Does anybody know of any scientific studies done on empaths?

[pandabear88]

Or does anybody know of the scientific explanations for empath's abilities? By "empath" I mean people who claim to experience the emotions of people near them. The only explanations I've found are "mirror neurons" and "mirror-touch synesthesia", but I want to know if other explanations exist.

 

Any links to peer reviewed articles, or articles written by reputable authors would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[pandabear88]

bump

[koti]

There is no scientific evidence for any extra special powers so you wont find any peer reviewed arricles on empaths.

Look up pheromones.

Edited March 22, 2017 by koti

[pandabear88]

There is no scientific evidence for any extra special powers so you wont find any peer reviewed arricles on empaths.

Look up pheromones.

 

has nobody done scientific studies on them?

Edited March 22, 2017 by pandabear88

[Phi for All]

has nobody done scientific studies on them?

 

There have been enough studies to determine there is no "them".

[pandabear88]

 

There have been enough studies to determine there is no "them".

can you give me a link to an article proving "there is no "them""?

[koti]

can you give me a link to an article proving "there is no "them""?

This should be helpful:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Million_Dollar_Paranormal_Challenge

[Phi for All]

can you give me a link to an article proving "there is no "them""?

 

You can't prove they don't exist. You can only gather evidence to support an explanation that there's something more than normal heightened empathy going on. And there is none.

[pandabear88]

 

You can't prove they don't exist. You can only gather evidence to support an explanation that there's something more than normal heightened empathy going on. And there is none.

actually mirror neurons and mirror-touch synesthesia are explanations

[pandabear88]

bump

[DrP]

But these mirror neurons aren't anything supernatural are they - we all have them? - everyone has the ability to sense what others are feeling (unless the target is experienced or practiced at hiding or masking emotion)... There are no special 'empaths'. We can all feel for each other, we are human. We pick up on the body language, facial features etc and our brain process the information and we 'feel' for the target. It isn't a direct brain to brain link via some kind of telepathy.

 

Also, some people are more sensitive to stuff than others - so what? it doesn't make them supernatural empaths.

[StringJunky]

But these mirror neurons aren't anything supernatural are they - we all have them? - everyone has the ability to sense what others are feeling (unless the target is experienced or practiced at hiding or masking emotion)... There are no special 'empaths'. We can all feel for each other, we are human. We pick up on the body language, facial features etc and our brain process the information and we 'feel' for the target. It isn't a direct brain to brain link via some kind of telepathy.

 

Also, some people are more sensitive to stuff than others - so what? it doesn't make them supernatural empaths.

I agree with you generally but there are some people that can lack it with certain psychopathies and autism spectrum disorder, for example.

Edited March 23, 2017 by StringJunky

[DrP]

Yes - some lack it, some have it to a high sensitivity - we pick up on all sorts of things through our ears and eyes and through smell and feeling. All complex feedbacks to the brain that processes the info and makes predictions - sometimes right and sometimes mistaken, sometimes felt strongly and sometimes ignored. It isn't telepathy though in any of these cases.

 

 

Also - this pandabear88 is sounding a lot like tkadm30 with the mirror neuron obsession. Although the writing style does seem different.

Edited March 23, 2017 by DrP

[tkadm30]

I'm back! Empathy and Love is connected to brain circuits into the limbic system...

[swansont]

bump

!

Moderator Note

 

Please stop doing this.

 

 

Also - this pandabear88 is sounding a lot like tkadm30 with the mirror neuron obsession. Although the writing style does seem different.

!

Moderator Note

And while I'm at it, please stop doing this. If you have concerns about rules violations, use the report post function. This has no place in the current discussion.

 

I'm back! Empathy and Love is connected to brain circuits into the limbic system...

!

Moderator Note

The request was for "links to peer reviewed articles, or articles written by reputable authors"

[pandabear88]

an empath has told me before that he could feel the emotions of his roommates while they were downstairs and he was upstairs in his room. would you guys say he was only misunderstanding the source of his emotions?

 

has it been proven that one person can't directly feel the emotions or physical feelings of another person? maybe they can read their emotions by expressions, and their empathy might make them feel a certain way because of it, but that's not what i mean. for example, can one person experience another person's emotions or physical feelings if they can't see them, like if a wall is between them?

Edited March 24, 2017 by pandabear88

[StringJunky]

.... but that's not what i mean. for example, can one person experience another person's emotions or physical feelings if they can't see them, like if a wall is between them?

You might as well as "Is there any evidence for telepathy?". No.

Edited March 24, 2017 by StringJunky

[pandabear88]

You might as well as "Is there any evidence for telepathy?". No.

 

can you provide any articles or studies proving people can't do that?

[John Cuthber]

 

can you provide any articles or studies proving people can't do that?

Yes I can provide the evidence.

If any of this stuff was real they would have claimed the million dollars by now.

 

Also, if you could really do these magic tricks you would have a great evolutionary advantage.

So, such an ability would spread rapidly through a population and after a while, everybody would be able to do it.

We can't, so the trait doesn't exist.

[pandabear88]

Yes I can provide the evidence.

If any of this stuff was real they would have claimed the million dollars by now.

 

Also, if you could really do these magic tricks you would have a great evolutionary advantage.

So, such an ability would spread rapidly through a population and after a while, everybody would be able to do it.

We can't, so the trait doesn't exist.

that doesn't seem like enough evidence. i want a report of a scientific study that tested the abilities of supposed "empaths".

[StringJunky]

that doesn't seem like enough evidence. i want a report of a scientific study that tested the abilities of supposed "empaths".

If there isn't any telepaths there won't be any empaths as there isn't a great deal of difference; it's information that's supposedly being transmitted in both cases. JC's post is perfectly sensible and evidential in its own right. There has been at least a hundred thousand years, since Homo sapiens evolved, for it to become common, which it would have if it existed.

Edited March 24, 2017 by StringJunky

[koti]

that doesn't seem like enough evidence. i want a report of a scientific study that tested the abilities of supposed "empaths".

I think that your belief that empath's exist renders you insane. Can you provide any peer reviewed scientific studies disproving that you are insane?

[tkadm30]

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168010214002314

[pandabear88]

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168010214002314

 

that's about empathy, not empaths

 

I think that your belief that empath's exist renders you insane. Can you provide any peer reviewed scientific studies disproving that you are insane?

 

i am at least a little insane, if not moderately.

 

If there isn't any telepaths there won't be any empaths as there isn't a great deal of difference; it's information that's supposedly being transmitted in both cases. JC's post is perfectly sensible and evidential in its own right. There has been at least a hundred thousand years, since Homo sapiens evolved, for it to become common, which it would have if it existed.

 

from all the things i've learned my best guess is that empaths misunderstand the reasons they have the feelings and emotions they do. when an "empath" says they feel overwhelmed in crowded places they probably only have a kind of social paranoia, and when they say they experience the emotions of other people they probably either have an uncontrollable reaction of empathy or they have synesthesia, logically every person's body is separate from each other, and the processes causing emotions in one persons body can't possibly effect another person's body since they aren't in their body.

[tkadm30]

 

that's about empathy, not empaths

 

 

 

"Empaths" are just people who express empathy.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empath_(disambiguation)

Edited March 24, 2017 by tkadm30