2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Learning to design in undergraduate engineering is a higher-order mentality that entails creative, conceptual, and methodological capabilities. One of the core principles of design thinking is its focus on human values at every stage of the process, including empathy for the eventual recipients or users of the tangible outcomes of the designs. Learning to be empathetic has a wide range of benefits, such as supporting effective teamwork and communication; supporting ethical decision-making; and informing the design process. The existing literature provides not enough guidance on how to foster empathy in undergraduate engineering programs, despite the recognized benefits. However, a growing body of research on the benefits of mindfulness has begun to show its potential as an intervention strategy to improve empathy in design. In this theory/method paper, we present an extended review that explores the relationship between how empathy may be supported through mindfulness practice.

Based on the content of the studies, we organized publications in terms of the research focus. While some reported on the relationship between empathy and mindfulness practice, other publications focused on specific effects on individuals. These specific effects clustered around three major groups important to design education: (1) transition between analytical and affective mindsets (2) subjective understanding of the profession by focusing the mind on how we conceptualize engineering expectations, and (3) increased behaviors to support sustainability mindsets. Through our extended literature review on these topics, we suggest that promoting mindfulness practice in engineering design courses, workplaces and elsewhere encourages whole-bodied processes in professional decision-making and empathetic designs.

Keywords: empathy, mindfulness, engineering design