Browsing by Subject "Empathy"

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
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    The Effects of Animal-Assisted Activities on the Social and Emotional Development of Young Children with Characteristics of Emotional Behavioral Disorders
    (2011) Schmid, Elaine K
    As emotional behavioral disorders become more prevalent throughout the school-age population, intervention during the early childhood ages is becoming key. Considering that social emotional delays are risk factors for emotional behavioral disorders and the evidence of social-emotional health in the early years leading to emotional well-being in adolescent and adult years, there is a significant need for social and emotional health in early childhood. Animal-assisted activities are ways to teach concepts such as selfawareness, self-regulation, social engagement, emotional understanding, and empathy to children in primary school. In this case study, four 6 and 7 year old children participated in animal-assisted activities with domestic farm animals. Child self-reports (Bryant Index of Empathy), parent-reports (Griffeth Empathy Measure), and behavioral observations (Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scales) were all used to measure the change in empathy, social interaction, and social cooperation over the five sessions. Over the course of five one-hour sessions with farm animals, children showed an increase in empathy, social interaction, and social cooperation. This case study demonstrates the impact that animal-assisted activities can have on young children. Future research should investigate the impact of animal-assisted activities on larger, more diverse groups of young children.
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    Empathy training in genetic counseling: an investigation of how genetic counselors learn to "walk in their patients' shoes".
    (2012-08) VandenLangenberg, Erin
    Empathy is a fundamental component of genetic counseling, but empirical data regarding the nature of genetic counselor empathy and empathy training methods are lacking. In this descriptive study, 60 genetic counselors, recruited through an online survey sent via the NSGC listserv, provided written definitions of empathy and responded to demographic questions. Additionally, genetic counselor program training directors nominated genetic counseling supervisors they perceived as focusing on empathy development when training students. Seventeen supervisors subsequently completed a similar online survey. Eleven genetic counselors and 16 supervisors completed follow a semi-structured, audio recorded phone interview to further investigate how genetic counselors define their professional use of empathy, to clarify training methods used to build empathy skills, and (for supervisors only) to determine methods supervisors use to evaluate empathy development. Inductive analysis of written definitions from the survey yielded themes consistent with Barrett-Lennard's (1981) 3-component model of empathy, namely, that genetic counselor's perceive empathy as: (1) the ability to understand another person's experience; (2) communicating that understanding; and (3) the other person's perception of being understood. Modified Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR; Hill, Thompson, & Williams, 1997; Hill, Knox, Thompson, Williams, & Hess, 2005) methods were used to analyze interview transcripts of genetic counselors and supervisors. Findings from this analysis showed that, similar to other health professions, genetic counselors and supervisors are more cognizant of Barrett-Lennard's (1981) Components 1 and 2. Genetic counselors reported learning their definition of empathy in their training program but honing their empathy skills primarily through clinical experience. Supervisors reported training and experience were equally important in their both their own and their student supervisees' learning of empathy and skill development. Supervisors experienced increased comfort using empathy in clinical practice as they became more familiar with the concept and reported emphasizing empathy more with their students as they gained clinical and supervisory experience. Genetic counselors reported that with experience empathy became a tangible skill and a process used throughout the session. Both groups of interviewees described empathy as an evolving process. While some participants believed empathy might be innate, most reported empathy is something one is continuously learning and it is refined through training and experience. Post-genetic counseling session reflection and anticipatory guidance were most frequently mentioned by both groups as supervisory methods used to promote empathy development. Findings from this study were congruent with the Reciprocal Engagement Model (REM) of Genetic Counseling (McCarthy Veach, Bartels, & LeRoy, 2007), a published model of the genetic counseling process. A model of empathy in genetic counseling, the Reciprocal Engagement Model of Empathy (REM-E), is proposed to describe how empathy can be infused into genetic counseling practice. Additional findings, practice implications and research recommendations are presented.
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    Evaluation of Learning Outcomes: “Why Does She Stay?” Class Exercise
    (2016) Hurlburt, Allison
    Attitudes of domestic abuse have been studied for many years. Now researchers look to see if there are ways to change those negative attitudes and have people understand the dynamics of abuse; having more empathy toward the situation and victim. Classroom exercises can be a useful tool to teach empathy. In this study I use the exercise, “Why Does She Stay?” to see if this can be done. In this study, after a pre test, class exercise, and posttest, I found that the class exercise increased the understanding of dynamics of domestic abuse. Females had a greater significant change in their understanding than males did. There was also an age group of 19, 20, and 21 years old had the greatest increase.
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    Fostering Attitudes of Empathy towards Animals in Youth Ages 4-7 through Play Experiences in a Zoo Setting
    (2011) Faris, Heidi M
    Zoos are place-based education facilities that have the ability to utilize their natural play spaces to enhance the social and cognitive development of children using live animals. Playing outdoors in nature has shown to increase physical, attentive, cognitive and social development during early childhood. By using place-based learning, zoos can guide children to use different play behaviors to foster attitudes of care and empathy increasing their appreciation to nature. During the week of July 18th-21st, 2011, observations of children playing at the San Antonio Zoo in the Kronkosky's Tiny Tot Nature Spot, to determine if children who play in a zoo setting show empathy for animals and an appreciation for nature. 97 children, both boys and girls between the estimated ages of 4-7 were recorded. Five popular play spaces within the children's area were chosen as observation sites. A coding form and accompanying notebook were used to record observations. Data was collected and coded using different aspects, such as play behaviors per area, boys vs. girls, time spent in an area, actions and language spoken. Children who played in the various play areas showed different levels of empathy towards animals based on the expressions and actions recorded. Further research is needed to include predetermined factors, expanding to more than one zoo, and conduct a longitudinal study to understand long term effects of the role of zoo and nature play areas.
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    Oxytocin and epigenetic mechanisms in mouse models of empathy and autism
    (2016-08) Pisansky, Marc
    Empathy, the capacity to infer the emotional state of another, represents a normal process of social cognition that is impaired in several psychiatric diseases. This dissertation research investigates (1) behavioral indices and features of empathy in mice, (2) the role of the neuropeptide oxytocin in mouse empathy, and (3) empathic and other endophenotypes in an epigenetic mouse model of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Empathy was modeled using a novel set of behavioral paradigms that measure fear transmitted from a distressed “demonstrator” mouse to an “observer” conspecific. Socially transmitted fear was influenced by the sex of the observer, familiarity to the demonstrator, and distress vocalizations emitted from the demonstrator. Repeated observation of a distressed conspecific elicited a switch from freezing to escape fear behaviors that was specific to familiar conspecifics. Oxytocin – whether exogenously applied or released via chemogenetic stimulation – enhanced socially transmitted fear in unfamiliar mice, whereas oxytocin receptor antagonism reduced this empathic behavior in familiar mice. Genetically-modified mice lacking chromodomain helicase DNA-binding 5 (Chd5), a chromatin remodeler that regulates neurodevelopmental processes, exhibited specific impairments in these empathic behaviors. Chd5-/- mice further displayed characteristic socio-communicative and neophobic behaviors reminiscent of ASD symptomology. Cortical tissue from Chd5-/- mice revealed altered transcriptional expression and neuron-level morphological variations characteristic of ASD etiology and pathophysiology. Thus, this research furthers our understanding of neural and epigenetic contributions to neurodevelopment and social cognition, and provides clues to understanding empathy and treating psychiatric disease.
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    Walking in your patient‘s shoes: an investigation of genetic counselor empathy in clinical practice.
    (2010-08) Kao, Juihsien H.
    Empathy is defined as "... [the ability] to perceive the internal frame of reference of another with accuracy and with the emotional components and meanings which pertain thereto as if one were the person, but without ever losing the `as if' condition" (Rogers, 1957, p.210). It is an important genetic counselor attitude and skill that is effective in establishing rapport with patients and providing them with psychosocial support (Kessler, 1999; McCarthy Veach, Bartels & LeRoy, 2007). Yet there is a dearth of empirical studies concerning how genetic counselors conceptualize and use empathy in their clinical practice. Furthermore, genetic counselors' empathy tendency, or ability to experience empathy, has not been examined. Accordingly the present study investigated genetic counselors' empathy tendency, their empathic responses to patient statements in five hypothetical genetic counseling scenarios (cancer, cleft palate, Fabry disease, Long QT syndrome, and Huntington Disease), and their personal successes and challenges in engaging empathically with their patients. Two hundred ten genetic counselors responded to an anonymous online survey posted to the National Society of Genetic Counseling (NSGC) listserv, and of these respondents, 143 completed the entire survey. Their empathy tendency was assessed with the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (Davis, 1983). Results indicated that participants had the highest mean empathy scores on the Empathic Concern Scale, followed by the Perspective-Taking Scale, Fantasy Scale, and Personal Distress Scale. Content analysis of written responses to the five genetic counseling scenarios revealed that, within and across scenarios, participants' responses to patient statements varied markedly. They included concise summaries of content and reflections of patient feelings, and lengthy, complex responses containing open and closed questions, information, self-disclosure, advice, counselor opinions, and/or nonverbal behaviors. Participants' use of empathy in their responses to the patients were not significantly related to their scores on any of the four empathy tendency scales. Analysis of empathy successes revealed three major themes: Exploring Psychosocial Issues and Providing Psychosocial Support, Information Provision, and Facilitating Patient Coping. Analysis of empathy challenges also revealed three major themes: Counselor Factors, Nature of Genetic Counseling Sessions, and Patient Factors. Implications for practice and research are presented.