21st Century Learning and Teaching

Why are some people so much better at expressing empathy than others?

Psychologists define empathy as sensitivity to the emotions, both positive and negative, of other people. You can feel empathic—or empathetic (the two words are used interchangeably)—to someone who is feeling positive feelings, such as amusement or joy, in addition to someone who is feeling sadness or anger. “Empathy is being in the heart of another person,” says Susan Kuczmarski, a cultural anthropologist and adjunct faculty member in the executive education program at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

Researchers have determined that people react in one of two ways when faced with another person’s emotions. Sometimes people respond with “empathic concern” or caregiving. They see themselves as a source of comfort or support for the other person.

But sometimes people feel threatened by the other person’s emotions and focus instead on themselves. They might try to help, to minimize their own discomfort. Typically they distance themselves. Psychologists call this response “empathic distress.”

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