Empathy: Heredity and Environmental Effects on an Individual’s Life

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Empathy: defining its existence
Life is a constant journey and learning experience that ultimately shapes the person you become. Through this journey of life people develop certain traits that attribute to the relationships they develop and the barriers that come along with them. One trait that grows throughout the lifespan is empathy. Empathy is more pronounced in some individuals who engage in the activities such as listening or awareness that awaken this trait helping it develop further. Our relationships are highly influenced by our empathetic ways producing satisfaction in our lives and welfare (Beadle et al, 2013). People notice the individuals who seem to have a keen sense when it comes to empathy, herein they display it in their relationships which are greatly influenced by this trait.

Empathy can be defined in many ways but for this paper empathy is defined as tuning into others thoughts, emotions, and feelings without being affected by them personally. For example, when a close friend loses a loved one. The emotions exhibited by the friend may not visually be present but another person may still be able to zoom in on the other person’s feelings, it is here where empathetic behavior is expressed. Empathy may get confused with sympathy. Both of these traits relate to emotion; however sympathy plays into a person’s actual views and the person that carries an emotion is more likely to get the same response from the sympathetic person than the empathetic person. Ickes (2009) identifies other concepts that are similar to empathy:
Concepts such as empathy rapport, intuition, altruism, social sensitivity, accuracy in person……..are all similar in that they involve an intuitive level of knowing (or feeling of knowing) another...

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...chological Therapy, 9(2), 217-235.
Ickes, W. (2009). Empathic accuracy: Its links to clinical, cognitive, developmental, social, and physiological psychology. In J. Decety, W. Ickes (Eds.) , The social neuroscience of empathy (pp. 57-70). Cambridge, MA US: MIT Press.
Knafo, A., Zahn-Waxler, C., Van Hulle, C., Robinson, J. L., & Rhee, S. (2008). The developmental origins of a disposition toward empathy: Genetic and environmental contributions. Emotion, 8(6), 737-752. doi:10.1037/a0014179
Lilienfeld, S. O.. (2014). Psychology: from inquiry to understanding. 3rd ed. Boston: Pearson
Su, W., Mrug, S., & Windle, M. (2010). Social cognitive and emotional mediators link violence exposure and parental nurturance to adolescent aggression. Journal Of Clinical Child And Adolescent Psychology, 39(6), 814-824. doi:10.1080/15374416.2010.5171

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