This quantitative study, with qualitative elements, intended to investigate the empathic ability among students and its change during social work education in Sweden. The study used a self-assessment form in the form of a questionnaire sent out to 8 of the 15 universities around the country. Respondents who participated in the survey studied in semester 1 & 2 and semester 6 & 7. The instrument which were used, measure the empathy level of the respondents and was a Swedish translation of the instrument, the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) which is a proven self-assessment form. IRI consists of 28 questions divided into 4 areas (subscales), which together provide a score, where a higher score corresponds to a greater capacity for empathy.

The population of asylum seekers puts new challenges on the Swedish health care since their difficulties are complex; having both atraumatic background and a continuing worry about the asylum process.This study aims at investigating how health care professionals working with asylum seekers are affected emotionally using the theoretical concepts of empathy, compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction. Nine qualitative interviews with health care professionals were conducted and the material was analyse dusing thematic analysis. Results were deductively found in thematerial, using the asylum process itself along with the concepts of empathy, compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction as themes. Previous findings regarding empathy and its relations to compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction were confirmed. This was furhter developed in this study through its focus on health care professionals working with asylum seekers..

This essay takes its starting point in the research on digital technology and theories on learning to apply the research on history teaching. The theories on learning from Illeris and Selander are used to find out how the digital technology should be used in upper secondary school, since there is no extensive research on how the new technology should be used in upper secondary school. From that point the essay?s primary goal is to investigate how teachers use digital technology, if they choose a particular study field while working with the technology. Furthermore it investigates whether or not the technology is an appropriate mode of operation when developing abilities such as historical consciousness and historical empathy.

The purpose of the essay is to draw attention to my approach in relation to a boy I choose to call Emil, and how I can increase my understanding of his behavior. I explore conceivable reasons for why he breaks down so often, especially when other children are given attention. Is he simply unusually egoistic, and to a large degree only able to see to his own interests, or am I overlooking the real reasons for his actions.In order to explain the reasons for Emil?s apparent frustration in sensitive situations, I explore the significance of attachment theory. I argue about possible effects of Emil?s parents? way of describing and guiding him, as well as how I, and my colleagues, risk fulfilling and amplifying negative expectations.As the prime reason for his repeated sense of unhappiness seems linked to a Lack of empathy, I explore different ways of understanding this, as well as how I might contribute to fostering compassion.

Within the Swedish school and the public library communities it is generally held as a truth that reading of fiction develops the empathic ability of the reader. This opinion is also expressed in political guiding documents for the school system and cultural sector. This paper's main hypothesis is that there is no assembled theoretic ground for the statement that reading of fiction develops the empathic ability. The investigation consists of two parts, the first being theoretical and the second empirical. Definitions of what empathy and reading is, are reviewed in the first part.

The quest to determine if non-human animals have emotional lives similar to man goes a long way back and is yet to result in a clear answer. The aim of this particular literature study is to determine whether or not the African elephant may host feelings of empathy and display altruistic behaviour. In search for an answer to this question, scientists have chosen to first evaluate the cognitive abilities of said species. They have done this through the testing of tool use, mirror self-recognition, memory and the ability to coordinate with another when performing a task etc. It is generally thought, that in order for complex emotion to exist within an individual, cognition, as an awareness of the self and others, must first be present.

The purpose was to investigate whether using two type of interventions (i.e., Four rooms of change in school and EQ- workshop) in addition to curriculum guidelines can affect character development in children 10-12 years of age. The data was collected using the test Junior Temperament and Character Inventory (J-TCI; Cloninger, CR, 1994) in three elementary schools among students in fifth grade who had been involved in any of the two interventions for the past two years or no intervention at all.The J-TCI scales were used to, besides the seven personality dimension it measures, create a self-constructed empathy scale. A total of 55 participants were included in the study (girls n = 26 and boys n = 29). Statistical testing with MANOVA showed no significant main effect on empathy or any personality trait. There was however an interaction effect between intervention and gender on the character traits.

Background: Fibromyalgia is a disease wich involve cronic pain and fatigue. The disease has appeared for a long time, but it has resently become possible to diagnose. It is still unclear what cause the disease, and the treatment of it is therefore still diffuse. The lack of knowledge leads to a lot of discussions and the diagnosis is questioned. Purpose: To study how patients with fibromyalgia experineces the attitudes from staff in hospitals and health centers.

Syftet med föreliggande studie var att försöka reda i litteraturen kring två välkända begrepp inom Affective Forecasting nämligen Impact Bias, som innebär att människor har en tendens att överskatta i vilken utsträckning de kommer att uppleva en viss känsla i en framtida situation än vad som senare visar sig vara fallet, och Empathy Gaps, som innebär att människor har en tendens att underskatta i vilken grad känslotillstånd kommer att påverka deras preferenser i en framtida situation samt pröva dessa begrepp i en och samma enkätundersökning. Etthundra sextiotvå studenter, slumpvist uppdelade i två grupper, Känslogrupp och Preferensgrupp, deltog frivilligt i undersökningen. Enkätundersökningen var en mixad design med grupp (känsla kontra preferens) som mellangruppsfaktor och förtest kontra eftertest som inomgruppsfaktor. I studien visade samtliga gruppers resultat i linje med Impact Bias teorin, dvs. att deltagarna i både Känslogrupp och Preferensgrupp skattade lägre i eftertest (actual) än pretest (forecasting).

Inom vården är empati en viktig grund för vårdarbetet. Forskning har visat att om man känner en ökad empati för en person i nöd så ökar tendensen att hjälpa denne. Frågesällningarna var ifall personal blir utmattade i högre grad vid hög empati och om distansering har att göra med hur länge man har arbetat inom sitt yrke. En kvantitativ studie med 109 mentalskötare och undersköterskor påvisade signifikanta skillnader inom yrkena på empati, utmattning och distans. Undersköterskor uppvisade en högre empati än mentalskötare.

The aim of this literature review was to elucidate how suicidal and self-harming patients should be treated and cared for, mainly in the acute phase in somatic care. Searches were conducted in databases with relevant keywords. Qualitative and quantitative articles were included, would not be more than 20 years, be written in Swedish or English, and match the aim of the study. Results showed that nurses and patients felt that the treatment would be respectful, non-judgmental and characterized by active listening and clear communication. Poor care was described as disrespect and lack of understanding.

The eyewitnessed reportage has a pronounced character of narrating. The imaginative power of the text helps the reader to empathise with the characters. That makes constructing empathy a necessary skill of reporters. But how can this be done?Despite a tradition of story telling among reporters, narratologists virtually have neglected the reportage genre.

Empati har länge ansetts vara en god egenskap hos en medmänniska. Det definierats enligt Davis, som individers affektiva och fysiologiska reaktioner avseende någon annans fysiska och psykiska tillstånd. Tidigare forskning har visat att det finns skillnader avseende empati hos individer beroende på olika faktorer. Huvudsyftet med studien var att se om kön, ålder, arbetsplats, antal år inom yrket samt föräldraskap påverkade kriminalvårdares empati. Deltagarna var kriminalvårdare (N = 90) som arbetade på en anstalt och ett häkte.

Föräldrar kan ha olika typer av uppfostringsstil gentemot sina barn: auktoritär, auktoritativ och släpphänt. Den auktoritativa föräldrastilen har enligt tidigare forskning visat sig påverka sannolikheten för hög empati hos barnen. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka betydelsen av olika föräldrastilar för individens empatiska förmåga. En enkätstudie utfördes med en kombination av ett mätinstrument för föräldrastilar, Parental Styles Dimensions Questionnaire (PSDQ) samt en för empati, A Questionnaire Measure of Emotional Empathy (QMEE). Deltagarna var 191 gymnasiestudenter från tre olika skolor i Mellansverige.

Ethical evaluation of scientific studies carried out using animals is legally mandated in many countries and has been so in Sweden for over three decades. The animal ethics committees (AECs) responsible for the task have however been subjected to criticism; common critique being that the wrong issues are discussed and that the ethical evaluation is thus incomplete, that there is a lack of coherence across committees and that the committees are not as democratic as they might appear. This study investigates the view of Swedish AEC members on a number of issues in order to shed some light on the mandate and functioning of the committees, and on the grounds for ongoing criticism. In a survey and interviews AEC members and other persons connected to the committees gave their views on the AEC task in relation to their roles, the ethical evaluation per se and whether or not emotions such as empathy play any part in it. There were significant differences found between AEC member categories and several issues were encountered, many of which have been stressed in previous studies.