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Related Concept Videos

Empathy02:34

Empathy

Some researchers suggest that altruism operates on empathy. Empathy is the capacity to understand another person’s perspective, to feel what he or she feels. An empathetic person makes an emotional connection with others and feels compelled to help (Batson, 1991). Empathy can be expressed in several ways, including cognitive, affective, and motor.
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Richard Lazarus' cognitive mediational theory highlights the pivotal role of cognitive appraisal in shaping emotional responses. According to this theory, the evaluation of a stimulus — based on personal values, goals, beliefs, and expectations — mediates the emotional response. This appraisal process is immediate and often occurs unconsciously, influencing the intensity and nature of the resulting emotion.
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During adolescence, individuals experience significant cognitive development that enhances their understanding of others' emotions and thoughts, known as cognitive empathy. This period is marked by an increased ability to adapt to others' perspectives and a more nuanced understanding of others' mental states, a skill that is foundational for social problem-solving and conflict avoidance. The development of cognitive empathy relies heavily on the theory of mind — the recognition that people have...
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 2, 2026

Observational Fear as a Model of Affective Empathy in Mice
04:14

Observational Fear as a Model of Affective Empathy in Mice

Published on: November 22, 2024

Neural substrates underlying intentional empathy.

Moritz de Greck1, Gang Wang, Xuedong Yang

  • 1Department of Psychology, Peking University, 5 Yiheyuan Road, Beijing 100871, China. moritz.greck@gmx.de

Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience
|April 23, 2011
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Humans can intentionally empathize, even without emotional cues. This study used fMRI to identify brain regions, like the inferior frontal cortex, involved in intentional empathy.

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Brain Imaging Investigation of the Neural Correlates of Emotion Regulation
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Published on: August 26, 2011

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Social Cognitive Neuroscience

Background:

  • Empathic responses can be automatic or intentional.
  • Intentional empathy is possible even without explicit emotional expressions.
  • The neural mechanisms of intentional empathy are not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the neural substrates of intentional empathy.
  • To explore brain activity during the intentional empathic process.
  • To differentiate brain regions involved in intentional empathy versus control tasks.

Main Methods:

  • Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used.
  • 20 healthy Chinese subjects participated.
  • Participants intentionally empathized with neutral or angry faces of familiar (Asian) and unfamiliar (Caucasian) models.
  • Skin color evaluation served as a control task.

Main Results:

  • The empathy task activated known empathy regions: anterior cingulate cortex, bilateral inferior frontal cortex, and bilateral anterior insula.
  • Intentional empathy, contrasted with skin color evaluation, highlighted the bilateral inferior frontal cortex (independent of emotion/familiarity) and the right-middle temporal gyrus (modulated by emotion, not familiarity).

Conclusions:

  • The inferior frontal cortex and right-middle temporal gyrus play a role in intentional empathy.
  • These findings expand the understanding of the neural basis of controlled empathic processes.