Empathy: Have We Lost It?

Empathy, the ability to feel for others leading to acts of kindness, was certainly alive and well in the fifties and sixties.

All we have to do is indulge in a few episodes of Lassie, Father Knows Best, even The Little Rascals to see what family and communal life was like in the days before the internet, social networking sites, pedophile registries, x-rated movies and video games.

For years, my husband’s family lived in a little town called West Stockbridge in Massachusetts. They never locked their doors, even at night because a sense of kinship and benevolence infiltrated the town.

Their neighbors were their guardians. Kids from the neighborhood played together and looked after the wee ones. When someone got sick, the whole town was mobilized with helping hands and food.

Those were the good old days!

What has happened to this communal sense of fellowship?

According to a recent study published by Jamil Zaki in Scientific American Mind (January/February, 2011:14-15), empathy among college students has been falling over the past 30 years. A research study led by Sara H. Konrath of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor found that since 1980, self-reported empathy has dropped significantly, especially in the past 10 years.

Moreover, a research study led by Psychologist Jean M. Twenge at San Diego State University found that self reported narcissism has spiked up during the same period.

What has happened to our sympathy quotient? Have we lost it?

More here!