Social empathy is the ability to understand people by perceiving or experiencing their life situations and as a result gain insight into structural inequalities and disparities. 

The Building Blocks of Social Empathy

Social empathy is built on interpersonal empathy, coupled with a deep contextual understanding of the situations of others and the ability to engage in macro perspective-taking.

Interpersonal empathy is the ability to understand what another person is feeling and thinking. 

• It connects us as human beings
• It is critical for our survival – we must accurately perceive and interpret others
• It promotes healthy relationships
• And it can be the foundation for prosocial behavior and moral development

 
A lack of interpersonal empathy can lead to:

• Bullying
• Violent crime
• Abusive parenting
• Spousal battering
• Sexual offending
• Narcissism

 
Expanding this to a larger context, a​ lack of social empathy can lead to:

• Racism
• Prejudice
• Other forms of “us vs. them”
• Distrust
• In extreme cases destruction of other cultures            

Research references can be found here.

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