INSIGHTS FROM TESTING EMPATHY LEVELS TOWARDS GAZA – A PROFOUND SCALE
Keywords:
Gaza, Empathy, Empathy Scale, Scale Development, Palestinian Cause, Resilience StrategiesAbstract
Empathy, the capacity to understand and share the feelings of others, plays a critical role in social interactions and relationships. The empathetic responses towards the ongoing conflict in Palestine, if measured and studied through an original scale, would help to uncover the levels and types of empathy exhibited and whether they would have an implication for addressing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. This paper examines the type and level of empathy with a scale developed by the authors based on the preliminary study by Buheji et al. (2024), focusing on the depth and strength of empathy for Gaza. The analysis shows how affective empathy, cognitive empathy, and their potential help to mobilise support for the Palestinian cause. The findings suggest significant variances in empathy levels, highlighting the importance of empathy in fostering understanding, and supporting the appropriate resilience for Gaza. Additionally, the study proposes a novel framework for gauging empathy levels, offering insights for researchers, organisations, and individuals seeking to enhance empathic engagement with Gaza and the broader Palestinian cause. Through this research, we contribute to understanding empathy's level through a novel framework that could be used to develop strategies to sustain and amplify empathy and provide a foundation for future studies and interventions to support Palestine amidst its ongoing struggle.
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Copyright (c) 2024 Mohamed Buheji, Dunya Ahmed (Author)
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