Unpacking the Six Types of Empathy
Empathy is the ability to step into someone’s shoes and share their perspective and emotions. It holds an important place in our social and emotional landscape. It’s a complex topic, ranging from understanding someone’s point of view to deeply sharing their feelings and desires.
When cultivating healthier expressions of masculinity, we must appreciate the intricacies of empathy. To simply ‘be empathetic’ may not always spark actionable change. Encouraging men and those with a masculine gender expression to embrace empathy is a noble endeavor, but breaking the concept down provides a more concrete path to action.
In this article, you will find the different types of empathy and common examples:
Cognitive Empathy
Cognitive empathy is understanding another person’s perspectives, thoughts, and emotions without necessarily sharing those feelings. For instance, you may not personally enjoy fashion, but appreciate and understand your friend’s excitement for fashion. Another example of cognitive empathy is actively listening and trying to understand your partner’s feelings during a conflict.
Emotional Empathy
Emotional empathy, also known as affective empathy, delves into experiencing another person’s emotions. For instance, you celebrate a friend’s joy in finishing a marathon, truly sharing that joy. Or, you watch a sad movie and tear up due to becoming emotionally invested in the characters’ journeys.
Compassionate Empathy
Compassionate empathy combines cognitive and emotional empathy with a genuine desire to help or take action. For instance, you understand your coworker is stressed from a cognitive and emotional standpoint, so you offer to help them with some tasks to reduce their stress. Another example of compassionate empathy is helping someone up who has fallen due to understanding the pain of falling over.
Somatic Empathy
Somatic empathy is the ability to feel another person’s emotions, often through mirroring their body language and expressions. For instance, you notice your partner’s anxiety and start to feel tension in your own body. Or, you recognize your friend’s pre-speech nerves and feel your own heart racing in response to your friend’s nervousness.
Aesthetic Empathy
Aesthetic empathy relates to shared emotional connections through art, music, or other creative forms. For instance, you may appreciate or connect with art that represents diverse gender experiences. Or, you may listen to music from a different culture and feel a deep connection, even if you don’t understand the language.
Spiritual Empathy
Spiritual empathy is the ability to connect with the spiritual or moral aspects of another person’s beliefs, experiences, or practices. For instance, you empathize with the moral struggles faced by someone form a different cultural background. Another example is when you respect the dietary choices of your vegetarian partner and understand the ethical reasons behind their diet, even if you are not a vegetarian yourself.
Fostering healthy expressions of masculinity requires our understanding of these forms of empathy. By embracing empathy, we strengthen relationships, heighten emotional intelligence, facilitate peaceful conflict resolution, nurture father-child bonds, and promote health. Empathy as a masculine expression challenges conventional norms and emerges as a powerful tool that benefits both individuals and society as a whole.