Especially in ambiguous circumstances, observers may be motivated to make precisely that causal appraisal to reduce empathic over-arousal (discussed later). Nonetheless, beyond that of any other species, humans have great imagination. Thompson & Newton, 2010). Hoffman (2000) discussed not only causal attributions but also inferences about whether victims deserve their plight (p. 107) as cognitions that can fundamentally shape the nature of empathys impact on behavior. Newborns responded more strongly to another infant's cry than to a variety of control . This inspired Kurt Schneider to distinguish two sorts of depressive illness, each conforming to a Strung (disorder) in different levels of Scheler's hierarchy. The here-and-now version of empathic bias favors distressed persons who are immediately present. Krevans and I (Krevans & Gibbs, 1996) also evaluated the mediating role of empathy-based guilt, for which the results were less consistent. In contrast to Haidts treatment of empathy as a unitary construct, empathy in Hoffmans theory entails multiple modes and developmental processes. Mirror-test results (do participants try to remove, say, a mirrored facial smudge? Recall Haidts (Chapter 2) broad neo-nativist claim: namely, that moral psychology should focus on how diverse cultures refine the human infants biologically prepared affective intuitions (cf. As we will see, it is depth of feeling in morality that is highlighted in Hoffmans theory. Yet we know that, in general, egocentric and empathic biases (see below) do not entirely disappear. The indirect affectionate response. Empathy-The capacity to share emotions with other people and the ability to engage and share the feelings of others. My initial feeling when I was back in my room was that I had escaped with my life. (p. 46). Cognition has thus far played a constructive role in the morality of the good: understanding or awareness of self and other facilitates a progressive maturity of caring for others. Empathy is generally taken to mean that one retains some awareness that one is feeling and responding to the suffering of the other person. By the same token, the mother can condition positive empathic affect: When a mother holds the baby closely, securely, affectionately, and has a smile on her face, the baby feels good and the mothers smile is associated with that feeling. Vaish & Warneken, 2012). Experiencing empathy for fictional characters, for example, allows people to have a range of emotional experiences that might otherwise be impossible. Empathy is a broad concept that refers to the cognitive and emotional reactions of an individual to the observed experiences of another. In phylogeny, the concurrent emergence of advanced helping behavior (e.g., consolation) with self-recognition is consistently evident in apes but not Old World monkeys, suggesting that these advances may be functionally linked, co-emerging relatively late in phylogenetic history (de Waal, 2009, 2012). When the newborn cries in reaction to hearing anothers cry, that reactive cry is more than a weak imitation or simple reaction to a noxious stimulus. Moral principles and other cognitive regulators of empathy level, along with low impulsivity, permit effective and sustained prosocial behavior (Eisenberg et al., 2006). In full (affective and cognitive) empathy, we connect to and understand others and make their situation our own (de Waal, 2009, p. 225, emphasis added). Hoffman (2000) suggested that this emotionally steady concept of self entails an appreciation of ones ownand the othersinner experience. Self-aware agents, sense their body as containing, and being guided by, an inner mental self, an I, which thinks, feels, plans, remembers [and understand] that one is somebody separated from others not just physically but also in terms of inner experience; and that ones external image is an aspect of ones inner experience. Let us look, then, at factors that can complicate or limit the contribution of empathy to situational prosocial behavior. Consider a situation in which a child in the first place caused anothers distress: Child A says it is his turn and grabs a toy from child B, who grabs it back. Empathic responding through language-mediated association entails the mental effort of semantic processing and decoding. Although Kohlbergs theory may underplay egoistic motives and empathy, then, it does remind us of the role and potential power of cognitive primacy, especially the moral motivation engendered by coordinations of social perspectives and violations of justice. In other results, both studies found that parental use of harsh power assertions related negatively both to childrens empathy and childrens prosocial behavior11Close (cf. Hoffman discusses three immature stages of empathy. If the researchers had found, for example, that the relationship between inductive discipline and childrens prosocial behavior remained significant after the variance attributable to empathy was removed, then the validity of Hoffmans inductive discipline theory would have been seriously undermined. Although distinguishable, the Hoffmanian and Kohlbergian aspects of the story are intimately interrelated and complementary. Although children with their pronounced centrations (see Chapter 3) are especially vulnerable, even mature observers capable of representing others life conditions beyond the immediate situation are vulnerable to here-and-now bias. Professional commitment or moral identity (the kind of person one is or wishes to be; see Chapter 6) as well as the activation of caring as a principle may make a crucial motivational contribution: An observer may feel empathically motivated to help someone in distress, but he may in addition feel obligated to help because he is a caring person who upholds the principle of caring. Through this process [of progressively integrating the information in literally thousands of inductions over the childhood years], childrens early, physical, nonmoral causal scripts are gradually transformed into complex, generalized, affectively charged scripts pertaining to the effects of ones actions on others. As I rode my bicycle home in the dark, I thought about the reception and probable spanking I would receive. 21) as "empathy." Empathy literally means "in suffering or passion," but in this instance the etymology of the word and its use in aesthetics and in psychology differ. 7273). . Much the same can be said of the interaction between socialization contexts in general and other child variables such as temperament (Collins et al., 2000). Drawing on Martin Hoffman's systematic, research-based theory of empathy and socialization, it considers the complex nature of the empathic predisposition, the distinction between self and other as a prerequisite for mature empathy, and the use of both self-focused and other-focused perspective-taking in mature empathy. Again link it back to the case studies. In the process, some psychological distance is introduced between observer and victim (Hoffman, 2000, p. 50). 72, 100, 209, 241). Name of psychologist Work based on social and emotional development Martin Hoffman Empathy affects our moral development fName of Appreciate or empathise with an object or philosopher piece of art/music /literature by: Johannes Volkelt Making your personal identity and object become one, so feel it as well as see or hear it Robert Vischer Being 1718; cf. When the trend beyond the superficial in morality refers not to moral judgment but to empathy or caring, however, cognitionalthough still crucialloses the limelight. Thanks to the contributions of advanced modes in coalescence with abstract and domain-general high-level cognitive abilities, mature. Nonetheless, newborns relative non-reaction to their own cry suggests at least a primitive physiological awareness of the self as separate from others (Light & Zahn-Waxler, 2012, p. 111); i.e., some selfother distinction already functioning right from birth (Decety & Jackson, 2004, p. 78), perhaps indicating an implicit sense of self as an agentive entity in the environment. Such a sense of self would not necessarily imply, however, any self-consciousness or self-awareness (Decety & Svetlova, 2012, p. 8; see below). A fundamental valuing of anothers welfare relates to the basic arousal modes in Hoffmans theory. The reference to moral judgment more than moral feeling renders Gilligans work a less suitable vehicle than Hoffmans for exploring the affective-primacy strand of moral development. These processes include cognitive strategies, beliefs, and perceptions, especially: (a) temporary defensive strategies such as selective attention (if you dont want to be aroused by an image, dont look at it; de Waal, 2009, p. 80), thinking or looking at something distracting, self-soothing, or looking ahead to a planned interlude (e.g., the rest and relaxation breaks of emergency care workers; cf. One of Hoffmans close friends, who had cancer, just wanted to talk as usual about sports and the stock market, and with the usual gustoabout anything but his condition. (Hoffman, 2000, pp. Assignment 1: Learning Aims A, B and C *Examine principles, values and skills which underpin meeting the care and support needs of individuals. (Hoffman, 2000, p. 81, emphasis added). Accordingly, arousal modes such as self-focused perspective-taking are more readily activated by the distress cues of someone perceived as similar to oneself. One patients lack of moral enactment was evident despite his mature level of moral judgment, as measured by Kohlberg et al.s Moral Judgment Interview (Colby et al., 1987). Hoffman (2000) cited a landmark study by Dale Hay and colleagues (Hay, Nash, & Pedersen, 1981; cf. Martin Hoffman Martin Hoffman is a contemporary American psychologist. Haidt even mused: Might the world be a better place if we could greatly increase the care people get within their existing groups and nations while slightly decreasing the care they get from other groups and nations? (p. 242). This cry is global insofar as the infant may not clearly recognize whose feelings belong to whom (Decety & Jackson, 2004, p. 71). It should be emphasized that an internalized moral norm is one that has been appropriated or adopted as ones own. Decety (2007) attributed such responses to a basic arousal mode, namely, mimicry or emotional contagion, perhaps the first step on the road toward full-blown empathy (de Waal, 2009, p. 74). He also notes that because of empathy, humans have the tendency to side with the victim, an idea that he emphasizes plays an important role in law. Warneken & Tomasello, 2010). 670671), Moral Development and Reality: Beyond the Theories of Kohlberg, Hoffman, and Haidt (3rd edn), The Right and Moral Development: Fundamental Themes of Kohlbergs Cognitive Developmental Approach, Kohlbergs Theory: A Critique and New View, The Good and Moral Development: Hoffmans Theory, Background: Prosocial Behavior and Empathy, Empathy and Cognitive Development: Stages of Empathic Distress, Global Empathic Distress: Newborn Reactive Cry, Empathy and Prosocial Behavior: Cognitive Complications and Empathys Limitations, How Is the Situation Interpreted? Only the most advanced forms of knowing what others know may be limited to our species. Empathy . After all, even highly empathic children can get emotionally involved when pursuing their goals or when their desires conflict with [those of] others (Hoffman, 2000, p. 169). The intensity level of empathic distress, in other words, can be post-optimal: if emotions run too high, the perspective-taking may be lost in the process (de Waal, 2009, p. 100). We will have occasion to draw upon Decetys and othersespecially, Frans de Waals, Daniel Batsons, and Carolyn Zahn-Waxlerscontributions as we discuss Hoffmans work. As noted in Chapter 3, Hoffman (2000) acknowledges a common preference for reciprocity (p. 242) or fairness and even a motive to correct reciprocity imbalances or violations, to right a wrong. As noted in Chapter 3, older children begin to grasp mixed or subtle emotions and to take into account social context in judging anothers feelings. Beyond 14 months of age, children increasingly accommodate in their giving to the distinct preferences of others, even when those preferences differ markedly from their own (Repacholi & Gopnik, 1997; cf. Such behaviors are adaptive for the insect group because only some are programmed for sacrificial defense; others are programmed to carry out the groups reproductive activity (Campbell, 1972). Furthermore, the scripts can be infused with empathic distress and a (rudimentary) guilt feeling, which gives them the properties, including the motivational properties, of affectively charged representations, or hot cognitions. As we will see, moral principles are particularly helpful in the regulation of empathic distress. These two higher-order cognitive modes are verbally mediated association and social perspective- or role-taking.5Close The mature empathy developed through these advanced modes is a deeper emotional connection with others. The Hoffman Process teaches us how to release and resolve persistent negative behavioural patterns of feeling unloved and unlovable. Extending from Hoffmans work, de Waal (2009) concluded: I rate humans among the most aggressive of primates but also believe that were masters at connecting and that social ties constrain competition. Hoffman argued that parents judicious use of power can promote moral socialization. Johannes Volkelt's theory states that in order to appreciate an object, you must become one with the object. Mature (accurate or veridical, subtly discerning) empathic concern can be elicited not only in the context of the immediate situation but also beyond that situationa full empathic capacity that may be unique to the human species. Although one-year-olds can differentiate the other child as physically separate and respond empathically to anothers distress, they may still be unclear about the difference between something happening to the other and something happening to the self (Hoffman, 2000, p. 68)hence their occasional egocentric seeking of self-comfort as if that would remediate the observed distress. This behavior, which they also do when actually distressed themselves, very likely reflects the early beginning of their ability to control their emotions (Hoffman, 2000, p. 67; cf. In experiments (e.g., Batson et al., 1995) and in real life, individuals often act to relieve the distress of an immediately present other, even when that prosocial act is unfair to comparably distressed but absent others. Empathy is also aroused when one takes the role or situational perspective of the other person; that is, imagines oneself (or anyone) in the other persons place.6Close Although de Waal (2009) noted that other-oriented perspective-taking is evident in other species (for example, apes, dolphins, elephants, and even dogs), he also noted its restriction in those species largely to here-and-now perception. Yet, as noted, total equality of all claimants near and far, with no bias or gradient of care whatever, would place an impossible strain on the prospective helper. Also highlighted are the psychological processes . In this chapter, we will discuss empathy as a biologically and affectively based, cognitively mediated, and socialized predisposition that contributes to prosocial behavior. Empathy allows us to understand and share the feelings of others. Beyond the daunting statistics, the massive presentation of individual profiles and graphics may have accounted for this counter-productive over-arousal (Seider, 2009, p. 69). One biological substratum for empathy inheres in neurophysiological pathways between the limbic system (specifically, the amygdala) and the prefrontal cortex (Blair, 2006; Brothers, 1989; Decety & Howard, 2013; Decety & Svetlova, 2012; Greene, Sommerville, Nystrom, Darley, & Cohen, 2001; Maclean, 1990).3Close Heritable individual differences in neural sensitivity may account for the higher correlation between identical compared to fraternal twins in degree of empathic responding (Zahn-Waxler, Robinson, Emde, & Plomin, 1992). Hoffman (2000) suggested that empathic learning in this sense may be inevitable as mothers hold their infants and communicate through bodily contact: The mothers accompanying facial and verbal expressions [of, for example, anxiety or tension] then become conditioned stimuli, which can subsequently evoke distress in the child even in the absence of physical contact (pp. Empathic distress for a vividly presented victim can generalize, as when a well-publicized, highly salient victim of a widespread disaster or severely crippling illness (say, a poster child for muscular dystrophy) elicits empathic distress and help that extends to the entire group of victims. Particularly suggestive of such a biological substratum are case studies of the behavior of patients with brain damage in these areas. Hoffman (2008) delineates three stages (46) of mature or profound empathic understanding and concern. Hoffmans word for such a biologically based predisposition is empathy. An adaptation of the Hoffman and Saltzstein (1967) measure was used in our (Krevans & Gibbs, 1996) replication of the relationship between inductive discipline and childrens prosocial behavior. Damon, 1995; Hoffman, 1970). Empathy by association can also take place through the cognitive medium of language. Consider the following childhood recollection from a young woman (she did not recollect her age at the time of the incident): I once stole some candy from a food store and was caught by the manager. Roger Brown (1965) once wondered whether the Mona Lisa owes its popularity at least partly to its recognition value among museum tourists. Research empathy theories and provide a summary of each one. three- and four-year-olds are quite good at telling what happens in general in a familiar event such as having lunch at the preschool or going to the beach, the zoo, or McDonalds. Humans of all ages are likely to help others in distress, especially when other potential helpers are not around (e.g., Latane & Darley, 1970; Staub, 1974). He phoned my parents, told them what I had done, and sent me home. But a new study suggests . In contrast, Hoffman consistently respects the hot in morality: the naturally hot desires of the ego (or the id in Freudian theory); the countervailing, naturally hot basic arousal modes of the empathic predisposition; and the role of empathy and evoked images in rendering hot various aspects of cognition (we have encountered, for example, self-recognition, cognitive development, scripts or heuristics, attributions, inferences, moral principles, internalized moral norms, and inductions). Shes human after all, not a monster (p. A21). Hoffmans attention to egoistic motives and empathic processes in moral socialization accounts for the major caveats he invokes as he uses cognitive-developmental themes. It would appear that the human self can recognize and respond to the non-self at birthperhaps even in utero (Castiello et al., 2010; Lepage & Theoret, 2007; Martin & Clark, 1982). (p. 19; quoted by Hoffman, 2000, p. 123). The airplane pilot in charge of landing his aircraft in bad weather at a busy airport must not allow feelings to perturb attention to the details on which his decisions depend. As Hoffman pointed out, self-concerns (egoistic motives and biases) as well as causal attributions and other interpretive cognitive processes, can critically shape empathic emotion and hence the character of its contribution to social behavior. For example, one may read a letter describing anothers situation and affective state. The infants may first look sad and pucker up their lips before crying in the presence of anothers distress. 69, 80). Those who might not help a distressed group of anonymous individuals may at least help a needy child who becomes in effect a foster child in a long-distance relationship (photos received, letters exchanged, etc. Patrick & Gibbs, 2007): Both correlated positively with maternal nurturance, negatively with parental power assertion, and positively with child empathy. Nonetheless, their help may still be more appropriate to relieving their own discomfort (e.g., bringing a distressed peer to ones own mother even though the friends mother is present, or offering ones own rather than the peers favorite toys)suggesting a somewhat egocentric projection of ones own onto others inner states and needs. Key to this growth beyond the superficial, according to Hoffman as well as de Waal and others, are the cognitive advances in self-awareness that permit more accurate attributions: The emotional state induced in oneself by the other now needs to be attributed to the other instead of the self. He demanded to know my name, and, terrified, I told him. Early empathy is here-and-now, based on the pull of surface cues and requiring the shallowest level of cognitive processing (p. 48). 8485). With cognitive and linguistic advances, the child develops role or perspective-taking and mediated association modes of empathic arousal. According to Hoffman everyone is born with the capability of feeling empathy. Generally, the observer synchronizes changes in his facial expression, voice, and posture with the slight changes in another persons facial, vocal, or postural expressions of feeling. These changes trigger afferent feedback which produce feelings in the observer that match the feelings of the victim (Hoffman, 2000, p. 37). Empathy-based or transgression guilt derives from attributing the victims plight to ones own actions. Given such a message, children may be induced to reflect on the kind of persons they wish to be, appropriate the parental values for themselves, feel a disappointment in themselves, and determine to be more honest or considerate toward others in the future. Hoffman's Theory of Moral Development Hoffman (2000), whose theory of moral development has provided the most comprehensive view of empathy. Martin L. Hoffman's theories of empathy and guilt have been influential in the study of the development of human psychology. bystander guilt), Empathic anger (cause of victims distress attributed to another individual or group), Empathic injustice (inference that victim did not deserve distress). The higher-order modes are layered upon the basic ones. Hoffman (2000) pointed out that, although the mature modes are more subject to voluntary control and effort, they too can be fast-acting, involuntary, and triggered immediately on witnessing the victims situation (Hoffman, 2000, p. 61). For example, Hoffman (1987) argued that empathy in children develops across four different stages and that each stage lays down the foundation for the next. Generally speaking, however, Hoffman has emphasized reciprocitys mediating or shaping role: Beyond empathic anger, the reciprocity-based perception of an undeserved or unfair fate may transform [the viewers] empathic distress into an empathic feeling of injustice (p. 107). Consider dedicated clinicians, nurses, rescue workers, and other helping professionals, especially those with self-efficacy beliefs and capabilities (Hoffman, 2002, 2008). This further implication is often difficult to establish in practice, however (Eisenberg, Fabes, & Spinrad, 2006). A society needs help to accomplish moral socialization, howeverhelp from a source with greater stability than the whims of politics, culture, or religion (de Waal, 2009, p. 45). Children experience a certain degree of pressure to comply in a discipline encounter once they become aware of the relative power of parents. Insofar as Hoffman conceptualizes internalization in terms not of simple transmission but instead constructive transformation, his usage is not inconsistent with a broad Piagetian (or, for that matter, Vygotskian) conceptualization (cf. Hence, Hoffman (personal communication, September 19, 2002), since the publication of his book (Hoffman, 2000) has dropped the role-taking term and uses perspective-taking exclusively (e.g., Hoffman, 2008). It is worth noting that Mathabanes growth beyond the superficial in morality is captured in Kohlbergian as well as Hoffmanian theories. Perspective-taking is the more general term (children may be able to understand anothers perspective without knowing anything about the persons role [in a social structure]; Maccoby, 1980, p. 317). As Decety and Jackson (2004) noted, humans mimic unintentionally and unconsciously a wide range of behaviors, such as accents, tone of voice, rate of speech, posture and mannerisms, as well as moods (p. 76)even pictures of angry or happy faces, flashed on a computer screen too briefly for conscious perception (de Waal, 2012, p. 88). moral insight, Bloom, 2004, p. 146). Moshman, 2011). For example, Decety and Svetlova (2012; cf. HOFFMAN-Martin L., passed away peacefully on August 8, 2022 of natural causes, in Santa Barbara, California at the age of 98. . How is this accomplished? Empathy plays a key role in socialization, including parental discipline. In this context, the functional value of prosocial behavior pertains to the survival of the prosocial actors familiar in-group of family, friends, and others similar to oneself. In this neo-nativist view, developmentincluding moral developmentmeans merely an increasing sophistication built upon modular activation, skill (including self-regulatory skill) acquisition, verbal articulation, and socialization in a particular culture. Within empathic bias, Hoffman distinguishes between familiarity-similarity and here-and-now. A prototype of the familiarity bias is the preference that can develop for a stimulus to which one is repeatedly exposed (e.g., Zajonc, 1968). We can visualize a poor family wearing the clothes we sent them or children sitting in the school that we helped build at the other end of the globe. In other words, moral principles can serve to regulate and optimize the level of empathic distress. As the infant grows into childhood and adolescence, then, the empathic predisposition becomes less superficial and increasingly multi-modal.