It turns out vegetarians and vegans might just be wired differently than other people. According to Daniel R. Rowes of Psychology Today, a recent Italian study shows that empathy is what really separates vegetarians and omnivores. The study was "based on the observation that vegetarians and vegans tend to base their decision to avoid animal products on ethical grounds." This is an accurate observation, as Vegetarian Times reported in 2008 that 54 percent of American vegetarians cited animal welfare as the main reason they gave up meat. The Italian researchers wanted to determine if the empathy vegetarians and vegans extend towards animals applied to other humans as well.
As Manager of Humane Education at the Arizona Humane Society in Phoenix, Dr. Kris Haley uses the Six Pillars of Character to teach kids about having empathy and compassion for animals – and each other.
What more important work is there than teaching an expanded concept of empathy to kids through the extraordinary lessons of animals? If each heart had empathy, we truly could change the world! The Six Pillars of Character, deepened with a humane dimension, can do just that!
A notable lack of aggression in a species of apes may be due to hard-wired brain structure that makes them mellower than other primates, a U.S. study says. Bonobo brains, in comparison to chimp brains, displayed bigger, more developed regions thought to be vital for feeling empathy, perceiving distress in others and feeling anxiety, Rilling said.
One of those regions, the right anterior insula, is involved in generating empathy. People who have suffered damage to this region notably lack the ability to perceive how others are feeling,
Scientists have long theorized that contagious yawning indicated an underlying empathy among individuals who share the yawn, much in the same way that seeing someone laugh or cry can make you feel happy or sad. Yerkes researchers Matthew Campbell and Frans de Waal have strengthened this hypothesis by observing the same effect in chimps.
The striking absence of aggression among one species of ape, bonobos, may be hard-wired into their brains, a study suggests. Compared with those of chimps, bonobo brains displayed bigger, more developed regions thought to be vital for feeling empathy, perceiving distress in others and feeling anxiety, Rilling said.
One of these structures, the right anterior insula, is crucial for generating empathy, as people with damage to this region notably lack the ability to perceive how others are feeling, Rilling said.
The researchers showed chimpanzees a video of other chimpanzees and found they yawned more frequently after watching a chimpanzee from their own group yawn than a chimpanzee from another group — evidence that they were more influenced by others with whom they empathized.
Humans favor others seen as similar to themselves (ingroup) over people seen as different (outgroup), even without explicitly stated bias. Ingroup-outgroup bias extends to involuntary responses, such as empathy for pain. However, empathy biases have not been tested in our close primate relatives. Contagious yawning has been theoretically and empirically linked to empathy. If empathy underlies contagious yawning, we predict that subjects should show an ingroup-outgroup bias by yawning more in response to watching ingroup members yawn than outgroup.
If you have just had a big falling out with a colleague, there is nothing better than the comforting and consoling arm of a good friend.
If these chimpanzees are actually motivated by empathy to console victims of aggression, they must first of all be able to recognize that the victim is distressed and then they must know what to do in order to act appropriately to respond to this distress," said Dr Fraser.
Pioneer in primate studies, Frans de Waal sees our better side in chimps, especially our capacity for empathy. In his research, Dr. de Waal has gathered ample evidence that our ability to identify with another's distress -- a catalyst for compassion and charity -- has deep roots in the origin of our species. It is a view independently reinforced by recent biomedical studies showing that our brains are built to feel another's pain.
Though still a mystery, most people yawn reflexively when someone else does. One scientist studying chimps says catching a yawn is related to empathy. It's a human sentiment Columbia University's Kevin Ochsner says we're hard-wired to feel.
We tend to think of empathy as a uniquely human trait. But it’s something apes and other animals demonstrate as well, says primatologist Frans de Waal. He shows how our evolutionary history suggests a deep-rooted propensity for feeling the emotions of others.
Empathy is second nature to us, so much so that anyone devoid of it strikes us as dangerous or mentally ill.
You know that old phrase, "monkey see, monkey do"? Well, there might be something to it, except that chimpanzees aren't monkeys. (Sadly, "ape see, ape do" just doesn't have the same ring to it.) A new paper published today in PLoS ONE has found evidence that chimpanzees have contagious yawning - that is, they can "catch" yawns from watching other chimpanzees yawning - but (and here's the interesting part) only when the chimp that they're watching is a friend.
A study done at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center by Campbell and de Waal (2011) has found a link between social groups and empathy in chimpanzees as demonstrated by involuntary yawning responses.
The study is based on the psychological concept of ingroups and outgroups. In humans ingroups are those we see as similar to ourselves and outgroups are those we perceive as different.
Biases involved in ingroup-outgroup discrimination in know to even extend to involuntary responses which includes empathy for pain. This has never been tested in other animals though.
Empathy has long been considered to be a purely human trait. After all, the prerequisites for empathy are pro-social behaviour and intelligence. While empathy is a trait that people might be willing to acknowledge in animals of a higher intelligence, such as apes, they may be hard-pressed to agree to the occurrence of empathy in animals such as birds.
Recently, researchers from the University of Vienna set out to study whether empathetic friendship was possible in the Common Raven, after the ravens were observed consoling flock mates that were attacked by an aggressor.
In Canada, the raven's cousin is the crow, and crow are highly intelligent, benevolent to those who treat them in a friendly manner, and generally, good neighbors - unless they are protecting their fledglings, at which point they lose their minds and attack anything or one who might be nearby.
Luckily, this only lasts a week or two and passes who the fledglings learn to fly and are off the ground. Then the crow remember who is nice and who is not.
Emotions are complex things. Sometimes we are not sure why we feel the way we do or have the reactions we have. Perhaps, it is for this reason that humans assume that they have exclusive rights on emotions. However, animal behaviourists and ecologists are now proving that emotions, even complex ones such as grief, depression and the ability to display kindness, are experienced by many animals.
Join this event now and invite your friends. Let's raise awareness and hold a special day to help promote and teach Empathy and Compassion for all Animals! Stop the abuse, beatings, cruelty, fighting, neglect, suffering and torture of animals around the world. Share your personal comments, stories, photos or videos of feeling empathy and compassion for animals. Help generate ideas for how we can build a culture of empathy.
Abuse of animals, children, woman, minorities, as well as, conflicts, wars and genocide, etc. are all related and come from a deficit of empathy and compassion. Developing and promoting these values can heal the world.
Let's call on the United Nations General Assembly and the UN Secretary-General to declare every October 2, an International Day of Empathy and Compassion.
Scientists don't know for sure why yawning is contagious in humans, but the phenomenon is recognized as real. Researchers suspect it has to do with empathy and is therefore similar to our propensity to laugh (or cry) with others. Other primates are known to catch yawns, and last year a study revealed that dogs can catch a human yawn.
Contagious yawning is not just a marker of sleepiness or boredom. For chimpanzees, it may actually be a sign of a social connection between individuals. New research at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, may help scientists understand empathy, the mechanism thought to underlie contagious yawning, in both chimpanzees and humans. The research also may help show how social biases strengthen or weaken empathy.
New research at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, may help scientists understand empathy, the mechanism thought to underlie contagious yawning, in both chimpanzees and humans. The research also may help show how social biases strengthen or weaken empathy.
Scientists at Yerkes discovered chimpanzees yawn more after watching familiar chimpanzees yawn than after watching strangers yawn.
Ever wonder why yawns are contagious? Humans can catch yawns from other people, and so do a few other species. Discover Magazine reports on new research saying empathy is behind it all. "Chimpanzees, like people, can 'catch' yawns from others. But not all yawns are created equal, it seems; chimps are more likely to catch yawns from a chimp they know than from a stranger, a new study found."
"The idea is that yawns are contagious for the same reason that smiles, frowns and other facial expressions are contagious," they said. "Our results support the idea that contagious yawning can be used as a measure of empathy, because the biases we observed were similar to empathy biases previously seen in humans."
Chimpanzees, like people, can “catch” yawns from others. But not all yawns are created equal, it seems; chimps are more likely to catch yawns from a chimp they know than from a stranger, a new study found. (You can see a video of it here.) This supports the idea that it’s empathy—rather than just everybody needing a nap—that makes yawns contagious.
Six adult female chimpanzees were shown video scenes of chimpanzees repeatedly yawning or of chimpanzees showing open-mouth facial expressions that were not yawns. Two out of the six females showed significantly higher frequencies of yawning in response to yawn videos; no chimpanzees showed the inverse.
Contagious yawning is not just a marker of sleepiness or boredom. For chimpanzees, it may actually be a sign of a social connection between individuals... "The idea is that yawns are contagious for the same reason that smiles, frowns and other facial expressions are contagious," they write. "Our results support the idea that contagious yawning can be used as a measure of empathy, because the biases we observed were similar to empathy biases previously seen in humans."
Dr Matthew Campbell and Dr Frans de Waal showed the footage to 23 adult chimpanzees, which had been raised in two separate groups. Each animal viewed several nine-second video clips of other chimpanzees either yawning or doing something else. They yawned 50% more frequently in response to seeing members of their group yawn compared with seeing others yawn. The findings suggest that contagious yawning is a good empirical measure of empathy.
To get content containing either thought or leadership enter:
To get content containing both thought and leadership enter:
To get content containing the expression thought leadership enter:
You can enter several keywords and you can refine them whenever you want. Our suggestion engine uses more signals but entering a few keywords here will rapidly give you great content to curate.
Your new post is loading...
