Abstract
The section and subsection focused on empathy provide a general definition of empathy and the importance of empathy on the healthy social and emotional development of children. Empathy has been important in the field of forensic psychology as a way to better understand offender motivations and offender typologies. The Perceptual Action Model is presented to explain the multilayered aspect of empathy and the emotional contagion of empathy as it grows. Meloy indicates that tactical empathy is a heightened observational skill he calls “predatory acuity.” The attachment and empathy section further discusses these constructs. It is pointed out by McPhedran that sometimes there is too much emphasis placed on empathy as the central reason for animal cruelty.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
References to empathy in this article refer to a typical or general period of childhood development.
References
Bubandt, N., & Willerslev, R. (2015). The dark side of empathy: Mimesis, deception and the magic of alterity. Comparative Studies in Society and History, 57(1), 5–34.
de Waal, F. B. M. (2008). Putting the altruism back into altruism: The evolution of empathy. Annual Review of Psychology, 59, 279–300.
de Waal, F. B. M. (2009). The age of empathy. New York: Random House.
de Waal, F. B. M. (2012). The antiquity of empathy. Science, 336, 874–876.
Duncan, A., & Miller, C. (2002). The impact of an abusive family context on childhood animal cruelty and adult violence. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 7(4), 365–383. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1359-1789(01)00064-7.
Hargreaves-Cormany, H. (2016). Engendering Empathic Development and Pro-Social Responses in Elementary School Students Through a Humane Education Program (Doctoral dissertation, The George Washington University, Washington, DC).
McPhedran, S. (2009). A review of evidence for associations between empathy, violence and animal cruelty. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 14, 1–4.
Meloy, J. R. (2012). Predatory violence and psychopathy. Psychopathy and Law. London: Wiley.
Moles, A., Kleiffer, B., Brigitte, L., & D’Mato, F. R. (2004). Deficit in attachment behavior in mice lacking the [mu]- opioid receptor gene. Science, 304(5679), 1983–1986.
Poresky, R. H. (1990). The young children’s empathy measure: Reliability, validity and effects of companion animal bonding. Psychological Reports, 66(3), 931–936. https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.1990.66.3.931.
Premack, D., & Woodruff, G. (1978). Does the chimpanzee have a theory of mind? Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 1(4), 515–526.
Preston, S. D., & De Waal, F. B. (2002). Empathy: Its ultimate and proximate bases. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 25(01), 1–20.
Raine, A. (2013). The psychopathology of crime: Criminal behavior as a clinical disorder. Elsevier. Netherlands, Amsterdam
Rajmohan, V., & Mohandras, E. (2007). Mirror neuron system. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 49(1), 66–69.
Thompson, K. L., & Gullone, E. (2008). Prosocial and antisocial behaviors in adolescents: An investigation into associations with attachment and empathy. Anthrozoös, 21(2), 123–137.
Vidović, V. V., Štetić, V. V., & Bratko, D. (1999). Pet ownership, type of pet and socio-emotional development of school children. Anthrozoös, 12(4), 211–217. https://doi.org/10.2752/089279399787000129.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 The Author(s) under exclusive licence to Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Hoffer, T., Hargreaves-Cormany, H., Muirhead, Y., Meloy, J.R. (2018). Empathy. In: Violence in Animal Cruelty Offenders. SpringerBriefs in Psychology(). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91038-3_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91038-3_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-91037-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-91038-3
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)