Psychology Commons^™

Does Feeling Empathy Lead To Compassion Fatigue Or Compassion Satisfaction? The Role Of Time Perspective, Eric M. Hansen, Jakob Håkansson Eklund, Anna Hallén, Carmen Stockman Bjurhager, Emil Norrstrom, Adam Viman, Eric L. Stocks

Psychology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Research has shown that feeling empathy sometimes leads to compassion fatigue and sometimes to compassion satisfaction. In three studies, participants recalled an instance when they felt empathy in order to assess the role time perspective plays in how empathizers perceive the consequences of empathy. Study 1 revealed that college students perceive empathy as having more negative consequences in the short term, but more positive consequences in the long term. Study 2 showed that service industry professionals perceive the consequences of feeling empathy for customers who felt bad as less negative, and the consequences of feeling empathy for people who felt …