What is empathy?

Empathy is the ability to share and understand the feelings or emotions of others.

Types of empathy

There are three different ways to think of empathy. First, there is affective empathy. This is the ability to share the emotions of others. For example, someone watching a scary movie may feel scared when a character is scared. Second, there is cognitive empathy. This is the ability to understand the feelings of others. A good example is a counselor. Counselors may understand that someone they are speaking to is sad, but that does not mean the counselor becomes sad. Finally, there is emotional regulation. 【小题1】. For example, doctors need to control their emotions when doing surgery on a patient. They cannot be afraid of hurting them or sad for them because they are sick.

Depending on the situation

【小题2】 . It may not always be positive. For example, strong positive empathy feelings for members of our own family might lead to negative emotions like hate toward those we see as a threat. 【小题3】. For instance, people might feel more empathy for people who look or act like them. People who are good at reading others’ emotions might also trick other people for their own benefit.

Measuring stick

【小题4】 . These typically ask people to tell how much they agree with certain statements. They might say they strongly agree or they disagree. One statement might be, “It affects me very much when one of my friends is upset.” This would measure how much affective empathy someone normally feels.

Our brain has evolved to be able to quickly change under different circumstances. 【小题5】 . It can help us to understand others so we can help them. Sometimes, though, we need to be able to switch off our empathetic feelings to protect our own lives and those of others.

How Gratitude Makes You Happier

Choosing to be thankful may well be an easy and accessible way to boost your happiness. We usually think of happiness as a subjective sense of well-being, a feeling of joy and satisfaction. But more than just an emotion or fleeting (短暂的) feeling, happiness also includes a deep sense of meaning, worth and purpose in life. 【小题1】

Research has shown gratitude has far-reaching effects on our physical health. When people are thankful, they’re more likely to exercise, eat better, and take care of their health. Much evidence points to lower stress, reduced pain and improved immune systems as a result of being thankful. 【小题2】

Gratitude has a strong positive impact on psychological well-being as well. It increases self-esteem, enhances positive emotions and makes us more optimistic. 【小题3】 Keller explains more specifically how rewarding it is for our body. “Experiencing gratitude activates neurotransmitters like dopamine, which we associate with pleasure, and serotonin, which regulates our mood. It also causes the brain to release oxytocin, a hormone which induces feelings like trust and generosity which promotes social bonding, and feeling connected.”

【小题4】 One way is to learn from the Scandinavians, who, the UN’s World Happiness Report suggests, are the happiest people in the world. It’s worth pausing to think about why.

Scandinavians themselves are determining their levels of happiness. They are appreciative of a functioning society where they have economic security and social institutions support everyone. Yet, there is something else. They value “moderation”, a just enoughness. 【小题5】 They remain grateful for a healthy work-life balance. As a result of this satisfaction and contentment, they feel their lives have value. So, take some time to be thankful. It can impact your happiness and enhance many aspects of your life.

With the improvement of privacy protection awareness, everyone has questions about the telephone address, ID card information and so on. This visible privacy has been particularly concerned, but for chat photos and original pictures, it has not attracted enough attention. The topic “How much privacy can a photo reveal” has been trending on Sina Weibo, sparking concern and heated discussion about privacy awareness. In group chats, some people may post their original photos. But that may give away your home address and other information.

Images often contain a lot of information and various traces left by digital cameras or photo manipulation (处理) software. This data, called Exchangeable Image File Format (EXIF), is a key tool for many professionals. It can detail whether the photographer used a flash, which digital effects were applied to a picture and when the photo was taken. EXIF can also contain the precise GPS coordinates (坐标) of the location where a photo was taken, according to CNN. If you take a landscape picture from your window and send the original picture to a group chat, it means that you are releasing your location data to all strangers in the group. They may even accurately infer your house number by analyzing the shooting time and angle.

Not just in a group chat, sending an image in a text message, email, or other delivery tools will also include the accompanying information. So how do we protect our privacy when sending photos? The most effective way is to avoid sending original photos in group chats. If it’s necessary, try not to tap the “original picture”. However, photos sent by WeChat Moments are automatically pressed by the system, and they travel without location and other information. To solve the problem at its root, we can delete and remove a picture’s EXIF data on a computer. If you are using an iOS smartphone, you can turn off location services for the camera in the privacy settings. If you’re using an Android, the settings vary. Typically, you can go to the setting menu and switch the services off for the camera, according to CTV News. There is one more thing you can do—photoshop your photos before you share it. What comes with your edited images is photos without stored location data.