The Ethics of Empathy: Walking a Fine Line in Forensic Evaluations

ABSTRACT

Objectivity is often cited as the most important characteristic of the forensic evaluator. However, emerging evidence indicates bias continues to exist, despite evaluators’ best attempts to mitigate the influence of their internal processes. One type of bias, termed empathy bias, continues to engender debate in the field, as the evaluator’s experience of empathy has been conceptualized as a hindrance to the supposed objective forensic evaluation process. We conceptualize the issue of empathy as multipronged: a means to foster the assessment process, an instrument for gathering data, and an ethical imperative. From this point of view, we note empathy is a core characteristic fostered throughout clinical psychology doctoral training. Moreover, due to the well-documented bias associated with racial or ethnic minority status and the stigma of mental illness, the forensic evaluator’s experience of empathy for the individual being assessed likely enhances the interpersonal aspects of the evaluation process. However, the forensic literature often cautions the examiners to carefully manage their emotional reactions to defendants as a way in which to preserve the integrity of the evaluation. We argue that this caution is slightly off the mark, as the internal reaction of the examiner may provide valuable information to the evaluation process. Finally, we suggest further research is warranted in the forensic evaluator’s experience of empathy, as well as how empathy may either enhance or negatively influence the evaluation.

KEYWORDS:

• forensic evaluation
• empathy
• bias
• race/ethnicity
• stigma

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.