Editing Sympathy (section)

==Evolutionary origins==
The evolution of sympathy is tied to the development of [[social intelligence]]: a broad range of behaviors and their associated cognitive skills, such as pair bonding, the creation of social hierarchies, and alliance formation.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Dautenhahn|first=Kerstin|author-link=Kerstin Dautenhahn|title=I Could Be You: The Phenomenological Dimension Of Social Understanding|journal=Cybernetics and Systems|date=1 July 1997|volume=28|issue=5|pages=417–453|doi=10.1080/019697297126074|citeseerx=10.1.1.63.4796}}</ref> Researchers theorize that empathic emotions, or those relating to the emotions of others, arose due to [[reciprocal altruism]], [[Maternal bond|mother–child bonding]], and the need to accurately estimate the future actions of [[conspecific]]s. Empathic emotions emerged from the need to create relationships that were mutually beneficial and to better understand the emotions of others that could avert danger or stimulate positive outcomes.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=de Vignemont|first1=Frédérique|last2=Singer|first2= Tania |title=The empathic brain: how, when and why?|journal=Trends in Cognitive Sciences|date=1 October 2006|volume=10|issue=10|pages=435–441|doi=10.1016/j.tics.2006.08.008|pmid=16949331|s2cid=11638898|url=https://jeannicod.ccsd.cnrs.fr/ijn_00169584/file/empathy_TICS.pdf}}</ref>

Small groups of socially dependent individuals may develop empathic concerns, and later sympathy, if certain prerequisites are met. The people in this community must have a long enough lifespan to encounter several opportunities to react with sympathy. Parental care relationships, alliances during conflicts, and the creation of social hierarchies are associated with the onset of sympathy in human interactions. Sympathetic behavior originally came about during dangerous situations, such as predator sightings, and moments when aid was needed for the sick and/or wounded.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Trivers|first=Robert L.|title=The Evolution of Reciprocal Altruism|journal=The Quarterly Review of Biology|year=1971|volume=46|issue=1|pages=35–57|doi=10.1086/406755|s2cid=19027999}}</ref> The evolution of sympathy as a social catalyst can be seen in both other primate species and in human development.