Social scientific studies on sympathy have found that we are generally less willing to express sympathetic attitudes if we perceive a person's suffering to have been brought about by her or his own negligence or poor decision-making.

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Social scientific studies have indeed found that people are less willing to express sympathy when they perceive a person's suffering as self-inflicted or a result of poor decision-making. This is commonly referred to as the "just world hypothesis," which asserts that people often believe the world is fundamentally fair and that individuals get what they deserve. Thus, if someone is suffering due to their own actions, they may be seen as deserving of their misfortune and less deserving of sympathy.

Social Scientific Studies on Sympathy Have Found That We Are