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%),…
Category: empathy
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…
Oxytocin Powers Altruistic Responses via Parallel Brain Circuits
Summary: A new study reveals that mice instinctively display rescue-like behaviors toward anesthetized peers, offering powerful evidence that prosociality may be hardwired in mammals. Researchers identified oxytocin as a key…
Feeling Beautiful Spurs Kindness and Generosity
Summary: A new study shows that enhancing one’s appearance, even virtually, increases prosocial behavior such as kindness and charitable giving. Participants who saw enhanced images of themselves were twice as…
