Empathy: the secret ingredient for a successful society

The study conference "Building Empathic Communities. The role of empathy in personal, social, supportive and learning developments" organised by USI in ascolto, SUPSIDEASS, SUPSI DFA/ASP, Accademia Teatro Dimitri and supported by the cantonal programme for the promotion of rights, the prevention of violence and the protection of children and young people, and by the Sociality Division of the City of Lugano, was held on Thursday, 3 April 2025. The morning featured talks by numerous experts, while the afternoon was devoted to a practical workshop.

The conference began with welcoming remarks from Luisa Lambertini, the Rector of USI, and Franco Gervasoni, the General Director of SUPSI. Lorenzo Pezzoli from the SUPS Centre of Competence in Applied Psychology and Rosalba Morese, the contact person for USI in ascolto, introduced and moderated the event. Morese emphasised the significance of the social fabric fostered by the USI in ascolto network, which aims to create an inclusive and supportive community for all its members. "Just as every thread is essential in a piece of fabric, each voice and story contributes to a stronger and more welcoming community."

During her welcome remarks, Rector Luisa Lambertini recalled the value of empathy: "Empathy is what allows us to understand the experience of the other person, putting ourselves in their shoes, but without passing judgment. It is the key to building stronger, supportive, and lasting communities, as well as to more effective and meaningful communication. Promoting empathy may seem anachronistic in a world that relies heavily on competition. However, it is a mission that, as a university, we feel strongly about. We consider empathy essential for educating future generations. It is not as trivial as it may appear, especially in competitive environments. Instead, empathy serves as a vital force that fosters trust and enables collaborative work."

Next, Anna Oliverio Ferraris, Developmental Psychology, Università Sapienza, Rome, took the floor. She delivered the speech "Empathy, an indispensable form of communication for growing and learning". The psychologist explained that the ability to form relationships with others is an innate trait: "Even in infants, we can see a readiness to imitate the actions of those around them. Children begin to absorb their caregivers' emotions from a very young age through body language. As they grow, they tend to develop greater empathy for their family members and friends. Depending on the context, they may also empathise with individuals from specific ethnic or ideological communities." This happens because, although there is a predisposition to empathy, our experiences shape and direct its subsequent development. Precisely for this reason, the education received from the family and school is fundamental: "The child must be allowed to express his or her emotions and then to channel them through a kind of emotional education, without ever being punished, as this could lead to the development of a false self." To facilitate the educational process, it is essential to use active listening and avoid communication barriers such as commands, dry orders, judgments, or jokes.

Anna Oliverio Ferraris also mentioned some traps associated with empathy: difficulty saying no to others, excessive emotional involvement and asymmetry in relationships. "Empathy can also be manipulated, not only by the people around us but also, for example, by advertising and marketing." Therefore, "it is valuable to understand others and to engage in introspection; however, we must be cautious of the instrumentalisation of empathy. While empathy was rarely encouraged in the past, it is now often overstimulated. Therefore, it is important to develop a critical sense to protect ourselves.," concluded the psychologist.

The second speech of the day, "Empathy and inequality: how socio-economic factors shape the understanding of emotions", was given by Luca Cecchetti, IMT Alti Studi Lucca, who initially explained the origin of the term empathy: "The term originates from the artistic and aesthetic sphere, specifically related to the concept of identification. Initially, it described the sensations experienced when contemplating a work of art. Over time, the meaning expanded to encompass human relationships. In this context, it includes our affective and autonomous responses when we empathise with someone else's experiences, allowing ourselves to feel emotions similar to those of the person involved." A person's empathy can be measured through different methods: it is possible to use "self-report" questionnaires, but there are also more objective methods, which allow us to assess the level of emotional reaction aroused by observing other people's distress through the observation of brain activity or skin reaction. Luca Cecchetti emphasised how empathy is essential to recognise that the other person is in some ways similar to us: "Research shows that forming social groups influences empathetic responses. For instance, individuals of Caucasian descent often exhibit a stronger empathetic response towards fellow Caucasians, while their empathy diminishes in interactions with people from different ethnic backgrounds." This could be misleading in cases where rational decisions need to be made, as the influence of empathy could override logic. A further element necessary to feel empathy is to understand what others are feeling; this is the so-called "theory of mind": "Understanding the thoughts and emotions of others involves several components. While we can certainly consider the spoken words, these alone are often not enough. It is important to also take into account facial expressions, non-verbal cues, posture, and other forms of communication. However, it is crucial to remember that interpreting these signals is not an exact science, so we should always exercise caution when making conclusions." Luca Cecchetti also addressed the issue of the difference in empathic capacity between men and women, citing the results of some studies based on the ability to read the emotions felt by a subject just by looking at their eyes: "While it is true that women generally identify themselves as more empathetic, test results have shown that the gap is not so wide. Additionally, it is noteworthy that in more developed countries, the disparity in empathy levels between men and women tends to be smaller. This suggests that cultural differences may have a greater influence on empathy than genetic factors."

The last talk of the morning was given by Giorgia Silani, Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna. The talk "The neurophysiological bases of empathy" began by expanding on the meaning of the word empathy, which the scholar defined as a phenomenon that is "affective, isomorphic to the other's affective state and conscious, in that it is necessary to recognise that our reaction is due to the other's emotion". She explained how empathy can be hindered by the so-called egocentric bias: "In a study conducted in Zurich, in which I participated, we observed that a larger emotional gap between two people leads to greater misinterpretation. For instance, if I am experiencing a positive emotion, I may misinterpret a negative situation faced by another person more positively. This misinterpretation is influenced by my egocentric perception." One important factor that influences our ability to feel empathy is the sympathy we have for others: we tend to be much more empathetic towards individuals we consider part of our own group: "We conducted studies with diverse groups, including fans of rival football teams and individuals considering gender differences. Our primary aim was to explore the influence of sexualisation on empathy, particularly because women are still objectified in various contexts. To investigate this, we examined reactions to social exclusion among subjects dressed in different ways. Our findings revealed that women who wore more sexualised attire, such as skimpy clothes, high heels, and heavy makeup, elicited less empathy from others compared to those who were dressed differently." Giorgia Silani went on to explain how a similar experiment is now being conducted involving men as well: "One key aspect we want to explore is whether empathy is diminished when individuals are sexualised. This may occur because attention shifts away from the face, which is the most crucial part of the body for expressing empathy, and is instead directed towards other body parts." She concluded her talk by emphasising that since we are all subject to biases and prejudices such as those highlighted by the studies mentioned, it is important to be aware of them and try to overcome them.