The Social Neuroscience Of Empathy

Download or read book The Social Neuroscience of Empathy written by Jean Decety and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2011-01-21 with total page 269 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cross-disciplinary, cutting-edge work on human empathy from the perspectives of social, cognitive, developmental and clinical psychology and cognitive/affective neuroscience. In recent decades, empathy research has blossomed into a vibrant and multidisciplinary field of study. The social neuroscience approach to the subject is premised on the idea that studying empathy at multiple levels (biological, cognitive, and social) will lead to a more comprehensive understanding of how other people's thoughts and feelings can affect our own thoughts, feelings, and behavior. In these cutting-edge contributions, leading advocates of the multilevel approach view empathy from the perspectives of social, cognitive, developmental and clinical psychology and cognitive/affective neuroscience. Chapters include a critical examination of the various definitions of the empathy construct; surveys of major research traditions based on these differing views (including empathy as emotional contagion, as the projection of one's own thoughts and feelings, and as a fundamental aspect of social development); clinical and applied perspectives, including psychotherapy and the study of empathy for other people's pain; various neuroscience perspectives; and discussions of empathy's evolutionary and neuroanatomical histories, with a special focus on neuroanatomical continuities and differences across the phylogenetic spectrum. The new discipline of social neuroscience bridges disciplines and levels of analysis. In this volume, the contributors' state-of-the-art investigations of empathy from a social neuroscience perspective vividly illustrate the potential benefits of such cross-disciplinary integration. Contributors C. Daniel Batson, James Blair, Karina Blair, Jerold D. Bozarth, Anne Buysse, Susan F. Butler, Michael Carlin, C. Sue Carter, Kenneth D. Craig, Mirella Dapretto, Jean Decety, Mathias Dekeyser, Ap Dijksterhuis, Robert Elliott, Natalie D. Eggum, Nancy Eisenberg, Norma Deitch Feshbach, Seymour Feshbach, Liesbet Goubert, Leslie S. Greenberg, Elaine Hatfield, James Harris, William Ickes, Claus Lamm, Yen-Chi Le, Mia Leijssen, Abigail Marsh, Raymond S. Nickerson, Jennifer H. Pfeifer, Stephen W. Porges, Richard L. Rapson, Simone G. Shamay-Tsoory, Rick B. van Baaren, Matthijs L. van Leeuwen, Andries van der Leij, Jeanne C. Watson

Download or read book Empathy written by Jean Decety and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2014-01-10 with total page 335 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recent work on empathy theory, research, and applications, by scholars from disciplines ranging from neuroscience to psychoanalysis. There are many reasons for scholars to investigate empathy. Empathy plays a crucial role in human social interaction at all stages of life; it is thought to help motivate positive social behavior, inhibit aggression, and provide the affective and motivational bases for moral development; it is a necessary component of psychotherapy and patient-physician interactions. This volume covers a wide range of topics in empathy theory, research, and applications, helping to integrate perspectives as varied as anthropology and neuroscience. The contributors discuss the evolution of empathy within the mammalian brain and the development of empathy in infants and children; the relationships among empathy, social behavior, compassion, and altruism; the neural underpinnings of empathy; cognitive versus emotional empathy in clinical practice; and the cost of empathy. Taken together, the contributions significantly broaden the interdisciplinary scope of empathy studies, reporting on current knowledge of the evolutionary, social, developmental, cognitive, and neurobiological aspects of empathy and linking this capacity to human communication, including in clinical practice and medical education.

Download or read book The Neuroscience of Empathy, Compassion, and Self-Compassion written by Larry Charles Stevens and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2018-06-19 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Neuroscience of Empathy, Compassion, and Self-Compassion provides contemporary perspectives on the three related domains of empathy, compassion and self-compassion (ECS). It informs current research, stimulates further research endeavors, and encourages continued and creative philosophical and scientific inquiry into the critical societal constructs of ECS. Examining the growing number of electrocortical (EEG Power Spectral, Coherence, Evoked Potential, etc.) studies and the sizeable body of exciting neuroendocrine research (e.g., oxytocin, dopamine, etc.) that have accumulated over decades, this reference is a unique and comprehensive approach to empathy, compassion and self-compassion. - Provides perspectives on empathy, compassion and self-compassion (ECS), including discussions of cruelty, torture, killings, homicides, suicides, terrorism and other examples of empathy/compassion erosion - Addresses autonomic nervous system (vagal) reflections of ECS - Discusses recent findings and understanding of ECS from mirror neuron research - Covers neuroendocrine manifestations of ECS and self-compassion and the neuroendocrine enhancement - Examines the neuroscience research on the enhancement of ECS - Includes directed-meditations (mindfulness, mantra, Metta, etc.) and their effects on ECS and the brain

Download or read book Bridging Social Psychology written by Paul A.M. Van Lange and published by Psychology Press. This book was released on 2006-08-15 with total page 837 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bridging Social Psychology illuminates the unique contribution the field of social psychology can bring to understanding major scientific and societal problems. The book focuses on illustrating the benefits and costs of bridging social psychology with other fields of psychology, including cognitive, developmental, and personality psychology, as well as other disciplines such as biology, neuroscience and economics. The editor’s hope is that the examination of these bridges will result in new theoretical, methodological, and societal benefits. The 65 essays, written by eminent leaders in the field, demonstrate the relationship of social psychology with: (1) biology, neuroscience and cognitive science; (2) personality, emotion, and development; (3) relationship science, interaction, and health; and (4) organizational science, culture, and economics. The book also examines the key assumptions of social psychology, where the field is headed, and its unique contribution to basic theoretical and broad societal questions (e.g. promoting health in society). Section introductions tie the book together. The book concludes with an enlightening Epilogue by Walter Mischel. This book will appeal to scholars, researchers, and advanced students in social psychology wishing to demonstrate the cross-disciplinary aspect of their research. It will also be of interest to those in neighboring fields of psychology, especially personality, organizational, health, cognitive, and developmental psychology, as well as those in neuroscience, biology, sociology, communication, economics, political science, and anthropology. The user-friendly tone makes the book accessible to those with only a basic knowledge of social psychology. The book also serves as a text for advanced courses in social psychology and/or applied psychology. A helpful table, found on the book’s Web site, indicates the cross-disciplinary applications addressed in each essay, to make it easier to assign the book in courses.

Download or read book The Social Brain written by Jean Decety and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2020-08-18 with total page 441 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A range of empirical and theoretical perspectives on the relationship between biology and social cognition from infancy through childhood. Recent research on the developmental origins of the social mind supports the view that social cognition is present early in infancy and childhood in surprisingly sophisticated forms. Developmental psychologists have found ingenious ways to test the social abilities of infants and young children, and neuroscientists have begun to study the neurobiological mechanisms that implement and guide early social cognition. Their work suggests that, far from being unfinished adults, babies are exquisitely designed by evolution to capture relevant social information, learn, and explore their social environments. This volume offers a range of empirical and theoretical perspectives on the relationship between biology and social cognition from infancy through childhood.

Download or read book The Oxford Handbook of Social Neuroscience written by Jean Decety and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2011 with total page 1124 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This title marks the emergence of a third broad perspective in neuroscience. This perspective emphasizes the functions that emerge through the coaction and interaction of conspecifics and the commonality and differences across social species and superorganismal structures.

Download or read book The Wiley Blackwell Handbook of Forensic Neuroscience written by Anthony R. Beech and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2018-01-26 with total page 1205 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explores how the explosion of neuroscience-based evidence in recent years has led to a fundamental change in how forensic psychology can inform working with criminal populations. This book communicates knowledge and research findings in the neurobiological field to those who work with offenders and those who design policy for offender rehabilitation and criminal justice systems, so that practice and policy can be neurobiologically informed, and research can be enhanced. Starting with an introduction to the subject of neuroscience and forensic settings, The Wiley Blackwell Handbook of Forensic Neuroscience then offers in-depth and enlightening coverage of the neurobiology of sex and sexual attraction, aggressive behavior, and emotion regulation; the neurobiological bases to risk factors for offending such as genetics, developmental, alcohol and drugs, and mental disorders; and the neurobiology of offending, including psychopathy, antisocial personality disorders, and violent and sexual offending. The book also covers rehabilitation techniques such as brain scanning, brain-based therapy for adolescents, and compassion-focused therapy. The book itself: Covers a wide array of neuroscience research Chapters by renowned neuroscientists and criminal justice experts Topics covered include the neurobiology of aggressive behavior, the neuroscience of deception, genetic contributions to psychopathy, and neuroimaging-guided treatment Offers conclusions for practitioners and future directions for the field. The Handbook of Forensic Neuroscience is a welcome book for all researchers, practitioners, and postgraduate students involved with forensic psychology, neuroscience, law, and criminology.