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Empathy as a guide for understanding the balancing of Distancing-Embracing with negative art

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2017

Gernot Gerger ,
Tomohiro Ishizu  and
Matthew Pelowski
Gernot Gerger
Affiliation:
Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, 1010 Vienna, Austria. gernot.gerger@univie.ac.at matthew.pelowski@univie.ac.at http://homepage.univie.ac.at/gernot.gerger/
Tomohiro Ishizu
Affiliation:
Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, 1010 Vienna, Austria. gernot.gerger@univie.ac.at matthew.pelowski@univie.ac.at http://homepage.univie.ac.at/gernot.gerger/ University College London, WC1E 6BT London, UK. t.ishizu@ucl.ac.uk
Matthew Pelowski
Affiliation:
Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, 1010 Vienna, Austria. gernot.gerger@univie.ac.at matthew.pelowski@univie.ac.at http://homepage.univie.ac.at/gernot.gerger/
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Abstract

We connect the Distancing-Embracing model to theoretical and empirical evidence regarding empathy, which raises questions about the ordering and modulation of distancing in particular. Namely, distancing may not be a binary, continuously on/off process. Rather we suggest that changes in distancing as actualized via the relation between the individual and art (e.g., through empathy) might be a useful avenue for further consideration.

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Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 40 , 2017 , e361
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

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