empathy gap

The empathy gap is when people have difficulty understanding or predicting what they will feel or want in different emotional or situational states. For example, someone might not realize how hungry they’ll be later when they’re not hungry now, or underestimate how upset they’ll feel after an event. This gap occurs because our current feelings influence our thinking, making it hard to accurately imagine or predict how we will think or feel in a different mood or situation. Recognizing this can help us make more balanced decisions by considering future or different states more thoughtfully.