depressed) or the mother is absent (death, illness, poor care), the child builds a "protective wall" whose task is not to feel the mother's emotions.

  As a result, he is deprived of the ability to empathize with another person.

Empathy, along with assertiveness, is one of the two basic skills included in the so-called emotional intelligence.

  Charismatic people have great empathic abilities.

Emotional intelligence, otherwise EQ Emotional Intelligence Quotient (also EI - Emotional Intelligence) - human personal competence in the sense of the ability to recognize one's own and other people's emotional states, as well as the ability to use one's own emotions and deal with the emotional states of others.

Emotional intelligence includes three main groups of competencies:

• PSYCHOLOGICAL COMPETENCES (relations with oneself)
• SOCIAL COMPETENCES (relations with others)
• PRAXEOLOGICAL COMPETENCES (in other words, competencies of action - our attitude to tasks, challenges, and activities)
• PSYCHOLOGICAL COMPETENCES (relations with oneself)

1. Self-awareness: the ability to recognize one's own emotional states, knowledge of one's own feelings, values, preferences, capabilities, and intuitive judgments, i.e. emotional awareness.
2. Self-esteem: self-esteem, self-confidence, awareness of one's capabilities, skills, and limitations; the ability to experience oneself independently of the judgments of others.
3. Self-Control or Self-Regulation: the ability to consciously respond to external stimuli and control one's own emotional states; the ability to cope with stress, and shape one's own emotions in accordance with one's own standards, principles and values.

SOCIAL COMPETENCES (relations with others)

Empathy: the ability to experience the emotional states of others, being aware of the feelings, needs, and values of others, i.e. understanding others, sensitivity to the feelings of others; an attitude focused on helping and supporting other people; the ability to feel and understand social relations.

Assertiveness: having and expressing one's own opinion and direct, open expression of emotions, attitudes, and professed values within the limits that do not violate the rights and mental territory of other people; the ability to defend one's rights in social situations without violating the rights of others to defend them.

Persuasion: the ability to induce desired behaviors and reactions in others, that is, to influence others; the ability to win over others for agreement, the ability to mitigate conflicts.

Leadership: the ability to create a vision and stimulate people's motivation to achieve it; the ability to win supporters.

Collaboration: the ability to create bonds and interact with others, the ability to work in a group to achieve common goals, and the ability to perform tasks as a team and solve problems together.

PRAXEOLOGICAL COMPETENCES (in other words, competencies of action - our attitude to tasks, challenges, and activities)

Motivation: own commitment, emotional inclinations that lead to new goals or facilitate their achievement, i.e. achievement drive, initiative, and optimism.

Adaptability: the ability to control one's internal states; the ability to cope in a changing environment, flexibility in adapting to changes in the environment, the ability to act and make decisions under stress.

Conscientiousness: the ability to take responsibility for tasks and perform them; the ability to derive satisfaction from the duties performed; consistency in action, in accordance with the standards we have adopted.

Empathy is the ability to understand other people and the ability to empathize with their feelings and emotions.

It is a gift to empathize with the situation of other people and to understand their motives as the sources of their decisions and attitudes. Empathy is a basic feature enabling proper dialogue both on the interpersonal and general social levels.

The lack of empathy in the arguing opponents leads to the polarization of positions and their aggravation to the extent that it is impossible to resolve the conflict in a way other than force.

  The ability to feel empathically as the basis for understanding opponents is a prelude to forgiveness. Empathic people, thanks to their excellent understanding of the situation and psyche of other parties, have the ability to resolve conflicts, and therefore often act as mediators.

People lacking the ability to empathize are very aggressive, with a strong personality, imposing their will and vision of the world, intolerant of opposition, not recognizing the arguments of other parties, not allowing their awareness of the possibility of their own mistake or mistake, highly conflictual, uncompromising.

After research conducted by Lennon and Eisenberg (1983), there was a long-held impression that females are more empathetic than males. However, it all depends on the definition of empathy as such.

In the broad sense, there is no credible gender difference. On the other hand, in a narrower sense, it was found that women are more empathetic than men, that is, they show greater emotional reactivity in relation to other people's emotional states.