Master of Arts, University of Toledo, 2020, Sociology

Empathic medical care is regarded as important by physicians and patients, but minimal research has been focused on the lived experience of teaching empathy during medical education. In order to address this question, the researcher studied the lived experience of teaching empathy from the perspective of faculty members during medical education. Using a qualitative approach grounded in phenomenology and symbolic interactionism, the researcher conducted semi-structured interviews with eight faculty members from a Midwest medical school. Seven participants were actively involved in teaching at the school and one participant was a retired faculty member who designed curriculum for medical education. A grounded theory inductive approach was used to analyze the data and four main themes emerged: (1) Cultural competency training is needed in medical education; (2) Physicians view empathy as an important part of medicine and the doctor patient relationship; (3) Technology and time are structural obstacles to teaching empathy; and (4) Role modeling is the primary method by which empathy is taught to medical students. Future studies on teaching empathy during medical education should be carried out at other medical schools to determine whether the results are similar or whether these results are specific to this school.

MDES, University of Cincinnati, 2013, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Design

In recent decades, empathy has been described as an essential skill any designer must develop. Benefits of empathy, such as reaching a deeper understanding of others from a more caring perspective into the design process, should deliver more successful and meaningful products. The purpose of this thesis is to present a conceptual framework of empathy in order to understand how designers are building, using and receiving its benefits during the design process and to evaluate opportunities of increasing empathy components with training. An exploratory study was conducted comparing the impact of using different sources of information and simulation techniques on a design process, looking for changes in the level of empathy, previously assessed by a pre-and-post test. Results indicated that the inclusion of particular tools, as well as some variations in the research process, helped designers to share and understand better stakeholders' situations. This suggests that empathy is susceptible to be improved by training under specific conditions, and draw interesting guidelines for design education.

Doctor of Organization Development & Change (D.O.D.C.), Bowling Green State University, 2022, Organization Development

This study investigates how collective empathy forms, embeds, and sustains, and thus might be operationalized at [Healing Arts for Children], a small arts-focused nonprofit organization serving pediatric patients and their families. The twenty-year-old organization, in partnership with hospitals, facilitates art, music, and other creative expression activities to help reduce anxiety and encourage more positive healthcare experiences for the critically and chronically ill. The predominance of literature on empathy and its development in the workplace focuses on empathy at an individual level (specifically with leaders and staff) and empathic responses or expressions by individuals related to workplace performance. Despite a long history of studying empathy in the workplace, the constructs of individualized empathy are not universally defined and agreed upon, thereby creating significant variability in the possibility of sustainable and practical workplace application. There is little current research on empathy in the workplace that investigates the system-level application of empathy, which may be essential in determining how empathy forms, embeds, and sustains within an organization. Some research on the concept of “collective empathy” of individuals within a system exists, suggesting the possibility of operationalizing the construct. Yet, this literature appears to insufficiently address the collective empathy of a system and its influence on stakeholders and constituents, even though it suggests the possibility that collective empathy might have the power to improve culture and performance. The findings from this study build on and add to the limited empirical research on collective empathy by identifying likely conditions for how such empathy forms, embeds, and sustains within an organization. This study contributes to existing research by supporting how collective empathy forms and adds to that research by offering a perspective on the role of culture (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Arts (M.A.), University of Dayton, 2015, Psychology, Clinical

The present study examined the relationship between the constructs of psychopathy and empathy in 180 undergraduate students. This study addressed discrepancies in previous research concerning these constructs (Blair, Jones, Clark, & Smith, 1997; Lishner, 2012). Assessing different types of psychopathy and empathy did this, as participants completed measures of primary and secondary psychopathy, implicit and explicit cognitive and affective empathy, social desirability, and anxiety. Analyses did not support the part of Hypothesis 1, stating that primary psychopathy would be positively related to explicit cognitive empathy, as a negative association was found. However, as hypothesized, primary psychopathy was unrelated to implicit cognitive empathy. Further mixed results were yielded for Hypothesis 2, that secondary psychopathy would be negatively related to both implicit and explicit cognitive empathy, as a significant negative interaction was found only for secondary psychopathy and implicit cognitive empathy. Finally, when looking at the use of implicit affective physiological measurements, the current study found secondary psychopathy to be significantly negatively related to implicit affective empathy while there was no relation between primary psychopathy and implicit affective empathy. Limitations, directions, and implications for future research of these mixed results are discussed.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2014, Clinical Psychology (Arts and Sciences)

Empathy has been one of the best and most consistent predictors of outcome in quantitative research. Yet a basic understanding of the definition and uses of this common therapeutic factor has been hindered by theoretical difficulties. This study aimed to reexamine existing theoretical considerations of empathy through a qualitative analysis of clients' phenomenological experience of empathy, the clients' understanding of the therapists' empathic communications, and the clients' understanding of the utility of empathy. Participants consisted of nine clients seeking individual psychotherapy at a training clinic for doctoral students in clinical psychology. Semi-structured video-assisted interpersonal process recall (IPR) interviews lasting approximately 120 minutes each, were used for data-collection. The video-replay of the respondents' latest therapy session during interviews facilitated access to the clients' thoughts and feelings experienced during the session without undue interference. Subsequent transcription of the interviews was further enhanced through a multi-channel video-recording of the interviews. Grounded theory was used for the analysis of the transcripts, and analysis was furthered by access to the video-recordings of the interviews by four co-researchers. The use of a problem formulation to guide the interviewer during interviews and initial exploration of respondents' definitions of empathy at the beginning of each interview, allowed the respondent and interviewer to quickly focus in on the subject matter under investigation while leaving the client free to explore their actual experiences as prompted by the video-replay of the sessions. An iterative process of interviewing and data-analysis as indicated by grounded coding led to a saturation point after the sixth interview, ending data-collection after three additional interviews. Final categories were contributed to by most participants, and contributions from all nine participants were u (open full item for complete abstract)

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2022, Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services: Educational Studies

Clinical empathy is essential for patient-centered care (PCC). Practicing empathy allows providers to develop a relationship with their patients. PCC, the provider-patient relationship, and empathy improve health outcomes. However, little research is available related to US dietetics students' empathy. The purpose of this study was to learn more about US undergraduate dietetics students' empathy. This study adds to the literature on empathy by answering two research questions: 1) How do college students enrolled in dietetics programs in Southwest Ohio score on the Jefferson Scale of Empathy - Health Professions Student (JSE-HPS©) version? 2) When examining dietetics students' empathy scores and demographics, what associations and relationships emerge? Seventy-one students from two Southwestern Ohio universities completed the survey which included demographic questions, clinical experience questions, and the JSE-HPS©. The majority of respondents were female, white, and non-Hispanic. In response to the first question, the mean empathy score of undergraduate dietetics students in this study was 114.69 (SD=11.09). The range of scores was 81 to 137. Total scores were then considered as they related to each demographic: university, gender, race, ethnicity, age, year in school, income, clinical experiences in coursework, and clinical experiences through paid work or volunteering. Welch's t-test did not show significant differences by gender, ethnicity, university, clinical experiences in coursework, or clinical experiences through paid work or volunteering. Kruskal-Wallis chi-squared test did not show significant differences by year in program, age, or income. Biserial correlation between total score and gender showed a significant but weak negative relationship. Stepwise multiple regression was performed and results indicated that gender was a significant predictor of total score. Research on empathy has significant implications for dietetics educatio (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Applied Communication Theory and Methodology, Cleveland State University, 2018, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

Addiction to opioids, including abusing prescription pain killers and using heroin, is on a dramatic rise in the United States. Communities across the country are in the process of adapting new ways of addressing the issue, which have been met with significant opposition from the general public. This study examined the impact an individual's trait empathy has on whether persuasive public service announcements (PSAs) dealing with opioid addiction will be processed centrally or peripherally. Empathy has evolved, growing from an emotional experience, to a cognitive ability, to a function of both emotional and cognitive elements that can work both independently and interdependently of each other (Nathanson, 2003). The Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) suggests that motivation and ability are the determinants for whether a message will be processed centrally or peripherally. Given the dual nature of empathy, it is plausible that the emotional and cognitive elements of trait empathy could drive motivation and reinforce ability, making those individuals more likely to centrally process a message seeking to enhance attitudes toward opioid addicts. A 2 (high v low trait empathy) x 2 (high v low empathetic message) x 2 (strong v weak) between participant experiment was conducted. Outcome measures included reported empathy, stigmatized and stereotypical attitudes towards opioid addicts, and support for prosocial policies.

Bachelor of Arts, University of Toledo, 0, English

Colum McCann's Let the Great World Spin provides an intimate reading of its characters, and insight on their lives, successes, and traumas. In my paper, I will argue that this intimate reading allows for light to be shed on the empathy that these characters have, either prior to a certain experience or because of an experience. Expanding upon this, I will also differentiate between good deeds for the sake of one's self, and actions that exemplify radical empathy, which is the ultimate form of taking on the perspective of another. To support this claim, I have focused in on three characters from Let the Great World Spin that embody empathy the most. I will compare and contrast how these three use empathy, and the differences they have in acting upon it. I will cite specific passages from the novel, and illustrate how these characters take shape from the beginning. In addition, I will use critiques on Let the Great World Spin to strengthen my argument. More specifically, I will explain why critics see these good deeds as a poverty versus charity case, rather than a case where radical empathy is created. Backing up my claim will be McCann himself, in various interviews, as well as scholars on McCann and his work. I hope to illuminate the idea of empathy as a whole, and allow for my audience to understand that is a visceral element in literature throughout history.

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2014, Leadership and Change

This descriptive and comparative study examined the current landscape of humane education program evaluation and data analysis through a survey of humane educators across the country. Results of the humane education survey show that data collection and evaluation are occurring in humane education programs but these efforts do not capture and measure empathy, the primary goal of most humane education programs. Humane educators reported they felt the profession is progressive and relevant to a broad host of purposes, from building positive relationships with animals to playing a role in the larger social justice scheme. They also suggested that the field is in need of leadership and clearer direction and that they want more rigorous humane education evaluation practices. This study also examined the potential effects of humane education violence prevention and intervention programs on youth from at-risk environments. Students who participated in the violence prevention and intervention programs, TLCTM or jTLCTM, between 2001 and 2014 at the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Los Angeles (spcaLA) took pre and post surveys that identify their attitudes towards animals, others, and self. Paired survey data, totaling 395 TLC TM and jTLCTM students, were archived and, for this dissertation, were digitized from their original paper and pencil format. In September 2013 the pre and post surveys for these programs were changed to collect data that focused on changes in empathy, using the Bryant Empathy Index (BEI) (Bryant, 1982). Seventy-one BEI surveys were included in this study's analysis. Data were analyzed using descriptive and comparative statistics. The mean scores increased significantly on knowledge scales and subscales for the participants in TLCTM or jTLCTM, across all cases and variables of gender and school level. Mean scores increased significantly on attitude scales and subscales for the jTLCTM participants, across all cases and gender. Mean empat (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 1993, Psychology

Empathy has long been discussed as a trait of importance to the development of healthy self-esteem and social relationships (Goldstein & Michaels, 1985). However, the theory that parental empathy may make an important contribution to the development of children's empathy (e.g., Elson, 1987; Kohur, 1977; Mahler, Pine, & Bergman, 1975; Winnicott, 1970), has been examined by few studies. The present study examined the relationship between maternal empathy and communication style and empathy in children. This study conceptualized empathy as a multidimensional construct. New measures of maternal communication and multidimensional empathy (the Lipsitt Empathy Communication Test) were introduced to conduct this study. The relationship between communication style in empathy-relevant situations and empathy in mothers and in children has not been previously examined, although other stylistic factors in parenting have been found to be related to empathic development in children (Feshbach, 1975). As verbal communication may be one means through which empathy is transferred from mother to child, it was an important variable to investigate in order to better understand the relationship between maternal and child empathy. Results indicated that, contrary to prediction, maternal empathy was not predictive of c hildren's empathy. Maternal communication was predictive in that Maternal Supportive Communication style was significantly and positively related to empathy in girls and Maternal Directive Communication was significantly and negatively related to empathy in boys. There was an interaction effect of communication style and maternal empathy on children's empathy. However, all significant results should be interpreted with caution due to the number of analyses conducted. Children's vocabulary scores were also found to be significantly related to children's empathy. Results suggest that future research on children's empathy development should use some combination of related measur (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Akron, 2008, Counselor Education and Supervision

The purpose of this study was to explore the degree of empathy between Eastern and Western master's-level counseling students and the relationship between the degree of empathy and the level of self-construals among those students. Participants consisted of 101 students enrolled in counseling programs at two universities, one in Thailand (n = 48) and the other in the Midwestern United States of America (n = 53). The participants were administered the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI; Davis, 1980), used to measure three types of empathy, and the Self-Construal Scale (SCS; Singelis, 1994), used to measure independent and interdependent self-construals. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) revealed that the Western group of participants displayed significantly higher IRI scores on the subscales of Perspective Taking and Empathic Concern than did the Eastern group of participants. Bivariate correlational analyses indicated a significant, positive relationship between the SCS independent scores and the IRI scores on the subscales of Perspective Taking, Empathic Concern, and Fantasy Scale. However, it should be noted that these results cannot be inferred to mean that Western master's-level counseling students are more empathic than Eastern master's-level counseling students, or that an independent self-construal leads to increased empathy. Although prior cross-cultural research demonstrated that Western and Eastern persons have different linguistic, cognitive, and affective expressions, follow-up statistical analyses demonstrated that Western and Eastern participants did not significantly differ in SCS scores (i.e., independent versus interdependent self-construals), which suggested that the sample population was more homogeneous in their cultural orientations than anticipated. Finally, factors unrelated to this study's research design,such as the degree of training of empathy, may have influenced the results in spurious ways. Because the results showed that We (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Organizational Leadership , Franklin University, 2025, International Institute for Innovative Instruction

A curriculum includes standards, learning objectives, and content that form the foundation of an educational program. It outlines what students are expected to learn, how they will learn it, and how their learning will be assessed. A curriculum change could require a shift in teachers' pedagogical thinking, innovative and creative thinking, adjusting assessment practices, and continuous professional development. Administrators must also adapt their management and leadership style to create a safe learning environment for all teachers. This study will focus on how elementary school teachers and administrators describe their emotional intelligence during an English Language Arts (ELA) curriculum change. Emotional intelligence includes emotional and social skills that affect how people perceive, communicate, develop relationships, work through obstacles, and make decisions. This qualitative descriptive study used Daniel Goleman's framework on emotional intelligence to analyze individual one-on-one interviews through the lens of his five components of emotional intelligence: self-awareness, self-regulation, self-motivation, empathy, and social skills.

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 1967, Graduate School

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 1961, Graduate School

Master of Social Work, The Ohio State University, 1967, Graduate School

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2024, Psychology

Parenting in the child's early years is a critical influence on children's development (Frosch et al., 2021). One key component of high-quality parenting in infancy is sensitive, warm, and engaged parent behavior. A parent's ability to exhibit high-quality parenting is influenced by many factors, including their developmental history and personality, their marital relations, and work experiences (Belsky, 1984). Temperament is a biologically based component of a child's characteristics that can influence parenting behavior (Belsky, 1984). When a parent has a child with greater negative emotionality or poorer regulatory capacity, it may be harder to maintain high-quality parenting (Crockenberg & Leerkes, 2003). This then can impact a child's development. However, some parents may be better able to maintain high parenting quality regardless of the child's temperament. Parental empathy is characterized as a parent's ability to recognize, take the perspective of, and appropriately react to children's emotions (Boorman et al. 2019). Mothers with greater dispositional empathy are more sensitive and responsive to their infants, although relatively little research has considered the role of dispositional empathy in fathers' parenting quality. Therefore, this study examined the associations of infant negative emotionality and regulatory capacity with the parenting quality of new mothers and fathers, and whether these associations were moderated by parent empathy. Participants were drawn from a longitudinal study of 182 dual-earner U.S. couples, primarily White and of moderate to high SES, who had their first child in 2008-2009. During pregnancy, expectant mothers and fathers each completed the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (Davis, 1980) to assess their empathic concern, perspective-taking, and personal distress. At 3 months postpartum, mothers and fathers each reported their infant's negative affectivity and regulatory capacity on the Infant Behavior Questionnaire-VSF (Put (open full item for complete abstract)

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2024, Arts and Sciences: Psychology

Research on workplace relationships with people with disabilities (PWD) has found mixed results on emotional responses, such as empathy, to PWD in the workplace (Carpenter & Paetzold, 2013; Hirschberger et al., 2005). Within the research, there is conflicting evidence regarding whether empathy is always beneficial for workplace relationships between non-disabled individuals and PWD (Cesare et al., 1990; Colella & Varma, 2001; Lyubykh, 2016). The current study investigates the role of empathy in behavior towards PWD in the context of relationships between coworkers by conducting interviews with employees with disabilities and their non-disabled coworkers. The research questions addressed by this study are: What is the lived experience of employees with disabilities working with non-disabled coworkers?, What role do empathy and sympathy play within these relationships?, and How does an individual's disability identity impact their relationships with non-disabled coworkers? The interviews with the disabled employees were analyzed according to interpretive phenomenological analysis (Moustakas, 1994; Smith, 2011). Dyadic analysis was also conducted on the non-disabled coworker interviews paired with the disabled employee interviews. The interviews provide valuable insight into the experiences unique to disabled employees working with non-disabled coworkers. The results reveal factors that are important to disabled individuals in their relationships with non-disabled coworkers. Empathic behaviors appear to play a beneficial role within relationships between disabled and non-disabled coworkers while behaviors based in sympathy can be harmful. Implications from the study on how organizations can integrate the beneficial behaviors highlighted in the interviews are also discussed.

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2024, Psychology

Depending on racial identity, individuals have substantially different experiences of racial discrimination. High variability in attitudes, beliefs, and prior experiences about racial discrimination can alter how each individual from racial majority and minority groups faces and processes a story that is or is not related to racial discrimination in everyday life. The present study aims to compare black and white individuals' ways of processing a story depending on the content, especially focusing on racial discrimination at the neural level. In a functional manganic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanner, black and white individuals watched a video of a black woman telling her bad experience of consumer service. At first, the storyteller talks about the experience without mentioning anything about race, but in the middle of the story, it becomes clear that it is an instance of racial discrimination. Taking advantage of this unique structure of the story, participants' brain activities were compared based on the content of the story. Focusing on dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) and using a method called univariate intersubject correlation, neural synchrony between each and every pair of participants was computed. When the story is not related to racial discrimination, pairs of white individuals showed the greatest neural synchrony than any other pair types including pairs of black individuals which suggests ingroup heterogeneity and outgroup homogeneity effect when processing a story at the neural level. When the participant learned that the story was related to racial discrimination, this effect disappeared, and neural synchrony was associated with the participants' similarities in psychological constructs. Neural synchrony between white participants was predicted by dissimilarity of implicit racial bias, similarity of political ideology, and similarity of belief about malleability of individual prejudice. In contrast, neural synchrony between black participants was (open full item for complete abstract)

Bachelor of Science of Communication Studies (BSC), Ohio University, 2024, Communication Studies

College students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are frequent targets of stigma. Stigmatizing attitudes toward can lead to feelings of loneliness, isolation, and thoughts of self-harm. To help find a potential solution, this study analyzed the effect of narrative and empathy messages on the stigmatization of college students with autism. Several college students with autism were interviewed to identify common ways that stigma has affected their lives on campus. I then used the data collected from the interviews to draft six messages: 2 non-narrative messages, 2 narrative messages without empathy, and 2 narrative messages with empathy. In the next phase of the study, over 100 college students were recruited and asked to read one of the six messages. After reading the message, they took a survey to measure how the message affected their feelings of empathy and attitudes toward college students with autism. Compared to non-narrative messages, narrative messages had a more positive effect on the audience's view of autistic college students. However, the narrative with empathy messages had no significant benefit over the narrative without empathy messages. Future studies should generate a larger and more diverse sample as well as a more balanced ratio of messages analyzed.

Master of Arts, Marietta College, 2023, Psychology

Figuring out how to get people to engage in behaviors that benefit society as a whole has been a topic of discussion for many years. Empathy, kama muta, and altruism have been examined to determine if any of them can be used to increase a person's desire to participate in prosocial behaviors. In this study, participants were randomly placed into one of three groups. One group watched a Red Cross commercial, a second watched a video of cute animals, and a third a sports video, before watching the Red Cross commercial. Participants also filled out self-report questionnaires measuring their altruism, empathy, and kama muta levels. The dependent measure questionnaire asked participants if they were interested in future blood drives. Overall, the findings in this study were nonsignificant, and the limitations of this study are discussed.