Empathy Glossary

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• Affective empathy

  Empathy and related emotions

  the ability to sense or “experience” the perceived emotions of another.  

• Cognitive empathy

  Empathy and related emotions

  the ability to understand the experiences of others by imagining yourself in their reality. 

• Empathy

  Empathy and related emotions

  a stimulated emotional state that relies on the ability to perceive, understand, and care about the experiences or perspectives of another person or animal. Empathy is an umbrella term for three types.

• Motivational empathy

  Empathy and related emotions

  the ability to sense and be motivated to improve the life of another. This can be both in terms of seeing a negative situation and wanting to improve it or a positive situation and wanting to extend that, which is sometimes referred to as empathic joy. Also called compassion or empathetic concern. 

• Sympathy

  Empathy and related emotions

  feelings of concern resulting from an awareness of the suffering or sorrow of another. More generally, a capacity to share in and respond to the concerns or feelings of others. 

• Affectivity

  Characteristics of empathy

  the attribution of emotions to animal vitality (e.g active = happy, sedentary = sad) or the animal’s patterns and qualities of arousal over time. 

• Agency

  Characteristics of empathy

  the animal presents behaviors of moving, play, grooming, and/or social roles similar to human behaviors. 

• Coherence

  Characteristics of empathy

  the animal is easily understood as a whole animal with arms, legs, body, and face. One particularly impactful characteristic is the presence of a face – especially eyes. 

• Continuity

  Characteristics of empathy

  more time spent with an animal increases a person’s understanding of and empathy toward the animal. 

• Anthropocentrism

  Effective empathy practices

  regarding humans as the central element of the universe; interpreting reality exclusively in terms of human values and experience.

• Anthropomorphism

  Effective empathy practices

  the attribution of human characteristics and purposes to inanimate objects, animals, plants, or other natural phenomena. A projection of the human experience. 

• Empathy best practices

  Effective empathy practices

  empathy practices outlined in the Seattle Aquarium’s “Best Practices in Developing Empathy toward Wildlife” published in 2019. These practices include framing, modeling, increasing knowledge, providing experiences, practice, and activating imagination. These practices are also referred to as empathy effective practices.

• Empathy bridge

  Effective empathy practices

  developed by Woodland Park Zoo. A consistent and intentional way of framing interactions with guests broken down into five steps: assuring welfare, introducing the animal, informing the audience, inviting perspective taking, and connecting to caring action. 

• ACE for Wildlife Affiliate

  Administrative definitions

  individuals not employed by an ACE for Wildlife Institutional Partner but are still engaged with the Network. These can include volunteers, consultants, and interested individuals both within and without the current 7-state region. 

• ACE for Wildlife Institutional Partner

  Administrative definitions

  zoos and aquariums accredited by the Association for Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) in a 7-state region (Alaska, Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, Washington, and Wisconsin) that make up the ACE for Wildlife Network. 

• ACE for Wildlife Member

  Administrative definitions

  individual staff employed by ACE for Wildlife Institutional Partners.