Let's test your empathy with these YouTubes...

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Disclaimer: I don't have the "right" answers. I just think it'll be nice to discuss among us.

So here goes the first vid: What's Kate feeling here? And what's she thinking?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NK3ODM5S0Lg

You can watch it with or without sound, doesn't matter. The answers to the questions above can't be found listening to what's being said anyway.

By the way, if anyone wants to post a vid too for us to try to detect state of mind, by all means feel free to do so!

I note she's smiling here and there, but that can mean lots of things (usually happy though).

No idea what she's thinking, and I find it impossible how someone could actually know unless they're telepathic.

Second vid: What's the big dog feeling when he says "That's my boy!" the first time?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYoNiS58 ... re=related

No idea with the second one.

Just words (can't read the facial expression).

Dillogic, of course no one can know for sure. All we can do is theorize about her state of mind, that's why it's called Theory of Mind.

What's interesting about the second video is that in that sentence the big dog says lies the whole motive for everything that happens in that cartoon.

I can't theorize over it, as it's impossible. Perhaps that's just my deficits in empathy though.

It's very difficult to say, but I don't think that necessarily is due to being a poor interpreter of facial expressions. This is a staged interview rather than an everyday situation with an ordinary person. She will almost certainly have had training by PR companies to avoid showing emotions and to be reserved as she is going to be part of the royal family. I just see smugness and fakery, but that probably just reflects my low opinion of royalty and the media in general.

First video: I didn't watch the whole thing, but judging from the first few minutes she seems nervous or self-conscious. She keeps licking/biting her lips, swallowing, and finishing her sentences in a little bit of a breathy way, and doesn't seem to know where to look. I might be projecting what I would feel during such an interview, though.

Second video: affection?

I see it like you. Even more, to me she seems extremely worried of making a mistake (that's feeling + thought)

One more vid: What's bothering Kate at 1:64' and 3:17'?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfzOIEM6Pbk

Can't say anything is bothering her. Waving and smiling.

This actually seems more like one's ability to read nonverbal cues rather than empathy itself, IMO.

Yes, body language is very helpful in theorizing a person's state of mind, but the context is also important.

In the first video, it seems like she's nervous, maybe about being interviewed. In the second one, I didn't see her get upset

At 1:64, she's looking down, maybe there's something wrong with her dress? At 3:17 I have no idea, but she does look annoyed for a second.

I think I'm looking at the wrong parts. There's no such thing as 1:64? But around the end of the first minute, and at other times, she is attending to the young girl in front of her. I see absolutely nothing at 3:17 except her face relaxes a bit because she can't be smiling all the time...pretty sure I'm watching the wrong parts.

I read it wrong (the whole lot between those times I thought).

I can't see any difference other than a change of facial expressions; no idea what caused it (I could guess that it's tiring to smile constantly).