Question

how does empathy differ from sympathy?
○ empathy is positive, and sympathy is negative.
○ empathy hurts people, and sympathy is a helpful emotion.
○ empathy involves feeling what another person feels, and sympathy does not.
○ empathy focuses on one’s own feelings about events, and sympathy does not.

Explanation:

To determine the correct answer, we analyze the definitions of empathy and sympathy. Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another, while sympathy is feeling compassion or pity for someone's situation without necessarily sharing their emotional experience.

• The first option is incorrect as neither empathy nor sympathy is inherently positive or negative.
• The second option is wrong because empathy is generally a helpful emotion for understanding others, and sympathy isn't described as "hurting" people.
• The third option is correct: Empathy involves feeling what another person feels (sharing their emotional experience), while sympathy is more about acknowledging or feeling sorry for their situation without sharing the exact emotion.
• The fourth option is incorrect because empathy focuses on the other person’s feelings, not one’s own, and sympathy also isn't about one’s own feelings about events.

Answer:

C. Empathy involves feeling what another person feels, and sympathy does not.