Summary: A massive psychological survey of over 15,000 UK adults published in PLOS One reveals that nearly 70% of people remember hugs primarily for their comfort, emotional support, and sense…
Category: empathy
Four Paths the Brain Takes After Trauma
Summary: A longitudinal study tracking 1,035 adults for six months following the October 7 attacks in Israel identifies four distinct psychological trajectories after mass trauma: resilience (54%), natural recovery (27%),…
Reading Fiction Can Rewire Real-World Forgiveness and Empathy
Summary: Reading stories that employ “internal focalization”, granting readers direct access to a character’s private remorse, sparks genuine empathy that leads to forgiveness of fictional misdeeds. Researchers found that this…
Empathy Can Be Emotionally Conditioned
Key Questions Answered Q: Can empathy be learned through emotional reward?A: Yes. The study found that when someone else’s joy is consistently paired with personal reward, the brain begins to…
Psychedelics May Shift Brain Power to the Right Hemisphere
Summary: A new theory suggests that psychedelics promote empathy, insight, and psychological flexibility by making the brain’s right hemisphere temporarily dominant over the left. Known as HEALS—Hemispheric Annealing and Lateralization…
