Talk:Sympathy

message: Edit: first example was incorrect and biased.  A lustful serial killer is not feeling a victim's fear or pain, they are experiencing lust.  Serial killers are not very empathic, if at all.  See definition of psycopath.
Empathy (as used on this page as in the "but not" comments = Jungian extroverted feeling
Sympathy = Jungian introverted feeling 24.22.227.53 07:01, 5 September 2005 (UTC)
thread_title: Comments

message: (Warning: incredibly unscientific language ahead)
In tv shows/movies/etc. sometimes you see one mentally ill person freak out in a mental hospital who will then set the other patients 'off' with their actions - in my mind, similar to a babys' sympathy crying.  Is there a proper term for that, or will I have to use that complex description for the rest of my life?  :) --Anoma lee 13:15, 27 September 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  'Crazy' Sympathy 

message: What we have is a dictionary definition, not an entry in an encyclopedia.  I propose we move the content to Wiktionary and replace the article with a link. WLior 17:04, 22 September 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Do we need this article 

message: This article was automatically assessed because at least one WikiProject had rated the article as start, and the rating on other projects was brought up to start class. BetacommandBot 04:28, 10 November 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  WikiProject class rating

message: That is what I clicked on the page to find out more about. There is the person who observes someone else's problems from a distance, someone who does not care, the person who helps but only to feel better about themselves. Even the Buddhists have opinions about sympathy. I think Susan Sontag, Foucault, and numerous others come at this from a philosophical perspective. This article could be amazing if someone took the time to do it.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by Awesomeblossom420 (talk • contribs) 16:49, 22 April 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  what about the philosophy of sympathy? 

message: I don't see why that should be tag up there. Remove? Aurora sword (talk) 14:28, 23 May 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Not worldwide view? 

message: The sympathy definition here is, as noted above by BetacommandBot, not a much more than a dictionary definition.
Further, it is very confusing when compared to the definition of empathy: clear distinction between the two on any level (dictionary, philosophical, psychological, experiental) is not made, although such a difference is explicitly claimed.
Even more, the current definitions do not align very well with modern (western) definitions of sympathy (and empathy) from either dictionaries or psychological literature. I assume a similar problem with philosophical definitions.
Example:
Encarta English Dictionary (Microsoft, 2007):
1. Ability for sharing of of feelings: being able to understand, share or understand others' feelings
2. Feelings that are caused by sympathy (i.e. action of sympathy): what one feels when entering or sharing other person's feelings
3. Feeling alike - inclination to do so: inclination to feel/think like others
4. Agreement: harmony or agreement something/somebody
5. Loyalty/Allegiance: allegiance/loyalty to something/somebody
These multiple definitions are not captured here at Wikipedia nor are they capture in the Wiktionary.
Further, the psychological definition is not clear nor am I sure it is up-to-date.
Again quoting in paraphrased form, with meaning hopefully intact, from Encyclopedia of Psychology (APA, 2000):
Sympathy has varied definitions. Often the definition is:
Responding emotionally after understanding the emotions or condition of another person [note condition, in addition to emotion]. Thus it is a reaction to understanding, which can be followed by personal feelings of compassion, concern or other feelings toward that person towards which sympathy is directed. [Hence, it is NOT the same as living/feeling the emotions of other people. It is a personal emotive response to the condition/emotive state of others, after understanding this in the first place].
Thus, sympathy may be evoked by empathy, which in turn can be defined as mirroring - often intensively - the feeling of another person within oneself [that is feeling the same emotion - to the extent that is possible in the first place]. 
[Thus, empathy does not require understanding of other's emotional state (on an intellectual level), but merely experiencing itself emotionally and directly. Further, emotion does not include necessarily a concern or caring for what the other person is going through (a condition or emotive state)].
[Again, causally it is more likely to be : 
empathy -> sympathy
However empathy does not need to exist before sympathy. 
Then again, if a mirroring of other person's feelings happens, it is definitely empathy, not just sympathy. Further an intellectual orientation towards the needs of the person being sympathized/empathized with is again sympathy, not just pure empathy].
I think these definitions for sympathy and empathy, must both be clarified and made clearly distinct, both from dictionary and psychological literature point of view.
Otherwise just use Occam's razor: entities should not be multiplied unless necessary. Here however the need is clear, as the words are referring to clearly distinct psychological and experiental concepts.
Difficult to pick a user name (talk) 11:38, 14 October 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Challenging the definition of empathy vs Sympathy 

message: It seems that article is more concise, in any case. 66.195.102.82 (talk) 22:49, 18 February 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Merge with Empathic Concern? 

message: This article as a stub is ok, but i would have moved the ethimology from the end to the beginning of the article.
We should add something else, i found very useful the article of Lowenstein G. and Small D.(2007) The Scarecrow and the Tin Man: The vicissitudes of Human Sympathy and Caring. Review of General Psychology.
This article provides a better explanation of the difference between sympathy and empathy, and also a view of how sympathy affects decision making. Maybe two more sections for these topics should be created.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Miolia (talk • contribs) 02:37, 8 February 2012 (UTC)
thread_title:  Ok, but some things could be improved 

message: An idea that could be interesting to add would be the numerous determinants of sympathy.  Loewenstein and Small (2007) reference that sympathy is affected by the following situations and stimuli:
*Own Personal State; How much our own feeling state matches that of the individual we are reaching out to. 
*Past and Vicarious Experience: If we have experienced something similar to the individual; if we have experienced the same or similar event before.
*Proximity: How close we are, weather in physical or emotional distances cause us to feel more for events or individuals closer to us. 
*In-Group/Similarity/Nationality: How much of a connection we might have to the individual we are sympathizing with.  For example, family members get more sympathy because of the shared bonds we have.    
*Newness: The first time we are presented with information, we are  more apt to react to it, rather than after being exposed numerous times.  
*Vividness: How much of a visual description to we have?  
Through these determinants, we as individuals to determine how much sympathy we give to a specific situation, perhaps more to some than to others.  
Source: Loewenstein, G. & Small, D. A. (2007).  The scarecrow and the tin man: The vicissitudes of human sympathy and caring.  Review of General Psychology, 11, 112-126. doi: 10.1037/1089-2680.11.2.112 
Leibelk (talk) 21:25, 8 February 2012 (UTC)
thread_title:  Determinants of Sympathy 

message: Plans for page revisions: --Nguyen.M.T (talk) 16:05, 21 March 2012 (UTC)
thread_title: PLANNED REVISIONS

message: ADD  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Nguyen.M.T (talk • contribs) 16:35, 28 March 2012 (UTC)
thread_title: HISTORY

message: Dickert, S. & Slovic, P. (2009). Attentional mechanisms in the generation of sympathy. Judgment and Decision Making, 4(4), 297-306. 
This paper was the first I found to acknowledge more simple, perceptual mechanisms that play a part in sympathy. The authors noted that attention can be used to moderate emotion as well as allow more complex processing. They highlight the role of being able to create mental images and to take on outside perspectives on the production of sympathy. This paper would fit best in the section where I hope to discuss how sympathy is initiated and sustained.
Dijker, A. J. M. (2010). Perceived vulnerability as a common basis of moral emotions. British Journal of Social Psychology, 49, 415-423. 
This article presents an interesting perspective on sympathy, as well as all other empathic emotions. The role of perceived vulnerability for individuals is integral to their argument that empathic emotions stem from a desire to be good parents. As they note, humans carry over their evolutionary tendency to care for their vulnerable young to other spheres of their lives. This article will contribute to the section regarding the initiation of sympathy.
Harth, N. S., Kessler, T. & Leach, C. W. (2008). Advantaged group’s emotional reactions to intergroup inequality: The dynamics of pride, guilt, and sympathy. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34(1), 115-129. doi:10.1177/0146167207309193. '''
This article focuses on the role of in-group and out-group distinctions on the initiation of sympathy and charitable behavior. There is also an analysis of how sympathy relates to the legitimacy of the conditions of the situation. Framing also plays a role in this as in-group status can change depending on what group is being scrutinized. The behavioral tendencies elucidated in this article will help to create a section on the initiation of sympathy.
Irwin, K., McGrimmon, T. & Simpson, B. (2008). Sympathy and social order. Social Psychology Quarterly, 71(4), 379-397.
As the title suggests, this piece highlights the role of sympathy in maintaining social order and would fit into the section about the role of sympathy in human behavior. The authors highlight two specific determinants in a person delivering sympathy to others. The first determinant revolved around the idea that in order to feel sympathy, a person must feel like they are in an interdependent relationship with the other person(s). This is a self-satisfying mechanism. The second determinant is individual characteristics; the researchers determined that trust and good values play into feelings of sympathy and cooperation. 
Lishner, D. A., Batson, C. D. & Huss, E. (2011). Tenderness and sympathy: Distinct empathic emotions elicited by different forms of need. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 37(5), 614-625. doi: 10.1177/0146167211403157.
Lishner and colleagues analyze different responses to people in need. They highlight the idea that different needs elicit differential 'empathic emotions.' Need and vulnerability represent two human states in which people can expect attention, sympathy and tenderness respectively. These authors also suggest that there is an inherent paternal aspect to sympathy that in turn helps drive empathic emotions. This article would be appropriate in the section that helps define sympathy as well as the one discussing how sympathy comes about. 
NEW
Decety, J. & Chaminade. (2003). Neural correlates of feeling sympathy. Neuropsychologia, 41, 127-138.
This article provides a neurscientific perspective on the initiation and feeling of sympathy. Using a paradigm that involves interaction between people, researchers were able to analyze the neural activity occurring when sympathy is experienced.    — Preceding unsigned comment added by Nguyen.M.T (talk • contribs) 15:53, 21 March 2012 (UTC)
thread_title: INITIATION & MAINTENANCE

message: NEW
Feigenson, N. R. (1997). Sympathy and legal judgement: A psychological analysis. Tennessee Law Review
I nominated this article for DYN status:
--Nguyen.M.T (talk) 16:54, 4 April 2012 (UTC)
thread_title:  SYMPATHY, POLITICS, AND THE LAW 

message: Σ- Hello there! I have returned the page to the original version I posted. I feel as though the current page is more substantive, but I am happy to fix things if you tell me what should be changed in terms of format. I ask you to please not revert the page without a more detailed explanation so that I can fix it. For example, what specifically should be changed to make the article less essay-like? In terms of the TOC, I tried to incorporate all important knowledge regarding sympathy in a format that first provided general information and then was divided in a way that let individuals access sections that they might be interested in. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
--Nguyen.M.T (talk) 03:37, 1 May 2012 (UTC)
thread_title: Original version

message: Hi Everyone, my name is Kelsey and I will be editing this article as a part of my Child Development course at King's University College. Kkongas (talk) 01:37, 20 September 2012 (UTC)
replies: text: Welcome to the both of you! Lova Falk talk 17:32, 21 September 2012 (UTC)
thread_title: King's University College

message: Hello there, Anisha EnlightenMe0 (talk) 13:55, 4 October 2012 (UTC)
thread_title: Planned Revisions

message: — Assignment last updated by Amandaebullard (talk) 20:36, 13 March 2023 (UTC)
thread_title: Wiki Education assignment: Adult Development Winter 2023