The mindfulness movement is
not just a west coast phenomenon for overworked, stressed-out individuals
dissatisfied with their highly competitive lifestyles, sufferers of anger or
depression, or those whose lives are sufficiently unwell to the extent that
they are seeking ways to cope with personal health crises. It is very much a
worldwide movement to expand awareness of the self and our relationship to
others. People in other countries are exploring very positive uses for
mindfulness in unusual settings.
One such individual is,
Lidewij Niezink, Ph.D., a psychological researcher that has discovered that
empathy – or mindfulness, tenderness, perspective taking and compassion – can
be very powerful tools in organizational change for fire departments where
team work is all important.
Fire departments, like
other organizations, face challenges when leadership changes. Dilemmas and
conflicts can undermine the cohesiveness of a team. Finding a balance between
leading and following is important.
Dr. Niezink was a
self-avowed pessimist that weighed in on the empathy/sympathy-altruism
question as a non-believer – until researching the subject extensively from a
scientific perspective. She describes that,
among other evidence, brain research using MRIs can actually distinguish
perceptible changes in brain activity when powerful images evoke feelings of
emotions such as sympathy, empathy, altruism, and compassion in subjects.
Niezink’s attitude took a 180-degree turn.
|
Critics of human
altruism have long held that men are motivated to “do good” because of
self-centered interests.
In neuroscience the
guiding belief is that others make us feel a particular way. They are the
cause of our feelings, positive or negative.
Photos compliments of
Lidewij Niezink; Images from the “Mercurialis de Arte Gymnastica,” LXXII.
|
SHAN: How did you first
become interested in empathy, altruism and compassion as a field of study
using biology, psychology, neuroscience, and philosophy?
LIDEWIJ: My background is
in social- and organizational psychology. After three years as an undergraduate
at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, I became interested in
research on altruism and empathy. I approached professors at my university to
discuss possibilities and the ball started rolling.
The project, Considering
Others in Need: On Altruism, Empathy and Perspective Taking, appealed to me
on both a cognitive as well as a heart-level. There is so much trouble and
strife in our world. We seem so obsessed with ourselves, wars, economics,
politics, etc. What about the other side of that coin?
Even in psychology, the
main focus over the past 60 years has been on disorders, mental illnesses and
what is wrong with humanity. Yet most of us are functioning rather “normal.”
What do we know about “normal” healthy minds? How can we improve and practice
in order to stay healthy? Positive psychology is approaching these questions
and I guess you could say that my work is part of that movement.
|
I’ve researched the effects of empathy and
perspective taking on helping behavior and altruism. Perspective taking is an
important human capacity and the cognitive part of empathic concern. When we
try to imagine what others are thinking, feeling or experiencing, we tend to
ask ourselves: “how would I think/feel if I were in the shoes of that other
person?” In social psychology, this is what we call an imagine-self
perspective. We wonder what we would need if we would be in the shoes of that
other person. Although this perspective is eliciting an emotional and
cognitive reaction towards the situation of the other, it also has a flaw.
After all, we are not really wondering what the other is experiencing. We
keep turning around our own personal feelings and needs. It is no problem to
ask yourself these questions. It probably gives you good insights in your own
personal life. Yet when you attempt to help somebody else, you need to
refocus your attention and awareness toward the other person. If you do not
refocus you end up projecting what you would want or need in such a situation
on the other. But the other person is not you. He or she might have
completely different experiences and emotions than you would have.
This is when the second perspective comes into play:
Now that you know what you would feel, think and need, how about the other?
In the imagine-other perspective we ask ourselves: What would this person
experience in this situation? What are his or her needs? This second
perspective elicits empathy —“an affective response that stems
from the apprehension or comprehension of another’s emotional state or
condition and is similar to what the other person is feeling or would be
expected to feel.” (e.g. Eisenberg et al. 1994).
|
SHAN: What are some areas
of conflict where using a behavioral model can be most successful in bringing
about positive results?
LIDEWIJ: The Restorative
Justice principle is a problem-solving model for victims and perpetrators. It
is very victim empowering and less punitive for the perpetrator than the
regular justice system. It gives the victim, as well as the perpetrator, a
chance to address a crime. Awareness of the deed and the way the victim was
injured by it, as well as holding the perpetrator responsible can be very
healing when brought out in the open. It is interesting in terms of empathy.
Some victims and perpetrators actually develop empathy for the other. In
fact, 75 percent of perpetrators and 80 percent of victims that have been
surveyed using this model felt it was helpful.
Organizational conflict is
another area that can benefit from empathic awareness. Conflicts in
organizations are most often between individuals. Unless there is no
interest, these problems are usually solvable. When there is awareness of the
causes of suffering, and empathy is applied to a situation of conflict
between individuals, it has a broadening affect on perspective for those
involved. To move someone out of anger, you have to emphasize the “togetherness”
of whatever they are doing together and you’ll create openness that generates
exploration and creativity.
|
The father of modern
capitalism, Herbert Spencer, wrote about competition and self-survival as
dominant traits in humans. (He came up with the phrase “survival of the
fittest.”) But primatologist Frans de Waal has made extensive observations in
nature that demonstrate that even animals as mice and primates show
cooperation and empathy for one another. In reality humans are wired to
cooperate, too. We have a need to cooperate. There is more to life than
competition and survival. We do depend on each other. The caring capacity is
there. We need to explore it more.
 |
Wherever humans live, work,
and play there are potentials for conflict. As we become more aware of others
and our differences, we also become more aware of our similarities. Stressful
family and personal relationships, work relationships and organizational
relationships – experiences and changes that impact our daily lives bring new
ways of perceiving situations and opportunities for conflict resolution with
others.
|
To learn more about the
work of Lidewij Niezink and how she helps individuals, groups, and
organizations to cultivate empathy and compassion into their professional and
personal lives see her YouTube video with Edwin Rutsch, Dialogs on How to
Build a Culture of Empathy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucIwJtXpfGs&feature=youtu.be
On LinkedIn see the groups
she manages: http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Empathy
and http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Charter-Compassion
You can also follow her on
Twitter: @LidewijNi
|
For related information
see: http://greatergood.berkeley.edu
and www.restorativejustice.org
|
Update on May 30, 2021.
Lidewij Niezink, Ph.D., is now host of the Empathy and Charter for Compassion groups on LinkedIn. Dr. Niezink works with Edwin Rutsch, Founding Director of the Center for Building a Culture of Empathy and Compassion. Learn more about their Empathy Circles by visiting (http://cultureofempathy.com )
Shän
Boggs is a writer and
editor living in California. Her interests include science, technology,
the
environment, health, education, multimedia, art, and gourmet cooking.
She is the author of a cookbook series for people with food sensitivities.
