Empathy is something others say from their point of view, their understanding and their feelings, or what they sometimes say “one kilometer from home”. When we can empathize with others, we are much better positioned to face them. Conflict is a natural outcome that comes from diverse perspectives and perspectives on the challenges we face all day. However, lack of empathy with others can reinforce and intensify conflicts, and prejudices are stereotyped and frightening.
By better understanding the barriers that block our empathic tendencies, we can increase our ability to reduce and resolve conflicts. An important factor in our ability to empathize with others is our social identity: how we see ourselves as members of the group.
The Social Identity Theory (SIT) is a school of thought in social psychology where we derive most of our self-esteem from the groups in which we belong. SIT shows how many decisions are personal and express the identity of their groups and the needs of their groups.
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According to SIT, group formation takes place in three stages:
- Social classification: do you see a group (gender, race, religion, political party, etc.)?
- Social identification: see other people as part of the group (us) or not as part of your group
- Social comparison: see (your) that your (our) social groups are superior to other groups
An ITS study by Jane Elliot shows how being part of a group influences your perception of yourself and your behavior vis-à-vis other groups. Elliot’s “Blue Eye / Brown Eye Study” separates the primary school class into two groups according to the color of the eyes.
Elliot tells blue-eyed children that your blue eyes are smarter, faster, more performant and give them privileges. Brown-eyed children say that brown eyes mean you are lazy, fake and stupid. Blue-eyed groups become authoritarian, arrogant and intelligent and exhibit discriminatory behavior against the group of brown eyes. Children with brown eyes become shy, obedient and have poor school performance.
A few days later, the newspaper was delivered and declared that brown-eyed children were the “best” group. The same thing happened, this time with brown eyes that discriminate blue-eyed groups. It is clear that children’s self-esteem is a function of the group that is related to them and has an impact on how their group behaves in “other” groups and their behavior in the classroom. school. PBS Frontline’s “Split Class” documentary is a video to watch as part of this experience for anyone interested in the impact of SIT on children.
If you consider yourself part of a social group, you should ask yourself how your group’s identity affects your attitudes, decisions and self-confidence. Do you feel better about yourself because your group is “better”, “smarter” or “better” than other groups? If so, you are deprived of the ability to empathize with others who can help reduce or eliminate conflict.
Empathy with those belonging to groups other than themselves requires that their self-confidence be based on their personal identity rather than on their social identities or groups. This means that your personal personality is more important to contact other people than any social identity that we think is a member of the group. This means that your ability to overcome differences and resolve conflicts helps to understand who you are more than any other group.
Empathy with people from other ında çalış groups is not an easy task, especially when many members of your “group” are trying to increase self-confidence by hating other groups. Psychologist Carl Rogers explains the difficulty of empathy in a white article called Empathy:
Kadar In this way, being with others means that you now have a vision and values that allow you to enter the world of others without prejudices. In a sense, it means that you are separated from yourself and that’s all. This can be done by someone who is sure of not being lost in another strange world and who knows he can be comfortable. in his own world when he wants.
Leaving our own opinions and values without prior decision and entering the world of others requires a level of identity and security. The biggest challenge is personal character. Listening to someone requires a sincere desire. But for those who feel so motivated and threaten to enter the world of this darkness, the results can be proportionate. When we are able to put ourselves in the shoes of others, we create bridges of understanding and compassion that can bridge the gap that separates many parts of our society.
Given the tendency of people to associate self-esteem with being part of a group, what needs to be done to improve group relationships? For schoolchildren, the solution might be to encourage them to respect and respect the fact that the color of the eyes does not play a human role, and to encourage them to act wisely and with positive participation to show empathy towards children. the children.
Many strategies used to combat discrimination and prejudice can help people understand their social identity. If people see themselves and their neighbors as members of a larger group, the social comparison between citizens is better than Eğer’s. Finally, the largest group of people in which we live. No matter the environment, the city, state or state we call, we all belong to the human community. When we all begin to think of ourselves as members of this human community, the empathy we feel for others can serve as a basis for overcoming many of the social conflicts we face as individual and collective inhabitants of the planet Earth. As individuals and members of life, contributing to productive and sustainable societies, we have come to renew and personalize our most precious aspirations to realize our unlimited potential.
