Empathy, sympathy, and altruism—An evident triad based on compassion. A theoretical model for caring

Abstract

BackgroundBased on existing confusion and a suggested contradiction regarding empathy and compassion in relation to caring science as well as in clinical health care.AimThe aim of the study was to find a knowledge base for the development of clinical caring science for, empathy, sympathy altruism, and compassion and their mutual relationship.DesignA theoretical paper.ResultsThe text discusses the different concepts separately, considering their history, research, obstacles, and bias and then brings them together in a concept model. The conclusion shows that empathy, sympathy, and altruism have no contradictions. Instead, they together form an evident triad based on compassion. Compassion is a prerequisite and a basis for the others to work. In clinical application, empathy is metaphorically a quality coming from the head, sympathy from the heart and altruism from the hand, merged in an attitude of compassion as a motif to care. The paper also reflects on the possibilities to increase and develop a compassionate mood and capacity by education and training.

Nurses' experience of end‐of‐life care for patients with COVID‐19: A descriptive phenomenology study

“…Participants anticipated and recognized that the death of patients with COVID-19 would be lonely (i.e., owing to increased isolation) and painful, and they experienced compassion as they understood such painfulness and loneliness. These findings are corroborated by those in a past study (Arman, 2023), and as compassion is an underlying factor that motivates nurses to help patients (Strauss et al, 2016), it may explain our participants' helping behaviors and companion-like presence.…”

“Unless someone sees and hears you, how do you know you exist?” Meanings of confidential conversations – a hermeneutic study of the experiences of patients with palliative care needs

“…Neglect and indifference to patient needs, as described by Engel et al [ 23 ], may increase feelings of guilt and shame among patients, rendering them vulnerable, as confirmed by previous studies [ 39 , 48 , 49 ]. Consequently, patients in our study may withdraw from interactions with nurses and remain silent.…”

Exploration of Altruistic Behavior in Early Adult Volunteers: A Phenomenological Study

“…Altruism can be defined as self-sacrificial behavior that provides more benefits to others than oneself (Arman, 2023;Kesenheimer et al, 2023;Schulreich et al, 2023). Individuals engaging in altruistic acts regularly seek to maximize benefits for others while disregarding the costs they incur personally (Alfaro et al, 2024).…”

“…Altruism as a concept shares semantic proximity with empathy, sympathy, and compassion (Arman, 2023). Meanwhile, altruism and egoism are opposites that reflect people's motivations to act (Castañón et al, 2023;Lenhart et al, 2023;van der Meulen et al, 2023).…”

“…Meanwhile, altruism and egoism are opposites that reflect people's motivations to act (Castañón et al, 2023;Lenhart et al, 2023;van der Meulen et al, 2023). Egoism implies acting for one's own well-being, while altruism means acting to enhance the well-being of others (Arman, 2023;Kesenheimer et al, 2023;Schulreich et al, 2023). Some researchers also refer to altruism as pro-social behavior (Hanks et al, 2022;Hibino, 2023).…”