The DOI matches its Crossref record; 142 of the 142 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Mammalian empathy: behavioural manifestations and neural basis
Abstract
Recent research on empathy in humans and other mammals seeks to dissociate emotional and cognitive empathy. These forms, however, remain interconnected in evolution, across species and at the level of neural mechanisms. New data have facilitated the development of empathy models such as the perception-action model (PAM) and mirror-neuron theories. According to the PAM, the emotional states of others are understood through personal, embodied representations that allow empathy and accuracy to increase based on the observer's past experiences. In this Review, we discuss the latest evidence from studies carried out across a wide range of species, including studies on yawn contagion, consolation, aid-giving and contagious physiological affect, and we summarize neuroscientific data on representations related to another's state.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“Translational rodent models that capture aspects of social affect include emotion contagion and social buffering24.”
From Insular cortex mediates approach and avoidance responses to social affective stimuli (2018) · cites this paper as [24]
Citations
Cites
The descent of man and selection in relation to sex
チャールス, ダ., & 茂穂, 田. (1907) · Tokyo Jinrui Gakkai zasshi · doi:10.1537/ase1887.22.495 · Cited by 10,909
How do you feel? Interoception: The sense of the physiological condition of the body
Craig, A. D. (2002) · Nature Reviews Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nrn894 · Cited by 6,006
On aims and methods of ethology
Tinbergen, N. (1963) · Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie · doi:10.1111/j.1439-0310.1963.tb01161.x · Cited by 4,551
Empathy: its ultimate and proximate bases
Preston, S. D., & de Waal, F. B. M. (2002) · Behavioral and Brain Sciences · doi:10.1017/s0140525x02000018 · Cited by 4,126
Self-citationEmpathy for Pain Involves the Affective but not Sensory Components of Pain
Singer, T., Seymour, B., O'Doherty, J., Kaube, H., Dolan, R. J., & Frith, C. D. (2004) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1093535 · Cited by 3,929
Emotion, Decision Making and the Orbitofrontal Cortex
Bechara, A. (2000) · Cerebral Cortex · doi:10.1093/cercor/10.3.295 · Cited by 3,589
Understanding motor events: a neurophysiological study
di Pellegrino, G., Fadiga, L., Fogassi, L., Gallese, V., & Rizzolatti, G. (1992) · Experimental Brain Research · doi:10.1007/bf00230027 · Cited by 3,539
Fehr, E., & Fischbacher, U. (2003) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature02043 · Cited by 3,475
Giving with Impure Altruism: Applications to Charity and Ricardian Equivalence
James Andreoni, A. (1989) · Journal of Political Economy · doi:10.1086/261662 · Cited by 3,165
Putting the Altruism Back into Altruism: The Evolution of Empathy
de Waal, F. B. M. (2008) · Annual Review of Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.59.103006.093625 · Cited by 2,483
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 2
- Lipps, T. Einfühlung, innere nachahmung und organenempfindungen [German]. Arch. Gesamte Psychol. 1, 465–519 (1903).
- de Waal, F. B. M. The Age of Empathy (Harmony Books, 2009).
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 301–400 of 958
Yawning Is More Contagious in Pregnant Than Nulliparous Women
Norscia, I., Agostini, L., Moroni, A., Caselli, M., Cremasco, M. M., Vardè, C., & Palagi, E. (2021) · Human Nature · doi:10.1007/s12110-021-09404-w · Cited by 15
Nonverbal Synchrony in Couple Therapy Linked to Clients’ Well-Being and the Therapeutic Alliance
Nyman‐Salonen, P., Kykyri, V., Tschacher, W., Muotka, J. S., Tourunen, A., Penttonen, M., & Seikkula, J. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.718353 · Cited by 20
Giacomucci, G., Galdo, G., Polito, C., Berti, V., Padiglioni, S., Mazzeo, S., Chiaro, E., Cristofaro, M. T. D., Bagnoli, S., Nacmias, B., et al. (2022) · Behavioural Brain Research · doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2022.113893 · Cited by 15
Li, X., Lou, W., Zhang, W., Tong, R. K., Hu, L., & Peng, W. (2022) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119599 · Cited by 16
Development of empathy through Socioemotional Artificial Intelligence
Gómez-León, M. I., & Universidad Internacional de La Rioja, E. (2022) · Papeles del Psicólogo - Psychologist Papers · doi:10.23923/pap.psicol.2996 · Cited by 15
Campbell, L. (2019) · Primates · doi:10.1007/s10329-019-00729-w · Cited by 15
“There is growing evidence that various species can perceive others’ distress and provide appropriate responses, such as affiliation, to alleviate it (de Waal and Preston 2017).”
BackgroundInfluentialCurrent rodent models for the study of empathic processes
Cox, S. S., & Reichel, C. M. (2020) · Behavioural Pharmacology · doi:10.1097/fbp.0000000000000590 · Cited by 15
“A major milestone came with Preston and de Waal’s Perception Action Model of empathy (Preston and de Waal, 2002; de Waal, 2012; de Waal and Preston, 2017; Preston and de Waal, 2017).”
BackgroundInfluentialThe rewarding nature of social contact
Preston, S. D. (2017) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.aao7192 · Cited by 18
Self-citationThe association between sleep and empathy in young preschoolers: A population study
Rong, T.-Y., Sun, X.-N., Zhang, Z.-C., Li, W., Deng, Y.-J., Wang, Z.-J., Meng, M., Zhu, Q., Jiang, Y., Zhao, J., et al. (2021) · Journal of Sleep Research · doi:10.1111/jsr.13530 · Cited by 12
“It consists of affective empathy (AFE) and cognitive empathy (COE), which follow distinct development trajectories (Decety, 2010; de Waal & Preston, 2017).”
BackgroundInfluentialOxytocin system gene methylation is associated with empathic responses towards children.
Spencer, H., Lesemann, F. H. P., Kraaijenvanger, E., Overbeek, G., Montoya, E. R., Branje, S., Boks, M., & Bos, P. (2021) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2021.105629 · Cited by 12
Neural defensive circuits underlie helping under threat in humans
Vieira, J. B., & Olsson, A. (2022) · eLife · doi:10.7554/elife.78162 · Cited by 14
Association between childhood maltreatment and empathy: A three-level meta-analytic review
Meng, X., Yu, D., Yijing, C. H. E. N., Zhang, L., & Fu, X. (2023) · Acta Psychologica Sinica · doi:10.3724/sp.j.1041.2023.01285 · Cited by 16
Autism-associated gene shank3 is necessary for social contagion in zebrafish
Kareklas, K., Teles, M. C., Dreosti, E., & Oliveira, R. F. (2023) · Molecular Autism · doi:10.1186/s13229-023-00555-4 · Cited by 13
“In addition, some cognitive components or socio-environmental conditions related to human social life that can shape genetic predispositions to ASD deficits in these phenotypes cannot be fully captured in zebrafish, for example cultural aspects, the influence of language, and aspects of mentalizing and consciousness t…”
BackgroundEthical Concerns of the Veterinarian in Relation to Experimental Animals and In Vivo Research
Kiraga, Ł., & Dzikowski, A. (2023) · Animals · doi:10.3390/ani13152476 · Cited by 14
“Prominent primatologist and ethologist, Frans de Waal proved through his numerous behavioural studies that mammals even demonstrate dissociate emotional and cognitive empathy [28], whereas according to famous biologist and behavioural ecologist Marc Bekoff, animals other than humans are able to exhibit moral and emoti…”
BackgroundMoscovice, L. R., Eggert, A., Manteuffel, C., & Rault, J. (2023) · Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rspb.2023.0665 · Cited by 12
Dinçkol, Ö., Wenger, N. H., Zachry, J. E., & Kutlu, M. G. (2023) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-023-49686-x · Cited by 13
“Fear responses can be acquired through direct experiences or indirect transmission of social information 1 .”
Chen, A., Li, W., & Fu, W. (2024) · British Journal of Educational Technology · doi:10.1111/bjet.13433 · Cited by 25
Troncoso, A., Blanco, K., Rivera-Rei, Á. A., & Martínez‐Pernía, D. (2024) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1362064 · Cited by 17
“This ability to resonate with others involves not only psychological processes but also whole-body mechanisms that enable us to experience the emotions of another person firsthand (Gallese, 2014; de Waal and Preston, 2017; Riečanský and Lamm, 2019).”
BackgroundEmotional contagion and prosocial behaviour in fish: An evolutionary and mechanistic approach
Kareklas, K., & Oliveira, R. F. (2024) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105780 · Cited by 14
Dégeilh, F., Beauchamp, M. H., Leblanc, É., Daneault, V., & Bernier, A. (2019) · Developmental Neuroscience · doi:10.1159/000507616 · Cited by 15
Picerni, E., Laricchiuta, D., Piras, F., Vecchio, D., Petrosini, L., Cutuli, D., & Spalletta, G. (2021) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-021-87861-0 · Cited by 15
Socializing Sensorimotor Contingencies
Lübbert, A., Göschl, F., Krause, H., Schneider, T. R., Maÿe, A., & Engel, A. K. (2021) · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnhum.2021.624610 · Cited by 15
Voultsos, P. P., Chatzinikolaou, F. G., Papana, A., & Deliligka, A. (2022) · BMC Psychology · doi:10.1186/s40359-022-00824-6 · Cited by 14
Theory of Mind and Empathy in Adults With Epilepsy: A Meta-Analysis
Wang, H., Zhao, P., Zhao, J., Zhong, J., Pan, P., Wang, G., & Yi, Z. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2022.877957 · Cited by 14
Mu-Suppression as an Indicator of Empathic Processes in Lesbian, Gay, and Heterosexual Adults
Lübke, K. T., Sachse, C., Hoenen, M., & Pause, B. M. (2019) · Archives of Sexual Behavior · doi:10.1007/s10508-019-01491-2 · Cited by 14
“Empathy can be defined as “emotional and mental sensitivity to another’s state, from being affected by and sharing in this state to assessing the reasons for it and adopting another’s point of view” (de Waal & Preston, 2017, p. 498).”
BackgroundThe association between ballroom dance training and empathic concern: Behavioral and brain evidence
Wu, X. X., Lu, X., Zhang, H., Wang, X., Kong, Y., & Hu, L. (2022) · Human Brain Mapping · doi:10.1002/hbm.26042 · Cited by 13
“Since motor imitation plays a central role in empathy (de Waal & Preston, 2017), the promoted EC observed in ballroom dancers might Notes: Clusters were considered significant only if they reached a threshold of voxel-level p .001 and cluster-level FWE-corrected p .05.”
BackgroundMethodFu, C., Zhao, Z., Wang, H., Ouyang, M., Mao, X., Cai, X., & Tan, X. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.878894 · Cited by 37
Cordoni, G., Ciantia, A., Guéry, J., Mulot, B., & Norscia, I. (2024) · American Journal of Primatology · doi:10.1002/ajp.23607 · Cited by 13
“…World monkeys can help to better understand the evolution of motor replication phenomena in primates, linked to interindividual synchronization and possibly emotional contagion, a basic form of empathy (Casetta et al., 2021; de Waal & Preston, 2017; Gallo et al., 2022; Rizzolatti & Caruana, 2017).”
BackgroundMethodJiang, S.-T., Wang, M., Gao, L., Zhang, Q., Tang, C., & Dong, Y. (2025) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2025.03.195 · Cited by 15
Code Review is just reviewing code? A qualitative study with practitioners in industry
Cunha, A. C., Conte, T. U., & Gadelha, B. (2021) · Brazilian Symposium on Software Engineering · doi:10.1145/3474624.3477063 · Cited by 13
See, Touch, and Feel: Enhancing Young Children's Empathy Learning Through a Tablet Game
Wu, L., & Kim, M. (2019) · Mind Brain and Education · doi:10.1111/mbe.12218 · Cited by 13
The ends of empathy: Constructing empathy from value-based choicePreprint
Cameron, D., Cunningham, W., Saunders, B., & Inzlicht, M. (2017) · PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/d99bp · Cited by 16
Feeling Touched: Empathy Is Associated With Performance in a Tactile Acuity Task
Schaefer, M., Joch, M., & Rother, N. (2021) · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnhum.2021.593425 · Cited by 13
“Interestingly, the PAM also includes ‘‘personspecific, conceptual, associative and affective representations to the overlapping representations of self and other’’ (Preston and de Waal, 2017).”
BackgroundClark, I. R., Sandel, A. A., Reddy, R. B., & Langergraber, K. E. (2021) · Primates · doi:10.1007/s10329-021-00925-7 · Cited by 12
Plank, I. S., Attar, C. H., Kunas, S. L., Dziobek, I., & Bermpohl, F. (2021) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-021-02162-w · Cited by 15
Chronic stress and stressful emotional contagion affect the empathy-like behavior of rats
Qu, Y., Zhang, L., An, S.-C., Tai, F., & Qiao, H. (2023) · Cognitive Affective & Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.3758/s13415-023-01081-9 · Cited by 12
“Empathy involves sharing and understanding the emotional states of others, resulting in a subsequent resonance (de Waal & Preston, 2017), which could strengthen interpersonal relationships or increase relationship satisfaction (Chong et al., 2013; Cramer & Jowett, 2010) and improve social cognitive…”
BackgroundCampos, C., Rocha, N., & Barbosa, F. (2023) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1082965 · Cited by 12
Williams, A. C. D. C. (2023) · Evolution Medicine and Public Health · doi:10.1093/emph/eoad038 · Cited by 15
“Parental responsiveness to the needs of offspring enhances their survival [57, 58], as well as activating the parent’s reward system [58].”
Genzer, S., Adiva, Y. B., & Perry, A. (2023) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781009281072 · Cited by 20
Cortical representations of affective pain shape empathic fear in male mice
Choi, J., Lee, Y., So, D., Kim, J. Y., Choi, S., Kim, S., & Keum, S. (2025) · Nature Communications · doi:10.1038/s41467-025-57230-w · Cited by 12
Group cohesiveness in children free‐play activity: A social network analysis
Lira, P. G. R., Moretti, C. M., Guimarães, D. S., & Resende, B. D. D. (2021) · International Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1002/ijop.12777 · Cited by 12
Asadi, E., Khodagholi, F., Asadi, S., Kamsorkh, H. M., Kaveh, N., & Maleki, A. (2021) · Brain Research · doi:10.1016/j.brainres.2021.147568 · Cited by 13
Sex and grooming as exchange commodities in female bonobos’ daily biological market
Anzà, S., Demuru, E., & Palagi, E. (2021) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-021-98894-w · Cited by 12
Zhou, Y., Pang, C., Pu, Y., & Han, S. (2022) · Neuropsychologia · doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2022.108321 · Cited by 11
Interspecific Contagious Yawning in Humans
Gallup, A. C., & Wozny, S. M. (2022) · Animals · doi:10.3390/ani12151908 · Cited by 12
“Based on this literature, and the proposed connections between yawn contagion and empathy or emotional contagion [61,62], we predicted that interspecific contagious yawning in humans would be higher in response to species that were more closely related (apes > non-primate mammals > reptiles and birds > amphibians > fi…”
BackgroundDomínguez-Arriola, M. E., Olalde-Mathieu, V. E., Garza‐Villarreal, E. A., & Barrios, F. A. (2022) · Brain Topography · doi:10.1007/s10548-022-00910-3 · Cited by 15
“The dlPFC, related to executive control, has not only been associated with perspective-taking skills (De Waal & Preston 2017; Völlm et al.”
BackgroundInfluentialPizarro‐Campagna, E., Terrett, G., Jovev, M., Rendell, P. G., Henry, J. D., & Chanen, A. M. (2020) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2020.01.097 · Cited by 15
Encountering Pain: Hearing, seeing, speaking
Padfield, D., & Zakrzewska, J. M. (2021) · UCL Press eBooks · doi:10.14324/111.9781787352636 · Cited by 11
Li, L., Zhang, L.-Z., He, Z., Yuan, W., Ma, H., Xun, Y., Zhang, J., Hou, W., Zhang, X., Cai, W., et al. (2021) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2021.105353 · Cited by 12
Negayama, K., Delafield‐Butt, J. T., Momose, K., Ishijima, K., & Kawahara, N. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.724871 · Cited by 13
The Vicarious Brain: Integrating Empathy and Emotional Learning
Olsson, A., & Spring, V. L. (2018) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-805397-3.00002-4 · Cited by 13
Wang, P., Zhu, M., Mo, S., Xiaoli Li, A., & Wang, J. (2021) · CNS Neuroscience & Therapeutics · doi:10.1111/cns.13631 · Cited by 11
Dispositional empathy predicts primary somatosensory cortex activity while receiving touch by a hand
Schaefer, M., Kühnel, A., Rumpel, F., & Gärtner, M. (2021) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-021-90344-x · Cited by 12
Chen, N. R. Y., Majeed, N. M., Lai, G. J., Koh, P. S., Kasturiratna, K. T. A. S., Kaur, M., Ho, A. Z. Y., Yong, J. C., & Hartanto, A. (2023) · Anthrozoös · doi:10.1080/08927936.2023.2288745 · Cited by 14
“This fi nding is consistent with the Perception-Action Empathy Model (de Waal & Preston, 2017), which posits that as similarity between subjects increases, so do empathic responses between them.”
ResultEmpathy and support exchanges in couples coping with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease
Huo, M. L., Kim, K., Fingerman, K. L., & Zarit, S. H. (2024) · Aging & Mental Health · doi:10.1080/13607863.2024.2326958 · Cited by 12
“The model structures multiple components of empathy in layers with outer layers involving greater cognitive capacities and delineates each component’s behavioral outcomes (Davis, 2018; De Waal & Preston, 2017).”
BackgroundPaulus, M., Becher, T., Christner, N., Kammermeier, M., Gniewosz, B., & Pletti, C. (2024) · Cognitive Development · doi:10.1016/j.cogdev.2024.101439 · Cited by 11
Zhao, M., Li, R., Xiang, S., & Liu, N. (2024) · Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience · doi:10.1093/scan/nsae068 · Cited by 13
“As such, it has been suggested that the MNS may be related to the capacity for empathy (de Waal and Preston 2017).”
BackgroundDistinct oxytocin signaling pathways synergistically mediate rescue-like behavior in mice
Zhang, F., Liu, J., Wen, J., Zhang, Z.-Y., Li, Y., Song, E., Hu, L., & Chen, Z. (2025) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.2423374122 · Cited by 14
Hazani, R., Breton, J., Trachtenberg, E., Ruzal, K., Shvalbo, B. B., Kantor, B., Maman, A., Bigelman, E., Cole, S. W., Weller, A., et al. (2025) · Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.0845-24.2025 · Cited by 14
Cardinale, E. M., Reber, J., O’Connell, K., Turkeltaub, P. E., Tranel, D., Buchanan, T. W., & Marsh, A. A. (2021) · Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rspb.2020.2651 · Cited by 12
Affective empathy in neurodegenerative disorders: The importance of measurement type
Wright, J. K. X., Grainger, S. A., Coundouris, S. P., & Henry, J. D. (2021) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.05.020 · Cited by 11
Ho, M. H., Kemp, B. T., Eisenbarth, H., & Rijnders, R. J. P. (2023) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105244 · Cited by 15
Wild jackdaws respond to their partner's distress, but not with consolation
Hooper, R., Meekins, E., McIvor, G. E., & Thornton, A. (2021) · Royal Society Open Science · doi:10.1098/rsos.210253 · Cited by 11
“It is possible that male responses may have been mediated through emotional contagion (emotional state-matching between individuals [53]), which is sometimes argued to be a form of empathy [53]; however, our current data do not allow us to address this.”
ResultToward an Anti-Maleficent Research Agenda
Ferdowsian, H. R., Fuentes, A., Johnson, L. S. M., King, B. J., & Pierce, J. (2022) · Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics · doi:10.1017/s0963180121000487 · Cited by 11
The Tree of Social Cognition: Hierarchically Organized Capacities of Mentalizing
Malle, B. F. (2021) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-51890-5_17 · Cited by 11
Schaefer, M., Kevekordes, M.-C., Sommer, H., & Gärtner, M. (2022) · Brain Sciences · doi:10.3390/brainsci12050641 · Cited by 11
“According to the perception‐action model (PAM) we empathize with others by simulating their actions, sensations, or pain [40].”
BackgroundEmpathy scale adaptation for artificial agents: a review with a new subscale proposal
Putta, H., Daher, K., Kamali, M. E., Khaled, O. A., Lalanne, D., & Mugellini, E. (2022) · International Conference on Control, Decision and Information Technologies (CoDIT) · doi:10.1109/codit55151.2022.9803993 · Cited by 10
“Cognitive processes such as appraisal, re-appraisal, and perspectivetaking behaviors are suggested to be included in the higher levels of empathy [26], [27].”
BackgroundVisual perspective and body ownership modulate vicarious pain and touch: A systematic review
Lisi, M. P., Fusaro, M., & Aglioti, S. M. (2024) · Psychonomic Bulletin & Review · doi:10.3758/s13423-024-02477-5 · Cited by 13
Designing online peer support for parents of adolescents at risk of mental health challenges
Wu, L., Seguin, J. P., Chandrasekara, D., Cardamone-Breen, M. C., Xie, J., McNaney, R., Bartindale, T., Olivier, P. L., & Yap, M. B. H. (2024) · CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems · doi:10.1145/3613904.3642184 · Cited by 10
“These theories showed the efectiveness of using empathy to build connection and overcome judgemental attitudes [21, 88, 115].”
BackgroundDissecting shared pain representations to understand their behavioral and clinical relevance
Rütgen, M., & Lamm, C. (2024) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105769 · Cited by 11
Takım, U., Belli, H., Gökçay, H., Köse, H., Akgül, H. A., & Çakır, A. (2024) · ALPHA PSYCHIATRY · doi:10.5152/alphapsychiatry.2024.241630 · Cited by 10
“39,40 It is also suggested that the clinical efficacy of psychostimulants is strongly linked to their ability to improve cognition linked to the prefrontal cortex and extended frontostriatal circuitry.”
Sun, C., Zhuang, L., Xiao, W., Li, X., & Sun, B. (2025) · Psychology in the Schools · doi:10.1002/pits.23413 · Cited by 10
“Empathy is the understanding and sharing of the emotional states of others (Cohen and Strayer 1996; de Waal and Preston 2017).”
Wang, R., Zhang, X., Zhu, L., Teng, H., Zhang, D., & Qiu, B. (2025) · Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.3390/bs15040463 · Cited by 10
“As a complex ability (De Waal & Preston, 2017), the dark side of empathic concern was also studied.”
Nurturant Love and Caregiving Emotions
O’Neil, M. J., Danvers, A. F., & Shiota, M. N. (2018) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-77619-4_9 · Cited by 10
Social approach and place aversion in relation to conspecific pain in dairy calves
Ede, T., von Keyserlingk, M. A. G., & Weary, D. M. (2020) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0232897 · Cited by 10
“Farm animals have rarely been studied [5,6], and to our knowledge no work on cattle has been published.”
BackgroundFranklin‐Gillette, S., & Shamay‐Tsoory, S. (2021) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-51890-5_29 · Cited by 11
Female bonobos show social swelling by synchronizing their maximum swelling and increasing bonding
Demuru, E., Caselli, M., Guéry, J., Michelet, C., Alexieff, F., & Norscia, I. (2022) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-022-22325-7 · Cited by 10
Rauchbauer, B., Jank, G., Dunbar, R., & Lamm, C. (2023) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-023-30946-9 · Cited by 15
Arthur and Bella: multi-purpose empathetic AI assistants for daily conversations
Knob, P., Pizzol, N. D., Musse, S. R., & Pélachaud, C. (2023) · The Visual Computer · doi:10.1007/s00371-023-02994-9 · Cited by 10
“Nevertheless, the complexity of an empathetic model is related to the wide range of behaviors it arises from, such as mirroring, affective matching, empathetic concern, altruistic helping, and perspective taking [6, 9].”
Prosocial behavior in competitive fish: the case of the archerfish
Nafcha, O., Vilker, D. B., Shamay‐Tsoory, S., & Gabay, S. (2023) · Communications Biology · doi:10.1038/s42003-023-05195-1 · Cited by 9
“Yet pro-social behavior in humans is very common and is manifested in a variety of ways 5 – 10 .”
Sharing Positive Affective States Amongst Rodents
Michon, F., Packheiser, J., Gazzola, V., & Keysers, C. (2023) · Affective Science · doi:10.1007/s42761-023-00201-5 · Cited by 10
“Functionally, some suggest that empathy serves to care for others and evolved to motivate parents to altruistically care for their offsprings (de Waal, 2008; de Waal & Preston, 2017; Preston & Waal, 2002).”
BackgroundSocial Cognitive Correlates of Contagious Yawning and Smiling
Poole, K. L., & Henderson, H. A. (2023) · Human Nature · doi:10.1007/s12110-023-09463-1 · Cited by 10
“Indeed, we specifically examined targeted helping behavior, a form of prosocial behavior that involves assisting someone to reach a goal (Dunfield, 2014) and requires the understanding of another’s need (de Waal & Preston, 2017).”
InfluentialGiacomucci, G., Moschini, V., Piazzesi, D., Padiglioni, S., Caruso, C., Nuti, C., Munarin, A., Mazzeo, S., Galdo, G., Polito, C., et al. (2024) · Cortex · doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2023.12.009 · Cited by 10
“Nevertheless, we also detected a heightening of emotional contagion, which is the most primitive structure of affective empathy (de Waal & Preston, 2017).”
BackgroundCox, S. S., Brown, B. J., Wood, S. K., Brown, S., Kearns, A. M., & Reichel, C. M. (2024) · Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2024.1384578 · Cited by 9
“Complex empathic behaviors are built from, and reliant on, more simplistic ones, at the core is the PAM (Preston and de Waal, 2002; de Waal and Preston, 2017; Preston and de Waal, 2017).”
BackgroundInfluentialCheerful tails: Delving into positive emotional contagion
Brosnan, A., & Knapska, E. (2024) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105674 · Cited by 11
Please empathize! Instructions to empathise strengthen response facilitation after pain observation
Galang, C. M., & Obhi, S. S. (2019) · Cognition & Emotion · doi:10.1080/02699931.2019.1625307 · Cited by 10
“The Perception-Action Model of empathy (PAM) suggests that this ability arises as a result of the nervous system mapping the states of others onto itself (de Waal & Preston, 2017; Preston & de Waal, 2002).”
BackgroundTrieu, M., Foster, A. E., Yaseen, Z. S., Beaubian, C., & Calati, R. (2019) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-29876-0_2 · Cited by 13
Testa, I., & Caruana, F. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108682312.001 · Cited by 11
Newborn Brain Function and Early Emerging Callous-Unemotional Traits
Brady, R. G., Donohue, M. R., Waller, R. E., Latham, A. R., Ayala, M., Smyser, T. A., Warner, B. B., Barch, D. M., Luby, J. L., Rogers, C. E., et al. (2023) · JAMA Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2023.4842 · Cited by 9
The curious case of rhesus macaques: despotism does not prevent third-party postconflict affiliation
Aere, S., Pedruzzi, L., Facondini, G., Böye, M., Palagi, E., & Lemasson, A. (2024) · Animal Behaviour · doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2024.10.036 · Cited by 9
Light-eye-body axis: exploring the network from retinal illumination to systemic regulation
Zeng, Y., Rong, R., You, M., Zhu, P., Zhang, J., & Xia, X. (2024) · Theranostics · doi:10.7150/thno.106589 · Cited by 9
“In addition to direct observation, social animals can infer and adapt to the ever-changing living environment by observing and imitating the behavior of conspecifics, which can predict potential dangers that are sometimes difficult to detect [110].”
Horie, K., Blumenthal, S. A., Inoue, K., Yada, S., Nishimori, K., & Young, L. J. (2025) · Hormones and Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2025.105708 · Cited by 8
Diving back two hundred million years: yawn contagion in fish
Galotti, A., Manduca, G., Digregorio, M., Ambrosini, S., Romano, D., Andreazzoli, M., & Palagi, E. (2025) · Communications Biology · doi:10.1038/s42003-025-08004-z · Cited by 9
“In line with the concept of perception-action coupling proposed by de Waal and Preston 33 ,theabilitytomirrorthebehaviorsofothersbecomesexceptionally bene fi cial for animals whose survival and reproductive success depend on qualitieslikeunityandsocialconnection.”
Empathy and emotion recognition: A three-level meta-analysis
Qiao, Y., Wang, Q., Yan, Z., Wang, Y., Yan, W., & Su, Y. (2025) · Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology · doi:10.1177/18344909251345926 · Cited by 9
“On the contrary, other-oriented affective empathy and cognitive empathy require more self-other distinction and cognitive processing compared to self-oriented affective empathy (de Waal & Preston, 2017).”
Positive affective contagion in bumble bees
Romero-González, J. E., Zhuo, Z., Chen, L., Peng, C., Solvi, C., & Peng, F. (2025) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.adr0216 · Cited by 9
The lifespan development and developmental neural basis of empathy
Wang, Q., Liu, Z., & Su, Y. (2021) · Scientia Sinica Vitae · doi:10.1360/ssv-2020-0250 · Cited by 9
Functional connectivity patterns of trait empathy are associated with age
Tremblay, M., Deschamps, I., Tousignant, B., & Jackson, P. L. (2022) · Brain and Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.bandc.2022.105859 · Cited by 11
Shima, T., Kawabata‐Iwakawa, R., Onishi, H., Jesmin, S., & Yoshikawa, T. (2022) · Brain Research · doi:10.1016/j.brainres.2022.147920 · Cited by 8
Guo, X., Zheng, H., Ruan, D., Wang, Y., Wang, Y., & Chan, R. C. K. (2022) · PsyCh Journal · doi:10.1002/pchj.592 · Cited by 9
Lesur, M. R., Stussi, Y., Bertrand, P., Delplanque, S., & Lenggenhager, B. (2022) · Biological Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.biopsycho.2022.108477 · Cited by 11
Metadata
- Authors
- de Waal, F. B. M., & Preston, S. D.
- Affiliations
- University of Michigan (US)
- Venue
- Nature Reviews Neuroscience
- Published
- 2017-06-29
- Volume
- 18
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 498-509
- ISSN
- 1471-003X (ISSN-L)
- 1471-0048
- OpenAlex
- W2732246028
- Cited by
- 957
- References
- 142
- Citations by year
- 2026: 97 · 2025: 111 · 2024: 149 · 2023: 119 · 2022: 132 · 2021: 120 · 2020: 92 · 2019: 74 · 2018: 50 · 2017: 13
- FWCI
- 9.86
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Nature reviews. Neuroscience (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- University of Michigan
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Primate Behavior and Ecology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Action Observation and Synchronization
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Child and Animal Learning Development
- Keywords
- empathy, affective empathy, cognitive empathy, perception-action model, mirror neurons, mirror neuron theory, consolation, neural basis of empathy, interspecies empathy, embodied representations, evolution of empathy
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Behavior, Animal, Brain, Emotions, Empathy, Biological Evolution, Humans, Mammals, Models, Neurological, Mirror Neurons
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
