Having empathy as a trait involves conceiving a specific set of moral standards for oneself. One perspective on empathy states that the development of empathy is based on an individual's need to satisfy his or her ideal and intended self, what he or she desires to be, and what he or she believes he or she should be (Houston, DA, 1990). This is where self-discrepancy theory comes in. As a person's ideal and duty selves develop, they desire to meet the standards and morals they have created for themselves. Higgins (1987) states that self-discrepancy occurs when the characteristics of a person's actual self fail to meet the standards of the ideal or expected self. This causes emotional distress, as the person is aware that they are not who they want to be. To avoid these unwanted feelings, an individual can begin to develop the empathic trait. This results in a person developing varying levels of concern about self-discrepancy. A person with high self-discrepancies, real and expected, experiences concern when faced with another who is agitated and discouraged, compared to someone with low self-discrepancies, who feels little or no remorse towards the negative emotions of others. others (Houston, DA.,