Boost your empathy

Unlimited thinking paired with performance art creates societal change

What if you could boost your empathy? Would it help us overcome prejudices? Bring about positive change in society?

Eran Halperin and his colleagues at Hebrew University in Jerusalem recently published results from several studies in which they utilized a blend of psychology and performance art to determine if empathy could be boosted for societal change.

Their premise was that all of us belong to social groups that tend to think and act with biases. Yet, when we are presented with situations outside of our social experience and social groups, we tend to be less empathetic, pull back, and tend to protect the status quo. Halperin wanted to see if this could be overcome.

What he determined was that there are two types of thinking: limited empathy and unlimited empathy. The limited empathy reinforces biases — because you feel like you only have enough for your own small circle.

However, unlimited-empathy thinking allows space to overcome differences.

Halperin learned that the first and mo…