Empathy is to try and feel how a person may be feeling because of a certain situation:
em·pa·thy n.
1. Identification with and understanding of another's situation, feelings, and motives. See Synonyms at pity.
2. The attribution of one's own feelings to an object.
Ref. https://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=empathy
However, it is one thing to try and feel for someone and another to actually do something about it. What kind are you - looker, doer, or in between? Answer the poll with regards to your FIRST reaction, in other words, if you saw someone crying you may first choose to observe to try and figure out what has happened, then you may approach the person, etc. However this is not dealing with the END result - no, this is dealing with your FIRST reaction.
I didn't vote because I don't act the same way in all cases. If the person crying is a friend or loved one, I would not hesitate to immediately go and offer comfort and assistance in any way I could. However, if it is a total stranger, I would probably observe first to see I could tell what was going on. If others were around who knew the person, I probably wouldn't approach. If the person was all alone, I would definately jump right in. So, I think that means I would immediately offer assistance according to the survey?
In that case, I think I would probably observe for a few minutes to see if I could figure out what was going on. I always want to respect the privacy of people so I wouldn't want to intrude unless I thought I could help.
I cannot stand to see people hurting, especially if it's one of my girls at my daycare. I don't like people to be not happy. Tears break my heart. I have been known to ask strangers if they were all right. Everybody needs somebody to care, and sometimes a stranger might be the only source of comfort a person gets.
I would immediately go to offer help or assistance, in normal circumstances, but I would have to bear in mind any danger to my family or myself, and if this were the case, to try and contact the police or other relevant organization.Obviously if we were talking about somebody we knew then the answer would be totally different.
I think in this day and age people are more careful than they used to be due to there being aids/HIV around, and that would probably make most people think twice.
My first reaction is always to go and comfort the person even if it is a stranger. I do not know how to explain it but I have this feeling inside of me that if I see someone in need, I feel a strong urge to go and help them and comfort them, I just can't help myself sometimes *shrugs*.
It most cases I wait to see if someone else was to go and help them if no one comes then I would try to read what was going on the if I couldn't tell I would ask what was wrong and why they were crying or upset. Depending on their answer is my response.