The document discusses the science behind empathy. It summarizes that empathy involves three key processes: mind reading to decode others' emotions, affect matching to share the emotions, and empathic motivation to have sustained positive regard. It also discusses how mirror neurons activate our brain's mirror system to unconsciously mimic and match others' actions, emotions, and intentions. Active listening is important for empathy and involves minimizing internal chatter to listen with understanding and focus on the other person.

1. The Science
Behind Empathy
-By Ram Srinivasan
Certified Scrum Trainer and Agile Coach
@ramvasan, http://linkedin.com/in/ramvasan

2. About This Session
• Brain Science is an evolving field,
multiple models exist for complex
processes
• Though I explain a “process” by
itself, the brain “parallelizes” a lot
of processes at the same time
• Same brain regions can be active
during different processes

3. The Basics – Triune Brain Theory

4. Empathy, Mindreading
and Mirror Neurons

5. Rock – Paper - Scissors

6. Theory of Mind (ToM)
Ability to grasp that
others have believes,
thoughts, intentions and
feelings that are different
than that of our own
Mentalizing
Applying ToM to
experientially understand
others state of mind,
believes, desires and
particularly emotions
without injecting our own

7. Mentalizing is non-trivial

8. Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock

9. The New Game – RPSLS variation
• Your goal is to have the same sign as that of your
partner
• You cannot agree on a specific sign before or during the
game, you have to discover it by playing the game
• You (or your partner) cannot use the same sign
consecutively or cannot use consecutive signs (e.g. rock
this time, paper next time)
• You are ONLY allowed to “read” the other person to
guess what sign they may use

10. The New Game … With Emotions
Partial list of emotions from
http://www.thework.com/downloads/worksheets/Emotions_List_Ltr.pdf

11. Empathy (Feeling Into .. ) Process
• Mind Reading
(i.e. decoding
others’ emotions)
• Affect(emotion)
Matching
• Empathic
Motivation
(positive regard with
non-fleeting concern)

12. In Daniel Goleman’s terms …
• Mind Reading
(i.e. decoding
others’ emotions)
• Affect(emotion)
Matching
• Empathic
Motivation
(positive regard with
non-fleeting concern)
CognitiveEmpathy
EmotionalEmpathy
EmpathicConcern
(positiveregardwithnonfleeting
concern)

13. An Experiment
• If you won Rock-Paper-
Scissors, you are “A”.
• Please stand up and start
thinking about a story that
you can share, which had
moderate to significant
emotional impact on you
• Turn around and face the
back of the room

14. An Experiment
• If you are reading this, you
are “B”
• When “A” shares his/her
story, your goal is to maintain
“poker face” i.e. show no
emotions
• You can ask questions, but
your voice should be a
monotone voice i.e. your
voice does not raise and fall

15. Be the Mirror

16. Mirror Neurons and Imitation
Mirror System in monkey and humans

17. Mirror Neurons and Imitation
• When observers watch the actions (with intentions)
of others, their brains mimic those actions as if the
observers themselves are performing those actions
• Subconsciously, our brain can mirror
• Actions
• Emotions
• Intentions (right pSTS and premotar system)
• Activating the “mirror system” relies on more than
perceived emotions, it relies on perceived
movements, and more subtle variations like
perceived movement in space

18. Mimicking Emotions
• When we see another
person’s facial emotions,
we mimic those emotions
in subtle ways
• If the person is unable to
mimic those expressions in
subtle ways (say due to
Botox injections), they will
be worse at recognizing
emotions of others
“Auditory mirroring” is secondary, and person who is
able to match the client’s processing style is more
likely to convey empathy

19. Empathic Motivation
Empathic Motivation
A sustained positive regard which is non-fleeting, and
moves the person to do something
How Would Empathic Motivation
Show up for You During a
Conversation?

20. Active Listening

21. Listening vs. Hearing

22. Listening
• Biases
• Experience
• Culture
• Preconceived Notion
and Thoughts
• Judgment
Listening is a active
cognitive process, i.e. we
do not just hear, we make
sense out of those words
Your Internal
Dialog

23. Active Listening-
Reduce Internal Chatter
• Internal Chatter is
minimized
• Listen with empathy for
clarification and
collaboration

24. Internal Chatter(Mind Wandering)
• One type of Resting State Network (RSN) is
the Default Mode Network (also called
Narrative Network)
• Associated with Stimulus Independent
Thought
• Is active when one is not doing cognitive,
motor and visual task
• It is the brain’s preferred state of being
• Default Mode Network is a Task Negative
Network
• Default Mode Network is involved in Social
Cognition
• Thinking about oneself, other and
relationship of self to others –
Evolutionary Significance

25. A Wandering Mind…
Is an Unhappy Mind
Questions:
How are you feeling right
now?
What are you doing right
now?
Are you thinking about
something other than what
you are currently doing?
Reference: A Wandering Mind is an Unhappy Mind by Matthew A. Killingsworth
and Daniel T. Gilbert

26. A Wandering Mind…
Is an Unhappy Mind
Facts:
• Mind wandering is
common
• 47% on an average
• At least 30% during every
activity except making love
• People were less happy
when mind wandered
• Being “present” signified
more happiness
Reference: A Wandering Mind is an Unhappy Mind by Matthew A. Killingsworth
and Daniel T. Gilbert

27. DMN When Focusing on a Task
• Internal focus on our train of thoughts shuts down
our sensory system and consequently memory of
the event
• As default network is activated , task positive
network is deactivated (attention and engagement
is decreased)
• Situations that do not need focus – boring or
repetitive tasks let mind wander and vice versa
• Catch 22: the very circuits that use to catch the
wandering mind are the same circuits recruited by
the wandering mind
• Vicious circle of fatigue, stress and anxiety

28. Meta-Awareness
• Can be defined as one’s explicit
knowledge of the current contents
of thoughts, feeling and sensations
• Noticing of mind wandering aids in
the direct control of consciousness
• The fact that we can take stock of
our conscious experience allows the
individual to initiate downstream
changes that will ultimately allow
mind wandering to be controlled
Reference Articles
Meta-awareness, perceptual decoupling and the wandering mind
Attending to the present: mindfulness meditation reveals distinct neural modes of self-reference

29. References