Concept 1: Knowing Another Person’s Internal State, Including His or Her Thoughts and Feelings Some clinicians and researchers have called knowing another person’s internal state empathy (e.g., Preston & de Waal, 2002; Wispe, 1986). Others have called this knowledge “cognitive empathy” (Eslinger, 1998; Zahn-Waxler, Robinson, & Emde, 1992) or “empathic accuracy” (Ickes, 1993). Sometimes, to ascertain what someone else is thinking and feeling can pose quite a problem, especially when one has only limited clues. But in our example, knowing your friend’s internal state is relatively easy. Once she explains, you may be confi dent that you know what is on her mind: losing her job. From what she says, and perhaps even more from the way she acts, you may also think you know how she feels: she is hurt and scared. Of course, you could be wrong, at least about some nuances and details