People can feel pain just by witnessing others in agony, according to a new study.
Researchers at Monash University looked into the phenomenon known as somatic contagion and found that almost one in three people could feel pain when they see others in pain…
“While the congenital variant appears to involve a blurring of the boundary between self and other, with heightened empathy, acquired somatic contagion involves reduced empathic concern for others, but increased personal distress,” she explained. “This suggests that the pain triggered corresponds to a focus on their own pain experience rather than that of others…
Giummarra and her team have also developed the Empathy for Pain Scale, which is a new tool that characterizes the reactions of people have when they witness others in pain.
CHRISTINE HSU
