Empathy

Dual Emotionally Evoking Visual Testing

	by Theresa M. Kelly, MsD
	Professor of Scientific Parapsychology, Researcher, Technical Author

Empathy is the psychical influence of emotion via experient influence over the emotional basis of consciousness and the mental and physiological processes associated with a wide variety of emotional experiences.

For this experiment, the empathist will be required to collaborate with a close friend or relative. Both the partner and the empathist should situate themselves in a meditatively conducive atmosphere and sit back-to-back or face-to-face. Neither participant should be further than two feet from the other.

In regards to empathic simulation, participant (a) will view an emotionally evoking image (e.g. photo) and record the emotion they (a) are feeling while the participant (b) will attempt to identify the emotion they (b) are feeling and record the emotion.

It should be mentioned, that while the emotional experience simulated between participants should be seemingly identical, the same image might evoke different emotions in each participant due to association. In other words, if participant (a) views an image of a snake they may feel fear, while if participant (b) views an images of a snake, they may feel a sense of surprise.

In regards to empathic interaction, the empathist will view an emotionally evoking image, record their emotions, attempt to impress the emotion on to the subject, followed by the subject identifying the emotion impressed and recording the emotion felt.

In regards to empathic cognition, the subject will view an emotionally evoking image and record their emotions, while the empathist attempts to know the emotion felt by the subject, and record the emotion known. Several images and runs should apply to this experiment (e.g. 10-15), and records should be compared post run, or after the experiment has concluded.

Participants should determine pre-experiment if the experiment is to be forced-choice or free-response. Per my research, the application of regular empathy experiments does appear to enhance empathic performance to a degree, a degree in which appears to be limited by several normal psychological and physiological processes (i.e. biologically speaking, empathic enhancement appears to have its limits, as does any other human ability).

Source

(Adapted from the book “Empathy: A Quantum Approach - The Psychical Influence of Emotion” by Theresa M. Kelly, MsD.)