Empathy in Patient Care: Antecedents, Development, Measurement, and Outcomes

Human beings are designed by evolution to form meaningful interpersonal relationships through verbal and nonverbal communication. This principle is the same whether the individual is male or female; an infant, a child, an adolescent, or an adult; or healthy or sick. The theme that empathic human connections are beneficial to the body and mind underlies all 12 chapters of this book, in which empathy is viewed from a multidisciplinary perspective that includes evolution; neuropsychology; clinical, social, developmental, and educational psychology; and health care delivery and education. Some theoretical aspects of antecedents, development, and outcomes of empathy are discussed, and relevant studies and empirical findings are presented in support of the theoretical discussion.