Stories turn anonymous strangers into people who matter.

Traditionally, psychology has been the study of two populations: university freshmen and white rats.

What I mean by "empathy" is putting yourself in other people's shoes, feeling what they feel.

Because of empathy, we care more for, and devote far more resources to, someone who is familiar, from our country or our group, than a stranger.

I love teaching. I wouldn't take a job that didn't include it.

I think there's some evidence that when it comes to being a doctor or nurse, a police officer or therapist, that empathetic engagement leads to burn-out. Imagine if you're dealing with severely ill children, and you felt their pain all the time, and the pain of their parents - you wouldn't be able to do that job for very long. It would kill you.

The effects of Twitter and Facebook and all those things on people's psychologies is a really interesting question to which nobody knows the answer.