Psychology Today | 25.11.2025 02:47
Many people treat empathy the way they treat height or eye color; in other words, as something baked in from birth. We hear this in everyday phrases like “she’s such a good kid” or “he’s just not very sensitive,” as if empathy were an inborn trait rather than something shaped over time. In our survey, more than a third of respondents were skeptical that empathy could be improved. Yet decades of research across psychology, education, and neuroscience tell a very different story. Empathy, it turns out, is more like your biceps than your hair color. Sure, you're born with them, but their size and strength are a result of hard work.
