This dissertation investigates how the media representation of a victim of a chronic problem
can induce empathy and help for the victim group and whether taking the perspective of the
victim is necessary for experiencing empathy for him or her. Three characteristics of media
messages examined here are the overt emotional expressions, geographic proximity and
sensory proximity (manifested via a picture of a victim's suffering experience and facial close-
ups used to frame the victim) of a victim. Two experiments were conducted to test the effects …