Face processing and empathy

Atkinson, A.P.

Abstract

From the Introduction: The central issue to be explored in this chapter is the relation between perceiving an emotion in another and the triggering or re-creation of one or more aspects of that emotional state in oneself. This is what I shall sometimes refer to as ‘perceptually mediated empathy’, as distinct from ‘cognitive empathy’, where the subject represents someone else’s state through top-down processes such as imaginative projection (e.g. Goldie, 1999; Preston & de Waal, 2002). It has been suggested that a primary function of perceptually mediated empathy is to enable the recognition of emotional expressions, via processes of emotional contagion and simulation (Adolphs, 2002; Gallese et al., 2004; Goldman & Sripada, 2005). There is currently a lot of excitement about this idea. Is all the fuss justified? I shall demonstrate that while there is indeed cause for excitement, the evidence to date is far from able to warrant claims that processes of emotional contagion and simulation provide the sole, primary, or even an important means by which we come to know what others are feeling.

Citation

Atkinson, A. (2007). Face processing and empathy. In T. Farrow, & P. Woodruff (Eds.) (Eds.), Empathy in mental illness (pp. 360-385). Cambridge University Press

• Publication Date: 2007-03
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Pages: pp. 360-385
• Book Title: Empathy in mental illness