Why Teach Empathy?

Have you ever heard of the Five Factor Model sometimes simply called the Big Five? It references five wide scopes of personality and was first mentioned at an American Psychological Association meeting in 1933. The scope includes openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism. Prompting further studies, the 1980s brought a consensus amongst psychologists that both personality and social experiences affect our overall dominant trait. Hence, empathy for humans and animals is a combination of an individual's inborn personality and life experiences.

Traits associated with each type of personality stated in this section were taken directly from Wikipedia's website page on the Big Five. "Openness - appreciation for art, emotion, adventure, unusual ideas, imagination, curiosity, and variety of experience. Conscientiousness - a tendency to show self-discipline, act dutifully, and aim for achievement; planned rather than spontaneous behavior. Extraversion - energy, positive emotions, urgency, and the tendency to seek stimulation and the company of others. Agreeableness - a tendency to be compassionate and cooperative rather than suspicious and antagonistic towards others. Neuroticism - a tendency to experience unpleasant emotions easily, such as anger, anxiety, depression, or vulnerability; sometimes called emotional instability."

Any mother with multiple children will tell you that each baby entered this world with a different personality. Whether or not that personality blooms or wilts depends on his/her experiences socially. Research indicates that a gregarious child quickly becomes disruptive and exhibits behavioral or personality disorders if abused. Abused children tend to grow up to become abusers unless healing and coping mechanisms are initiated when they are removed from ill situations. We also frequently hear - old people are set in their ways. This may be true. Researchers found that children's personalities change with each new experience, but by age 30 whatever personality has developed remains fairly stable throughout the rest of their lifetime.

Experiences that were found to affect people include primarily cultural differences like individualism, power distance (acceptance level of unequal power distribution), masculinity and uncertainty avoidance (society's ability to tolerate lack of structure). The study did not address variations of traits (humorous, snobbish) explaining that those characteristics are readily observable when meeting a stranger. Words are meaningless without actions. People who empathize with other living beings don't just hear or observe; they feel a connection with the human or animal and their actions reflect a deeper understanding.

Speak with any teacher and he/she will agree that children from abusive homes tend to treat their classmates poorly and make unkind comments about animals. Compassion towards animals needs to be incorporated into character education programs so children have positive experiences with being kind to all living creatures. It is imperative to reach out to youngsters before they become adults set in their ways.