Hot-Cold Empathy Gap
The difficulty of predicting how we'll feel or act when in a different emotional state.
Also known as: Empathy gap, State-dependent prediction, Hot state cold state
Category: Concepts
Tags: psychology, decision-making, emotions, self-awareness, planning
Explanation
The hot-cold empathy gap is the difficulty of predicting how we'll feel, want, or behave when in a different emotional state than our current one. In a 'cold' (calm, rational) state, we underestimate the power of 'hot' (emotional, aroused) states - and vice versa. Examples include: when calm, underestimating how hard it will be to resist temptation when stressed; when full, underestimating future hunger; when rested, underplanning for tired-self's limitations. The gap affects: willpower predictions, commitment reliability, and empathy for others in different states. Implications include: plans made in cold states may not survive hot states, we misjudge past hot-state decisions from cold perspective, and supporting structures (not just intentions) are needed for hot-state moments. Bridging the gap involves: planning for the other state, creating commitments that survive state changes, and building empathy for your other-state self. For knowledge workers, understanding this gap means: not trusting cold-state commitments alone, preparing support for difficult moments, and having compassion for hot-state decisions.
← Back to all concepts