I’ve long been curious about what’s going on when, while hearing about or witnessing someone’s pain, tears spontaneously appear. A reaction is triggered in me and if you were to ask me “where?” I’d be gesturing towards my heart. However, the research literature points to the brain as the receptor.
One study shows that brain regions “often reported as being part of the pain affective system, are recruited when watching someone else’s pain. These findings offer one plausible explanation of how one is affected by another person’s state and feelings.”[1] In another study, neuroimagining investigations demonstrate that our brain records not merely the expression of someone’s pain but also its intensity.[2] This gives a new meaning to the expressions “I feel you” and “I know how you feel (because I actually feel it with you).”
Try a simple experiment?
Use two personal images: one shows me last week well into recover, the other prior to spinal surgery last May. You could (1) cover up one image, look at the other for 30 seconds and observe your reaction; then pause for a moment and (2) repeat the process with the second photo.
What you experience is a basic and measurable component of human empathy.
[1] Jackson, P. L., et al. (2005). How do we perceive the pain of others? A window into the neural processes involved in empathy. Neuroimage, 24(3), 771-779. Full text.
[2] Saarela, M. V., et al. (2007). The compassionate brain: humans detect intensity of pain from another’s face. Cerebral cortex, 17(1), 230-237. Full text.
Interesting to find the degrees of empathy but I do winder if the colour and distance from face to camera influences results
I think it matters little (ecxept in a controlled research study). For everyday encounters, we tend to trust our gut (oops, brain).