Are We All Born as Potential Psychopaths and Then Learn Empathy?
Occasionally, I ponder whether humans are inherently born with the capability to act as potential psychopaths and only develop empathy later in life. However, I find it hard to reconcile this with the empathy that seems obscure in some historical atrocities, such as war crimes, greed, persecution, and manipulation. It is also less evident in the way global issues are often handled today. This leads me to question whether the capacity for empathy is merely a human trait that has been elevated to the status of a religion, a tool for control. It is possible that being unable to exhibit emotions, PTSD, anxiety, or depression marks one as a dangerous individual. Alternatively, it could just be my cynical outlook.
Understanding Empathy: Cognitive vs. Affective
Empathy is not a straightforward black-and-white issue. It involves two distinct forms: cognitive empathy and affective empathy. Cognitive empathy is the ability to quickly and accurately discern the emotions, feelings, and moods of others. On the other hand, affective empathy is the capacity to feel the feelings of others as if they were your own. The vast majority of humans are born with both cognitive and affective empathy, albeit to varying degrees.
I have average cognitive empathy but strong affective empathy. For instance, if I see a wound on another person's arm, the skin and muscles of my arm may shiver as if I were sharing the pain indirectly. This mirroring response, known as affective empathy, sometimes occurs even when I am witnessing someone's pain on TV. Infants, despite having the potential for both forms of empathy, are not developmentally capable of experiencing either type of empathy until late toddlerhood or even later in some cases.
Impairments in Empathy: Autism and Antisocial Personality Disorder
Some individuals are born with poor or absent cognitive empathy, which is often associated with autism. People on the autism spectrum often struggle to quickly and accurately understand the moods and feelings of others, described as being "emotionally blind." However, even with this impairment, they are still capable of feeling affective empathy. For example, if their friend is sad and crying because of the loss of a pet, they would still feel empathy and want to comfort the friend.
Other individuals may have highly developed cognitive empathy but no affective empathy. Those with Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD), also known as Dissocial Personality Disorder, can read others' emotions and moods accurately but use this ability to manipulate and exploit them without caring about the potential harm. They understand exactly what another person is feeling and thinking, but they have no emotional connection to these feelings, making them indifferent to the consequences of their actions on others.
Revising Human Empathy
The theories of Dr. Simon Baron-Cohen, as discussed in his book Zero Degrees of Empathy, provide insight into these different types of empathy. He suggests that there are two kinds of empathy that can coexist among individuals. This idea aligns with the current research efforts aimed at cultivating affective empathy in children who seem to be born without it.
Researchers are currently working on strategies to strengthen affective empathy in children at risk of growing up to become violent criminals. By training parents to reinforce positive behaviors and prevent destructive violent behaviors, the goal is to redirect these children's behaviors. A documentary that has been highly encouraging for this approach has shown promising results in terms of the effectiveness of these methods.
Understanding human empathy in this context allows us to view it not just as a single trait but as a complex interaction of cognitive and affective components. By doing so, we can better appreciate the nuances of human behavior and social interactions, and perhaps foster a more empathetic and kinder society.