Question

Our ability to recognize the emotions of others, to understand these feelings, and to experience them ourselves at least to a degree is called:

• A. Temperament
• B. Sympathy
• C. Empathy
• D. Attachment

Hint:

A simple way to distinguish empathy and sympathy: {Empathy} is "feeling with" someone (putting yourself in their shoes). {Sympathy} is "feeling for" someone (acknowledging their feelings from the outside).

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The question asks for the term that describes the capacity to both understand and share another person's emotional state.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
(A) Temperament: This refers to an individual's innate, biologically based behavioral and emotional style. It's about one's own characteristic way of reacting, not about understanding others' feelings.
(B) Sympathy: This is the feeling of care and concern for someone, often accompanied by a wish to see them better off. It is feeling *for* someone, which is different from feeling *with* them. For example, you feel sorry for a friend who lost their pet.
(C) Empathy: This is the ability to understand and vicariously experience what another person is feeling from their perspective. It has two components: cognitive empathy (the ability to understand another's feelings) and affective empathy (the ability to share the feelings of another). The question's description covers both aspects, making this the correct answer.
(D) Attachment: This refers to the deep and enduring emotional bond that connects one person to another across time and space, most notably between a child and a caregiver.
Step 3: Final Answer:
The ability to recognize, understand, and share the feelings of others is the definition of empathy.