bridging the empathy gap

Building bridges toward understanding and empathy through education and photography.

Vision Bridge

Bridging the Empathy Gap

teaching & technology tools to impact bullying in schools

Bonnie J. Schupp

Doctor of Communications Design

• Problem•Definitions•Players•Impact•Causes

• Research•Findings•Practice

• Vision Bridge•Foundation•Methodology•Results•Conclusion


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1974 Olean, New York; 1978 Austin, Texas; 1978 Lanett, Alabama; 1985 Goddard, Kansas; 1986 Lewiston, Montana; 1987 DeKalb, Missouri; 1988 Virginia Beach, Virginia; 1989 Orange County, California; 1992 Olivehurst, California; 1992 Napa, California; 1992 Great Barrington, Massachusetts; 1993 Grayson, Kentucky; 1993 Wauwatosa, Wisconsin; 1994 Union, Kentucky; 1994 Greensboro, North Carolina; 1994…Manchester, Iowa; 1995 Redlands, California; 1995 Blackville, South Carolina; 1995 Lynnville, Tennessee; 1996 Moses Lake, Washington; 1996 Patterson, Missouri; 1996 Scottsdale, Georgia; 1997 Bethel, Alaska; 1997 Pearl, Mississippi; 1997 West Paducah, Kentucky; 1997 Stamps, Arkansas; 1998 Jonesboro Arkansas; 1998 Edinboro, Pennsylvania; 1998 Fayetteville, Tennessee; 1998 Springfield, Oregon; 1999 Notus, Idaho; 1999 Littleton, Colorado; 1999 Conyers, Georgia; 1999 Deming, New Mexico; 1999 Fort Gibson, Oklahoma; 2000 Lake Worth, Florida; 2003 Cold Spring, Minnesota; 2005 Red Lake, Minnesota





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bullying





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• Vision Bridge•Foundation•Methodology•Results•Conclusion FBI, AMA, SSNTAC, CDC, NEA ………………………………………….


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• Problem•Definition•Players•Impact•Causes



•Intended to harm or disturb others

•Occurs repeatedly over time

•Involves an imbalance of power, physical or psychological

•Involves physical or psychological abuse


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•Poor psychosocial functioning

•Aggressive

•Conduct problems

•Dislike of school

•Alcohol and tobacco use

•Poor grades

•Insecurity

•Depression

•Loneliness

•Low self-esteem

•Passive or active

•Lack of coping strategies

•Fear and/or guilt


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• Social change• Drugs and alcohol• Acceptance• Conformity• Code of secrecy• Competition• Lack of training• Certain practices• Unaware adults

• Lack of empathy-training


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individual

family

school

community

culture





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Beginnings•Before 1970 - only a few isolated studies

• 1973 - Dan Olweus, Aggression in the Schools: Bullies and Whipping Boys

• 1987 - European conference: Bullying in School

• 1987 - National School Safety Center: Schoolyard Bullying Practicum Conference

• Bullying issue: as broader issue of school safety and violence.

• 1993 – Olweus program reduced bullying by 50% in two years.


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Researchers have found:

•Less structure invites more bullying.

•Teachers are generally unaware.

•The peer group is reluctant to intervene.

•Students seldom ask adults for help.

•Bullying peaks in middle school.

•Bullies lack empathy.


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Metaphorically: - spark of human concern for others, the glue that makes social life possible

Literally– a feeling in or with another’s emotions

Phenomenologically – enduring another’s suffering by imaginatively entering into another’s body and becoming in some measure the same person with him

Strictly speaking – vicarious response to others; an affective response appropriate to someone else’s situation rather than one’s own

Broadly speaking – a biological and affectively based, cognitively mediated and socialized predisposition to connect emotionally with another

What is empathy…………………………………………………?

Simply speaking –empathy is:

1. Recognizing feelings in self and others

2. Considering others’ perspectives

3. Responding emotionally to others


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Existing types of interventions:

Awareness-building

•Classroom teaching

•Community-based efforts

•Family involvement

•Guidance counselors

•Opportunity deterrence/facilities design

•School climate

•School policies

•Student training


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Program Target Outcomes

PATHS K-5 Improved self-control, tolerance and behavior

Incredible Years PK – 3 Decreased home problems

Project Toward No Drug Abuse

14 – 19 22% - 20% reduction in drug and cigarette use; 25% reduction in weapons

Bullying Prevention Program

K – 9 Decreased victimization and increased classroom order

Peaceful Schools Project

K – 5 Increased academic performance and decreased disciplinary problems

The Olweus Bullying Prevention Program

K – 12 50% reduction in bullying in Norway

20% reduction in bullying in South Carolina

LIFT Grade 5 Participants 59% less likely to drink alcohol


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Social skills program PK - 8

Classroom based

Separate from regular curriculum

Focuses on impulse control and problem solving

Teaches empathy through facial recognition


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Peaceful Schools• Problem

•Definitions•Players•Impact•Causes




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“I believe the only thing that would have helped me then would have been teaching me about self-esteem and empathy and constant reinforcement of those ideals.”





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Top-down Bottom-up




Improved school climate and fewer bullying incidents

Academic and behavior improvement

Integration of empathy training into regular classroom curriculum

School climate

School security

Punishment

Pull-out programs

Add-on curriculum


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Hypothesis:

Given what we know about bullying, embedding empathy training within the classroom’s routine curriculum will increase students’ empathetic skills.





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•Gardner - multiple intelligences, specifically intrapersonal and interpersonal intelligence

•Goleman – emotional intelligence

•Constructivism – Piaget, Vygotsky, Dale

Currently accepted teaching methodology can help students to recognize human commonalities in those they believe are different from them. This will lay the groundwork for developing empathic connections.




Lack of empathy is a key factor in bullying and other anti-social behavior. Where does empathy-training fall in current pedagogy?


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Tell me and I’ll forget.

Show me and I may remember.

Let me do and I’ll understand.





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Photography is a natural choice as a teaching tool. For middle school students who are at the concrete operational stage of cognitive development, photographs offer personal and concrete expression.

•Family photo albums bridge generations.

•We accept photography as an instrument for knowing things and as a medium that depicts experience.

•Photographs are an instrument of social change.

•Photographs elicit emotions and even empathy.





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More than any other medium, the Internet lends itself to widespread, instant communication that bridges culture and geography.

2,000,000 + = bullying, cultural understanding, teaching tolerance and diversity

1,000 - = teaching empathy

Cyber Schoolbus, Global Schoolhouse, KidLink, Peace Corps, Tolerance





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•Informed consent

•Pre-bullying survey

•Pre-empathy survey

•Lessons 1-3

•Photography assignment

•Lessons 4 – 7

•Post-empathy survey

•Post-bullying survey

•Closing activity





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I nterpersonal Action Survey 2004

Please read each item carefully and mark the boxes that are true

f or you. You may add comments to your answers if you want to explain your answers. Do not write your name on this survey. Your

answers will be anonymous and you will not get into trouble f or honest answers. Thank you f or giving this your best eff ort.




Bullying Survey


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Section 1: How do you feel when a person does these things to someone else? Check the box that best says what you think. Section 2: How do you feel when someone does these things to you? Section 3: Why do you think we do these things to each other? Section 4: What do you do? Section 5: What do you think? Section 6: Your chance to tell it like it is




Interpersonal Action Survey 2004

Bullying Survey


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Calls someone else bad names. I t’s okay, maybe he or she did something to deserve it I don’t care, it’s none of my business I f eel bad, because people should not say things like that

Section 1: How do you feel when a person does these things to someone else? Check the box that best says what you think.

Bullying Survey


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Bullying Survey


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Section 5: What do you think? People who are picked on feel sad.

No Yes

People not like me can easily understand how I f eel.

No Yes




Bullying Survey


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Section 6: Your chance to tell it like it is Write any thoughts you have about how people you know treat each other or draw a picture that shows how you treated someone else or how someone else treated you. Add a caption to explain. Use the back of this paper.

Bullying Survey


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This is a survey to learn about your perceptions of Japanese people. This is not a test.

When you think about Japanese people, what 3 words pop into your mind first? (You can write your own words and you can also use words from the list below.) 1. 2. 3.

Pearl Harbor language kind Tokyo peaceful foreign artistic

healthy fight smelly bamboo technology friendly eyes

weird smart different crazy chopsticks writing sweet




Empathy Survey


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What do you think is very important to many Japanese people? (You can use the list below or you can write your own idea for the answer.) 4.

holidays loyalty money

school and studying relationships with other people (such as family, friends, etc.)

religion

eating pets technology

peace sports bikes




Empathy Survey


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Empathy Survey

What do you think is most true? (check one)

_____ Japanese people are very strange.

_____ Japanese people are like me in many ways.

_____ Japanese people do not like Americans.

_____ Japanese people are very different from us.


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•Linguistic (word smart)

•Logical-mathematical (reasoning smart)

•Spatial (picture smart)

•Interpersonal (people smart)

•Intrapersonal (self smart)




8th-Grade Social Studies and Language Arts

During the classroom lessons, these multiple intelligences were addressed:


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8th Grade Social Studies

Outcome: Valuing Self and Others

Objective: Students will demonstrate attainment of a positive self-concept and empathy toward others in order to improve interaction among individuals and groups in our democratic society. Specifically, 8th grade students should be able to examine one’s own feelings, values, and capabilities in an effort to develop a positive self-concept and acceptance of others.




8th Grade Language Arts

Theme: Discovery

Goal: We can discover where we fit in the world by reflecting upon the discoveries characters make about themselves in real-life circumstances.

Language arts and social studies skills in the 8th-grade curriculum include:

•Analysis

•Perspective-taking

•Recognition and use of primary and secondary sources

• Comprehension of cause and effect

•Drawing conclusions

•Writing to inform.

All of these elements were part of the Vision Bridge lessons.


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Lesson 1 – Primary sources and artifacts

Lesson 2 – Emotions

Lesson 3 – Visual literacy




Visual Literacy

•Examine visual point-of-view

•Analyze role of visual clues in expressing emotions

•Understand the basics of photographic composition

Elements of empathy


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Lesson 4 – Pre-write

Lesson 5 – Revision and final draft

Lesson 6 – Predicting, examining, responding*

Lesson 7 – Analyzing responses

Closure





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State-ment G % B % G % B % Chg % Chg % Chg %

friendly * 1 9.1% 1 5% 4 36.4% 3 15.0% 3 27% 2 10% 5 16.1%bamboo * 0 0.0% 2 10% 0 0.0% 6 30.0% 0 0% 4 20% 4 12.9%sweet * 0 0.0% 0 0% 3 27.3% 1 5.0% 3 27% 1 5% 4 12.9%technology * 1 9.1% 4 20% 0 0.0% 8 40.0% -1 -9% 4 20% 3 9.7%things 0 0.0% 0 0% 1 9.1% 2 10.0% 1 9% 2 10% 3 9.7%smart * 2 18.2% 5 25% 5 45.5% 5 25.0% 3 27% 0 0% 3 9.7%different * 0 0.0% 1 5% 3 27.3% 1 5.0% 3 27% 0 0% 3 9.7%Pearl Harbor * 1 9.1% 4 20% 0 0.0% 7 35.0% -1 -9% 3 15% 2 6.5%artistic * 1 9.1% 2 10% 1 9.1% 4 20.0% 0 0% 2 10% 2 6.5%peaceful * 2 18.2% 0 0% 2 18.2% 2 10.0% 0 0% 2 10% 2 6.5%noodles 0 0.0% 0 0% 1 9.1% 1 5.0% 1 9% 1 5% 2 6.5%

writing * 2 18.2% 1 5% 1 9.1% 0 0.0% -1 -9% -1 -5% -2 -6.5%fight * 1 9.1% 2 10% 0 0.0% 1 5.0% -1 -9% -1 -5% -2 -6.5%kind * 1 9.1% 2 10% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% -1 -9% -2 -10% -3 -9.7%foreign * 4 36.4% 4 20% 3 27.3% 2 10.0% -1 -9% -2 -10% -3 -9.7%language * 5 45.5% 4 20% 1 9.1% 4 20.0% -4 -36% 0 0% -4 -12.9%chopsticks * 3 27.3% 5 25% 1 9.1% 3 15.0% -2 -18% -2 -10% -4 -12.9%Tokyo * 0 0.0% 7 35% 1 9.1% 2 10.0% 1 9% -5 -25% -4 -12.9%eyes * 2 18.2% 5 25% 0 0.0% 2 10.0% -2 -18% -3 -15% -5 -16.1%

When you think about Japanese people, what 3 words pop into your mind first?

Pre Pre Post Post Girls Boys Total

Empathy Survey

After empathy training:

• Students were less concerned with physical appearance and more with aspects of personality.

• For both girls and boys, there was a decline for the word eyes, for girls by 18% and boys by 15%.

• Word choices such as short, small, small feet, chinky eyes declined.


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G % B % G % B % Chg % Chg % Chg %

relationships with other people * 2 18.2% 3 15.0% 8 72.7% 5 25.0% 6 54.5% 2 57.7% 8 25.8%pets * 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 2 10.0% 0 0.0% 2 0.0% 2 6.5%food 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 1 5.0% 0 0.0% 1 0.0% 1 3.2%things they like to do 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 1 5.0% 0 0.0% 1 0.0% 1 3.2%

(undecipherable) 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 1 5.0% 0 0.0% 1 0.0% 1 3.2%bikes * 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0%loyalty * 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0%school and studying * 1 9.1% 5 25.0% 1 9.1% 5 25.0% 0 0.0% 0 -15.9% 0 0.0%

holidays * 1 9.1% 1 5.0% 1 9.1% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% -1 4.1% -1 -3.2%peace * 1 9.1% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% -1 -9.1% 0 0.0% -1 -3.2%Their population how they cant have to many babies so they have to kill them

1 9.1% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% -1 -9.1% 0 0.0% -1 -3.2%rice 0 0.0% 1 5.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% -1 -5.0% -1 -3.2%sports * 0 0.0% 1 5.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% -1 -5.0% -1 -3.2%money * 1 9.1% 3 15.0% 1 9.1% 1 5.0% 0 0.0% -2 -5.9% -2 -6.5%eating * 0 0.0% 2 10.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% -2 -10.0% -2 -6.5%

technology * 3 27.3% 2 10.0% 0 0.0% 2 10.0% -3 -27.3% 0 -10.0% -3 -9.7%religion * 1 9.1% 4 20.0% 0 0.0% 1 5.0% -1 -9.1% -3 -20.0% -4 -12.9%

What do you think is very important to many Japanese people?

Pre Pre Post Post Girls Boys Total

Empathy Survey


• 25.8% chose relationships with other people.

• There was a 25.8% positive attitude increase with both girls and boys.


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Statement G % B % G % B % Chg % Chg % Chg %

Japanese people are like me in many ways. 6 54.5% 6 30.0% 8 72.7% 15 75.0% 2 18.2% 9 42.7% 11 35.5%

Japanese people are very strange. 0 0.0% 3 15.0% 0 0.0% 2 10.0% 0 0.0% -1 -15.0% -1 -3.2%Japanese people do not like Americans. 0 0.0% 2 10.0% 0 0.0% 1 5.0% 0 0.0% -1 -10.0% -1 -3.2%

Japanese people are very different from us. 5 45.5% 11 55.0% 4 36.4% 3 15.0% -1 -9.1% -8 -18.6% -9 -29.0%

Girls Boys TotalPre Pre Post PostWhat do you think is most true?

Empathy Survey


There was an increased positive attitude change of 35.5% for the entire group.


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• I learned that people are the same in many different ways.

•I learned about people in Japan is that they are just like me in many ways. They like the things that I like. That is what I learned about people who live in Japan.

•I learned that the Japanese people are very kind and forgiving. Also they are like Americans in many ways.

It is necessary to look beyond the survey responses. When we look at the sentences of the students who wrote different, crazy, weird for words that came to mind when thinking about Japanese people, we can see that positive attitude change was achieved [sic] :

Empathy Survey


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•I have learned that you should treat people the way you want to be treated. Second you should try to understand other peoples feelings. Third I’v learned that you should express yourself in positive ways. Fourth I have learned that many people are the same in the inside. Last I have learned they everybody has something that makes them happy [sic].

•I learned many things when we did this Vision Bridge. I learned how Japanese people are different from us. I learned what some of the Japanese people like to do. They might look different but they are also the same on the inside.

•I learned that Japness people are like use in many ways because there famely makes them happy.

Students who checked Japanese people are very different from us also wrote these sentences [sic]:

Empathy Survey


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•I have learned that a lot of people that I think are different from me are really not that different at all.

•I learned that japanese people are just like us but in different way [sic].

These are sentences from students who checked both Japanese people are very different from us and Japanese people are like me in many ways [sic].

Empathy Survey


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BULLYING SURVEYSection 1: How do you feel when a person does these things to someone else?

13%

38%

49%

7%

39%

54%

12%

54%

35%

9%

59%

33%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Negative Neutral Positive

Girls Pre Training

Girls Post Training

Boys Pre Training

Boys Post Training




When looking at the detailed answers, certain actions such as name-calling, shoving, ostracizing and touching drew more empathy for victims on the post-survey responses. However, for teasing, spreading rumors and circulating malicious notes, there was a trend toward neutrality.

Girls showed a greater positive change (7.14% to 21.43%) than boys (3.7% to 11.11%) when responding to questions from a bystander’s perspective. In the bullying survey, girls moved away from accepting indirect bullying as a bystander while boys showed a move toward indirect bullying, perhaps as a lesser evil in their way of thinking.

Bullying Survey


Vision Bridge

BULLYING SURVEYSection 2: How do you feel when someone does these things to you?

8%

69%

23%

18%

60%

23%

10%

59%

31%

5%

76%

19%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

Negative Neutral Positive

Girls Pre Training

Girls Post Training

Boys Pre Training

Boys Post Training




When students responded from a victim’s perspective, both boys and girls appear less willing to admit that being a victim made them feel bad.

Section 2 shows a change for girls who were more likely than boys to feel they did something to deserve being bullied. Boys shifted more toward neutral and girls toward negative.

Bullying Survey


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BULLYING SURVEYSection 3: Why do you think we do these things to each other?

0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%

35.00%

40.00%

45.00%

50.00%

They look different Their clothes areweird

They act strange They talk in a funnyway

Everyone seems todo it, so they join in

Another reason

Pre GirlsPost GirlsPre BoysPost Boys




In section 3, girls and boys moved in the same direction in their post responses with the exception of They talk in a funny way.

In post-survey responses, there was a drop in the number of girls and boys who chose to write in an answer. A compilation of the another reason responses shows a range of answers, most blaming uncaring bullies, some blaming low self-esteem of bullies and one blaming the victim. No one blamed bystanders. One comment clearly shows that opportunity plays a part, Because we can and we do cause we don’t care. One comment shows an adolescent perspective that might confuse adults: Maybe the person relly[sic] likes you.

Bullying Survey


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BULLYING SURVEYSection 4: What do you do?

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

70.00%

80.00%

Tell an adult Be quiet andgo about my

business

Stand up forthe person who

is gettingpicked on

Join in and pickon the person

Somethingelse

Tell an adult Pretend itdoesn't bother

me

Stand up to theperson who isgetting picked

on

Find a way tomake a joke.

Somethingelse

Pre Girls

Pre Boys

Post Girls

Post Boys

When someone else does these things to you, what do you do?

When you see someone else getting picked on, what do you do?




Students indicate in both the pre- and post-survey responses that they are least likely to elicit help from an adult in bullying situations, especially if they are the victim.

Bullying Survey


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BULLYING SURVEY: Section 5: What do you think?

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

70.00%

80.00%

90.00%

100.00%

No Yes No Yes

Pre Girls

Pre Boys

Post Girls

Post Boys

People who are picked on feel sad People not like me can understand how I feel




Fewer than half of girls and boys recognized that others might empathize with their personal feelings.

Bullying Survey

Girls responded yes by 78.57 in both pre-and post-surveys. Boys showed higher initial empathy, 85.19, but dropped in the post-survey.


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Conclusions• Problem

•Definitions•Players•Impact•Causes


• Vision Bridge•Foundation•Methodology•Results•Conclusions

Results indicate attitudinal changes toward a different culture after a series of embedded empathy-training lessons using constructivist methodology. These changes were facilitated through photography and computer technology.

It is inconclusive whether empathy training in one situation (Japanese culture) may transfer to another (bullying culture). Adolescents of middle school age may be unable to transfer empathy learning because they are not at an abstract cognitive level that allows them to do so.

Results show a gender difference that is suggestive and warrants further study.Qualitative research is essential when working with children because fill-in-the-blank responses may be inaccurate:

•Vocabulary considerations

•Student apathy

•Adolescent logic

Students’ additional sentences on the post empathy survey indicated that they had constructed their own knowledge. Through the use of photography and computer technology, students:

•were involved with activities appropriate for their developmental stage.

•began with prior knowledge and constructed new knowledge.

•created meaning through patterns.

•were active learners.


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• Vision Bridge•Foundation•Methodology•Results•Conclusions

If we are to have real peace, we must begin with the children. Mahatma Gandhi


Vision Bridge

bridging the empathy gap

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