Numerous controlled experiments have demonstrated that empathy leads people to take actions on behalf of others and to do so without personal gain or even at a cost.
Empathy also helps us to cooperate with others. We use empathy as a tool to read other people, which helps us to exchange information in helpful ways, and as a result, productively live in social groups. While there are other reasons that people might do prosocial things (maybe guilt or desire for recognition) empathy has consistently correlated with positive actions.
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