Empathy Starter Kit

This is the first post in a new series of "starter kits" that compile a lot of useful resources on a particular concept. In this post, the topic is "Empathy." The goal is that if you're looking to begin learning about the science of empathy that this post would be the most useful resource around. In the future, I may post starter kits for "Persuasion," "Motivation," "Happiness," "Morality," and/or "Cooperation." I'm open to suggestions.

The "Against Empathy" Debate:

Paul Bloom 1
Paul Bloom 2
Peter Singer
Jack Berry and Lynn O'Connor
Marianne LaFrance
Nomy Arpaly
Christine Montross
Barbara Fried
Leslie Jamison
Leonardo Christov-Moore and Marco Iacoboni
Simon Baron-Cohen
Elizabeth Stoker Bruenig
Sam Harris
Jesse Prinz

General Info on Empathy:

Exploring the Phenomenon of Empathy

Deconstructing Empathy

Empathic Accuracy

Triggering the Intentional Stance

Also see: writing on “theory-of-mind (TOM),” “the intentional stance,” “perspective-taking,” “mentalizing,” and, in the context of video games, “Yomi.”

Empathy in Non-Human Animals:

The Antiquity of Empathy

Wild Justice Redux: What We Know About Social Justice in Animals and Why It Matters

Toward a cross-species understanding of empathy

The Basis of Morality

Empathy and Pro-Social Behaviour in Rats

Varying Perceived Social Threat Modulates Pain Behavior in Male Mice

Chimpanzees empathize with group mates and humans, but not with baboons or unfamiliar chimpanzees

Towards a bottom-up perspective on animal and human cognition

The Neuroscience of Empathy:

The Neural Bases for Empathy

The Neuroscience of Empathy: Progress, Pitfalls, and Promise

Is there a core neural network in empathy?

The Social Neuroscience of Empathy

Empathy, Altruism, and Morality:

Is Empathic Emotion a Source of Altruistic Motivation?

Empathy-Induced Altruistic Motivation

Re-interpreting the Empathy-Altruism Relationship

The Effects of Perspective-Taking on Motivations for Helping

Emotion, Regulation, and Moral Development

Empathy and Exposure to Fiction:

Exploring the Link Between Reading Fiction and Empathy

The Function of Fiction is the Abstraction and Simulation of Social Experience

A Theory of Narrative Empathy

How Does Reading Fiction Influence Empathy?

Also see the first half of Section 2 of my thesis paper, Fiction, Fast and Slow: Narrative Media As A Tool For Social Change.

 

The Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education:

Compassion: An Evolutionary Analysis and Empirical Review

When Giving Is Good

Why We Give To Neighbors, Not Strangers

Books: 

The Social Neuroscience of Empathy

Empathy: From Bench to Bedside

The Primate Mind: Built to Connect With Other Minds

Why Empathy Matters: The Science and Psychology of Better Judgment