Sympathy

A low score is not cruelty. Low scorers often believe that people should look after themselves and that sympathy does not solve much; that is a view about responsibility, not an absence of feeling for those close to them.

A high score is not action. Feeling for the needy and doing something about it are different facets of the same trait, and some of the most sympathetic people are not the most helpful.

Four items make a short scale. A facet score moves more between attempts than the 24-item domain score, and it describes a tendency in ordinary life as the person reports it, not a diagnosis of anything.

High. People high on this facet say they sympathise with the homeless and feel for those worse off than themselves. In daily life that shows as being affected by news of suffering, giving to appeals, taking the side of the underdog in an argument, and finding it hard to walk past someone in trouble.

Low. People low on this facet say they are not interested in other people's problems and try not to think about the needy. In daily life that shows as a brisk, practical attitude to misfortune, a belief in self-reliance, and a firm line between their concerns and the world's. Others sometimes find this hard-headedness refreshing.

• Agreeableness: the broad trait this facet belongs to, with five sibling facets.

Empathic concern, the feeling this facet measures, is the route by which agreeableness leads to helping, in both reported and observed behaviour. (Habashi, Graziano and Hoover, 2016)

Sympathy and altruism form the compassion aspect of agreeableness, as distinct from the politeness aspect. (DeYoung, Quilty and Peterson, 2007)

Agreeableness rises on average through adulthood, especially after fifty. (Roberts, Walton and Viechtbauer, 2006)

• Trust
• Morality
• Altruism
• Cooperation
• Modesty