Empathy: An Unexpected Tool for Objective Research
In the world of research, it's common to understand things from opposing polarities. Good or bad, quantitative or qualitative, rational or emotional, subjective or objective. In this context, how can empathy (an inherently emotional and subjective quality) lead to a more accurate and complete understanding of reality?
By Valentina Álvarez
When facing a problem, it's normal to be able to distinguish the adversities that made us notice it. Anyone's instinct is to address these symptoms to solve it. However, problems do not exist in isolation, and often the context surrounding them implies a level of complexity that requires looking beyond black and white, towards the particular nuances that impact and are impacted by each other. If we don't consider this, we can cause unintended consequences that worsen the very problem we are trying to solve.
To truly understand a problem, one must understand the system in which it develops (systems thinking) and abandon the paradigm of polarized opposites with clear and static definitions. In other words, not everything is as it initially appears, and not everything is so easy to define.
The elephant of personal experience
A group of people in a dark room discover an elephant: an animal they have never seen before. The person who encounters the elephant's tail asserts that they met a rope. Another person who encountered its body insists it is a wall. Yet another, who encountered its leg, refutes both of them, saying it's actually a tree.
You've likely encountered this analogy, which, beyond visualizing the immensity of tackling a complex problem, simply communicates that personal experience shapes people's perceptions and how they interact with the world. There's even a possibility that each person is right depending on their perspective. On top of that, something that can be very good for one person can be another's worst nightmare depending on their context.
Intuition or prejudice?
When facing any challenge that requires research, it's common to think that researchers are completely objective, that they can see the problem as it is. It's less common to recognize that researchers' experience and methodology can facilitate strategic decision-making in the pursuit of deep understanding, effectively using their own context to inform their decision-making. This is called designer's intuition.
Recognizing the designer's intuition opens doors to detecting subtleties, which allow for a greater level of depth. However, on certain occasions, we may have convictions that are difficult to distinguish between prejudice and intuition, and which can prevent us from approaching reality. Empathy becomes particularly relevant for addressing this problem.
Empathy as a design phase
The human-centered design (HCD) methodology, IDEO establishes empathy as the first phase of the design process, defining it as a deep understanding of the problems and realities of the people for whom you are designing (Dam & Siang, 2025).
Empathy doesn't just involve understanding the context (or the system). It can mean understanding the problem in its entirety, finding its root, or defining it in a productive way before trying to solve it.
The implications of empathy
Rethink our preconceived notions
The most obvious answer for us isn't always the most correct or appropriate. Although it can be valuable to trust our instincts, it's important to question what we think to be able to dig deeper and find unexpected answers.
Getting out of our subjectivity (and into others')
Complete objectivity does not exist for people. No one is independent of their context, and we are all informed by our experiences. However, as researchers, we have the ability and responsibility to look beyond our subjective experience and understand that of others through empathy.
Good faith
People (users, or customers) are not passive elements that make up the problem, but active agents who provoke and react to the system they are part of. To truly understand them, it's essential to ask why: Why do they care? Why would they do that? Why don't they change? Why do they act against their own interests?
Frequently, the user behaviors that impress us the most (or seem malicious or thoughtless) are indicative of problems in the design of the products, services, or systems with which they interact. Deciphering: Financial Digitization This is a report that exemplifies the in-depth understanding achieved when we look beyond prejudice, towards what prevents people from achieving financial well-being.
Empathy means recognizing that people (whether users or researchers) do not act or understand reality independently of their context, nor in a completely rational way. Recognizing this is the first step toward a comprehensive, accurate, and real understanding of a problem to achieve a more strategic design.
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