<p>The <a href="http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/compassion" rel="nofollow">Cambridge Dictionaries</a> define the word compassion as: </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>a strong feeling of sympathy and sadness for the suffering or bad luck of others and a wish to help them</p>
</blockquote>

<p>A sample might be when you see a homeless kid, suffering the cold of the winter, and you would like to help him have a warm home for at least one night. This desire is very powerful in some people, such that they become altruists (preferring benefits of others over their personal benefits) and very weak in some other people (egoists who prefer their benefits over benefit of other people).</p>

<p>Is there any analysis for this attribute in cognitive sciences (or behaviorism)? By <code>any analysis</code> I mean are they being studied under the domain of cognitive sciences or not, and if so, what are the most known and accepted theories for them?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-10-19T23:14:57.210Z
Could you flesh out what you mean by "any analysis".  Are you asking if these issues have been studied under these particular schools of thought?
Chuck Sherrington
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-10-20T04:47:42.577Z
Yes, I mean are they been studied, and if so, what are the most known and accepted theories for them?
Saeed Neamati
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-10-20T04:49:46.610Z
Got it.  You may want to edit that into the question just so it's clear.  Thanks for clarifying!
Chuck Sherrington
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-10-20T04:52:57.480Z
@ChuckSherrington, thanks for your feedback. I updated the question.
Saeed Neamati
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-05-12T15:55:15.023Z
As stated, this question is far too broad, and I don't understand the choice to tags; what does behaviourism have to do with this? I would advise reading through the relevant Wikipedia pages to get yourself started, maybe [this blog post](https://egtheory.wordpress.com/2014/09/13/defining-empathy-sympathy-and-compassion/) will help point you in some useful directions.
Artem Kaznatcheev
<social-psychology><emotion><reference-request><prosocial-behavior>
Does cognitive & behavioral schools have any analysis for "sympathy" & "compassion"?
Saeed Neamati
# Does cognitive & behavioral schools have any analysis for "sympathy" & "compassion"?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2013-10-19)

The [Cambridge Dictionaries](http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/compassion) define the word compassion as:

> a strong feeling of sympathy and sadness for the suffering or bad luck of others and a wish to help them

A sample might be when you see a homeless kid, suffering the cold of the winter, and you would like to help him have a warm home for at least one night. This desire is very powerful in some people, such that they become altruists (preferring benefits of others over their personal benefits) and very weak in some other people (egoists who prefer their benefits over benefit of other people).

Is there any analysis for this attribute in cognitive sciences (or behaviorism)? By `any analysis` I mean are they being studied under the domain of cognitive sciences or not, and if so, what are the most known and accepted theories for them?

**Tags:** social-psychology, emotion, reference-request, prosocial-behavior

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Could you flesh out what you mean by "any analysis".  Are you asking if these issues have been studied under these particular schools of thought?  
> **username_0**: Yes, I mean are they been studied, and if so, what are the most known and accepted theories for them?  
> **username_1**: Got it.  You may want to edit that into the question just so it's clear.  Thanks for clarifying!  
> **username_0**: @ChuckSherrington, thanks for your feedback. I updated the question.  
> **username_2**: As stated, this question is far too broad, and I don't understand the choice to tags; what does behaviourism have to do with this? I would advise reading through the relevant Wikipedia pages to get yourself started, maybe [this blog post](https://egtheory.wordpress.com/2014/09/13/defining-empathy-sympathy-and-compassion/) will help point you in some useful directions.  

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## 0 answers

