The Correct Answer and Explanation is:
The correct answer is True.
Empathy is a complex social and emotional skill, but at its heart, it is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another person. The statement, “Empathy describes if a person considers your needs and feelings,” accurately captures this fundamental principle. When an individual is being empathetic, they are consciously stepping outside of their own perspective to engage with someone else’s reality. This process inherently requires them to think about, or consider, what the other person is going through, both in terms of their practical needs and their emotional state.
This concept can be broken down into two primary components. The first is cognitive empathy, which is the ability to understand another’s perspective on an intellectual level. This is the “considering your needs” part of the statement, where one logically assesses the other person’s situation. The second is affective empathy, which involves sharing an appropriate emotional response to another person’s feelings. This aligns with “considering your feelings,” as it involves connecting with their emotional experience. A person who successfully integrates both aspects is demonstrating a full sense of empathy.
It is useful to distinguish empathy from sympathy. Sympathy involves feeling sorry or showing concern for someone, but it is often experienced from a distance. Empathy, in contrast, is about feeling with someone, attempting to see the world through their eyes. This deeper connection is impossible without first taking the time to actively consider their unique needs and feelings. Therefore, the act of considering another’s internal world is not just a byproduct of empathy; it is the very action that defines it in practice. For this reason, the statement provided is a correct and valid description of what empathy entails.
