Empath

This article is about the descriptor for someone with high empathy. For the comic book character, see Empath (character). For other uses, see Empath (disambiguation).
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In psychology, empaths (/ˈɛmpæθ/; from Ancient Greek ἐμπάθ(εια) (empáth(eia)) 'passion') are people who have a higher than usual level of empathy, called hyperempathy.[1] While objective empathy level testing is difficult, tests such as the EQ-8 have gained some acceptance as tests for being empathic.[2][3] Highly sensitive person is also often synonymous,[4] but is used to describe sensory processing sensitivity as well.

In parapsychology, the mechanism for being an empath is said to be psychic channeling; psychics and mediums say that they channel the emotional states and experiences of other living beings, or the spirits of dead people, in the form of "emotional resonance".

The term empath is sometimes used in a broader sense to describe someone who is more adept at understanding, i.e. is more sensitive to the feelings of others than the average person; or as a descriptor for someone who is higher on an empathetic "spectrum" of sorts.[5] Seen this way, an empath is someone who can perceive, understand, or share the feelings of another person, without necessarily believing said feelings are being directly communicated to them through some as yet unknown "second sight" mechanism or telepathic channel.[6]

  1. ^ Brown, Sandra L. (11 March 2012). "Genetic and Neuro-Physiological Basis for Hyper-Empathy". Psychology Today. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  2. ^ Lawrence, E. J.; Shaw, P.; Baker, D.; Baron-Cohen, S.; David, A. S. (July 2004). "Measuring empathy: reliability and validity of the Empathy Quotient". Psychological Medicine. 34 (5): 911–920. doi:10.1017/S0033291703001624. ISSN 0033-2917. PMID 15500311. S2CID 16347489.
  3. ^ Loewen, Peter John; Lyle, Greg; Nachshen, Jennifer S. (2009). "An eight-item form of the Empathy Quotient (EQ) and an application to charitable giving" (PDF). University of Toronto Department of Political Science Working Papers. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  4. ^ Arabi, Shahida (2020). The highly sensitive person's guide to dealing with toxic people : how to reclaim your power from narcissists and other manipulators. Oakland, CA. ISBN 978-1-68403-532-8. OCLC 1145077770.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  5. ^ Thomson, Helen (10 March 2010). "We feel your pain: Extreme empaths". New Scientist. doi:10.1016/s0262-4079(11)61228-1. ISSN 0262-4079. Archived from the original on 14 January 2023. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  6. ^ Donovan, James M. (August 1998). "Reinterpreting Telepathy as Unusual Experiences of Empathy and Charisma". Perceptual and Motor Skills. 87 (1): 131–146. doi:10.2466/pms.1998.87.1.131. ISSN 0031-5125. PMID 9760638. S2CID 6173490.