Empathy is a crucial human ability. It’s the basis of the golden rule: do unto others as you’d have them do unto you. And yet, empathy is not all that well understood. Many people confuse empathy with sympathy, and they are not the same. Since this is a term that’s often used, but generally misunderstood, we break it down for you.
Then, we look at new research from Georgia Tech which finds empathy can help prevent the spread of disease during an outbreak. Ceyhun Eksin is a researcher in Georgia Tech’s School of Biological Engineering; and, Dr. A.J. Marsden is a professor of Psychology at Beacon College in Florida.