New discoveries about human empathy

US researchers say people have empathy for puppies, adult dogs and more abused children with abused adults, according to UPI news agency.

Co-authors Jack Levin and Arnold Arluke, both professors at Northeastern University, questioned men and women between the ages of 18 and 25, at a large university.

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The subjects randomly received one of four fictitious bulletins about beating a 1-year-old child, an adult in his 30s, a puppy and a 6-year-old dog.

The stories are the same except for the victim's identity. After reading the story, the subjects were asked to assess their empathy for the victim.

The results showed that the mistreated adult received the lowest sympathy. According to researchers, age seems to play a more important role than species when it comes to stimulating empathy.

The study focused on dogs and humans, but experts believe similar results will be obtained when studying cats and humans.