Abstract
This research presents the construct definition of empathy and
sympathy based on prior research in German aesthetic psychology and
English moral philosophy. The dichotomous constructs sustain the
development of two scales -- IDME (Individual Differences in Media
Empathy) and IDMS (Individual Differences in Media Sympathy) -- to
measure differences in individuals' empathy/ sympathy responses to
media dramas. The experimental findings demonstrate that empathy is the
driving force in eliciting positive feelings about movies, but that
sympathy plays an important role as a moderating variable. The research
framework is multidisciplinary in that construct definition derived
from the humanities disciplines of aesthetics and philosophy grounds
empirical testing of individual differences in empathy/sympathy
responses. Scales developed to test relationships between
empathy/sympathy as responses to movie dramas are found to be valid and
reliable. Results are interpreted in terms of positive responses to
media dramas that persuade via emotions, and future research on
negative consumer responses (unresponsiveness and voluntary control of
responses) is suggested.