Empathy for the Stressed

Abstract

Stress is associated with reliable behavioral responses that may be observed by other people. The experience of stress should therefore be easily identified by and potentially shared between individuals under stress and those around them. Considerable research has focused on the physiology and psychology of empathy to better understand how we come to understand the pain of others. Recently, researchers have begun to examine how stress may lead to empathic responses. In the present article, we begin with a selective review on empathy, including physiological, emotional, and cognitive components, followed by an introduction to recent research on empathy for stress. We conclude the article by describing some of the outstanding questions that should be addressed to gain a better understanding of how the stress of others influences our own physiology and behavior.