CHI '14 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems

Abstract

This position paper examines excerpts of interview transcripts that explore empathetic communication among family and friends during end-of-life hospice care.Examples show how empathy can be expressed 1) outwardly as a desire to understand "the other", 2) inwardly, or as a desire to be understood by others, 3) self-reflexively, in which a new understanding of the self in the present or future is enable by a detour of empathizing for the other, 4) or dialectically, in which symmetrical empathy and self-reflexivity can result in the co-construction of a new shared meaning of the past or present.This paper hypothesizes that limitations to ability to empathize might be overcome through a reversal of the directional flow of empathy, in which a better understanding of the self might result in a better understanding of the other, or vise versa.Therefore, empathy sensitive designs need to account for overlapping and multi-direction flows of empathy, including a critical look at the self.