AbstractConsiderable differences exist in theories and methods in contemporary empathy research in psychology. An analysis is made of the ideas of early theorists in an attempt to identify the roots of these differences. Aesthetic philosopher‐psychologists such as Theodor Lipps are compared to sociologists such as G. H. Mead, social psychologists, including Leonard Cottrell and Gordon Allport, the developmentalist Jean Piaget, and therapists such as Sigmund Freud and Carl Rogers. This analysis documents the bases for empathy being viewed as projection, identification, emotional contagion, or role taking. It also suggests that current researchers should plan studies that tap more of the total psychological empathic experienc