CHAPTER 14: Toward an Ecological Self Amid an Empathy Deficit: Higher Education, Psychology, and Mindful Connection with Nature

Researchers from the University of Michigan (Konrath, O’Brien, & Hsing, 2011) recently released the results of a study comparing levels of empathy among college students from each of the past four decades. The current generation of students, also referred to as the Millennials and Generation Me, scored 48% lower on empathy than students who participated in the same study 20 and 30 years ago. Many have speculated about the reasons for the decline of empathy among college age students over the past decade. Debates seem to suggest that a combination of technology and a culture of immediate gratification contribute to a lessening ability to identify with—on a deeper emotional level—the experience of others.