The Interpersonal Functions of Empathy: A Relational Perspective

Abstract

Empathy is an extensively studied construct, but operationalization of effective empathy is routinely debated in popular culture, theory, and empirical research. This article offers a process-focused approach emphasizing the relational functions of empathy in interpersonal contexts. We argue that this perspective offers advantages over more traditional conceptualizations that focus on primarily intrapsychic features (i.e., within the individual). Our aim is to enrich current conceptualizations and empirical approaches to the study of empathy by drawing on psychological, philosophical, medical, linguistic, and anthropological perspectives. In doing so, we highlight the various functions of empathy in social interaction, underscore some underemphasized components in empirical studies of empathy, and make recommendations for future research on this important area in the study of emotion.

The effect of mothers’ emotion‐related responses to adolescent disclosures and adolescent perspective taking on the timing of future disclosures

“…Empathy is a multidimensional interpersonal construct with affective and cognitive components (see Main, Walle, Kho, & Halpern, ), but in the present study, we focused on the cognitive process of perspective taking (i.e., the ability to take another’s point of view into consideration). This is because adolescents who can more accurately perceive their parents’ intentions during interactions are likely better able to listen to and appreciate the parents’ message, especially in the context of conflict (Van Lissa, Hawk, & Meeus, ).…”

Two Challenges for Psychologists against, or in Favor of, Empathy

“…Surprisingly, theories of empathy are often disconnected from general theories of emotions [Wondra & Ellsworth, 2015]. For instance, few theories of empathy employ the constructs of appraisal, concerns, and action tendencies [for discussions, see Hoffman, 2000;Main et al, 2017;Wondra & Ellsworth, 2015]. This disconnect is puzzling for two reasons.…”

The Empathic Foundations of Security Dilemma De‐escalation

“…However, an individual cannot be said to have strong empathic capacities in a relational setting if they are unable to communicate these capacities effectively. Empathy is a relational capacity (Main, Walle, Kho, & Halpern, ) of which communication should be considered a central indicator of the strength of an individual's empathy. If an actor cannot express their empathy towards their adversary in an effective manner, this is not just a failure of conveyance or communication but a failure of empathy itself.…”