Cultural Empathy In Divisive World Topic Of New Book

PALO ALTO, CA —Combatting a divisive world these days may seem like an uphill battle — but the trend is not irreversible, according to new research by Stanford psychologist Jamil Zaki.

Zaki explores the nature of empathy as a skill that can be cultivated over time. But once achieved, humans are able to show genuine care for each other, even among the most close-minded individuals, the Stanford News Service reported.

While empathy offers numerous social benefits, it's not always the best thing for healthcare professionals who may experience the danger in caring too much. With that, they are at elevated risk for burnout, depression and trauma from over-empathizing with others’ suffering, Zaki pointed out.

These are some of the key findings from Zaki’s research that have made their way into his new book, The War for Kindness: Building Empathy in a Fractured World.

Here, Zaki — an associate professor of psychology at Stanford — talks about what he learned about empathy, from experiments he led in his own lab to the research and interviews he conducted for the book.

Read the News Service's full interview here.