What causes us to feel sympathy for fictional characters? Using audience members from four theatrical productions we tested the relative strength of three oft-cited predictors: understanding the emotions of another (cognitive empathy), feeling the emotions of another (emotional empathy), and experiencing a negative emotional reaction to another's plight (personal distress). Predictors of sympathy held constant for a wide range of ages but differed for males versus females. Level of sympathy was predicted by emotional empathy in males but by cognitive empathy in females. These findings suggest that when watching theatrical performances, sympathy for characters is more other-directed for females than for males.
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