Read the table about how three classmates respond to Rohan, whose fat…

Read the table about how three classmates respond to Rohan, whose father died recently. Which classmate shows empathy?

Classmate	How the classmate responds to Rohan after his father's death
P	Feels compassion and pity for Rohan's suffering, but cannot feel what Rohan feels
Q	Understands the facts of Rohan's loss, but neither feels like him nor feels sympathy
R	Puts herself in Rohan's shoes and feels what Rohan is feeling

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 3

The correct answer is Option (3) → R

Option (1) P — Incorrect. P shows sympathy. In sympathy one has compassion and pity for another's suffering but cannot feel like the other person.

Option (2) Q — Incorrect. Q shows intellectual understanding. It is cold, because the person neither feels like the other person nor feels sympathy.

Option (3) R — Correct. R shows empathy: she understands Rohan's plight and feels like him, seeing things from his side by putting herself in his shoes.

Option (4) Both P and R — Incorrect. P feels pity but does not feel what Rohan feels, so P shows sympathy. Only R shows empathy.

NCERT (2026-27): “Therapeutic Relationship …
The therapist has empathy for the client. Empathy is different from sympathy and intellectual understanding of another person’s situation. In sympathy, one has compassion and pity towards the suffering of another but is not able to feel like the other person. Intellectual understanding is cold in the sense that the person is unable to feel like the other person and does not feel sympathy either. On the other hand, empathy is present when one is able to understand the plight of another person, and feel like the other person. It means understanding things from the other person’s perspective, i.e. putting oneself in the other person’s shoes. Empathy enriches the therapeutic relationship and transforms it into a healing relationship. …”