A
Empathy
Last year, researchers from the University of Michigan reported that empathy, the ability to understand other people, among college students had dropped sharply over the past 10 years. __1__ Today, people spend more time alone and are less likely to join groups and clubs.
Jennifer Freed, a co-director of a teen program, has another explanation. Turn on the TV, and you’re showered with news and reality shows full of people fighting, competing, and generally treating one another with no respect. __2__
There are good reasons not to follow those bad examples. Humans are socially related by nature. __3__ Researchers have also found that empathetic teenagers are more likely to have high self-respect. Besides, empathy can be a cure for loneliness, sadness, anxiety, and fear.
Empathy is also an indication of a good leader. In fact, Freed says, many top companies report that empathy is one of the most important things they look for in new managers. __4__ “Academics are important. But if you don’t have emotional (情感的) intelligence, you won’t be as successful in work or in your love life,” she says.
What’s the best way to up your EQ (情商）? For starters, let down your guard and really listen to others. __5__
To really develop empathy, you’d better volunteer at a nursing home or a hospital, join a club or a team that has a diverse membership, have a “sharing circle” with your family, or spend time caring for pets at an animal shelter.
A. Everyone is different, and levels of empathy differ from person to person.
B. That could be because so many people have replaced face time with screen time, the researchers said.
C. “One doesn’t develop empathy by having a lot of opinions and doing a lot of talking,” Freed says.
D. Humans learn by example—and most of the examples on it are anything but empathetic.
E. Empathy is a matter of learning how to understand someone else—both what they think and how they feel.
F. Good social skills—including empathy—are a kind of “emotional intelligence” that will help you succeed in many areas of life.
G. Having relationships with other people is an important part of being human—and having empathy is decisive to those relationships.
