Our page on empathy defines empathy as ‘feeling with’ someone – being able to put yourself in their place as if you were them, and feeling those feelings. It explains that there are several different elements that make up empathy.
There are also, however, different types of empathy that have been defined by psychologists. These are cognitive, emotional and compassionate empathy.
This page explains what is meant by each of these types if empathy. It also explains how and why it is possible to demonstrate one or more of the three types of empathy, yet still come across as uncaring.
