The Development Of Empathy

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Besides, these factors which are important to development of empathy, there is also evidence that empathy is thought to be an important precursor to and motivator for pro-social, or helping, behavior. The primatologist and theorist De Waal (2008) proposed that empathy is an evolved mechanism that promotes altruistic behavior. If a person sees someone in distress, for example, he may himself begin to feel distressed; this would provide a strong internal signal that the other person needs help. At that point, the feeling of distress may lead the person to think of what might make him feel better in similar situations, which may then promote helping behavior.
In addition to being associated with helping and moral behavior towards others, the ability

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