Valentine’s day may be over, but hopefully your relationship isn’t over. Regardless, perhaps this research finding may still be of use. Empathy may not always relate to better interactions with your partner. We want empathy to be this magic thing that makes us responsive to another’s needs, but there are times where someone empathizes and that actually coincides with less responsiveness. Why do you think that happens? Have you experienced this, either in yourself or through your partner? If so, you aren’t alone! But there are also ways to change this! I’ll be talking about that next week.
Citation: Winczewski, L. A., Bowen, J. D., & Collins, N. L. (2016). Is empathic accuracy enough to facilitate responsive behavior in dyadic interaction? Distinguishing ability from motivation. Psychological Science, 27(3), 394-404. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797615624491
