Professor of Psychology at New York University (NYU).
Empathy as a biologically based disposition for altruistic behavior
"Hoffman’s research on empathy For several decades, Martin L. Hoffman has been interested in social and emotional development, especially empathic and moral development, and the relation between the two. Already 25 years ago (e.g., Hoffman, 1977), Hoffman viewed empathy as a source of prosocial motivation. Included in his research are certain affects and motives that result from the interaction of empathy, causal attribution and situational contexts: sympathy, guilt, empathic anger and feelings of injustice. Also of great interest to Hoffman has been the interaction of empathy and abstract moral principles, such as justice, and the interaction between affect and cognition in general (Hoffman, 1977, 1981, 1985, 1987, for a review, see Hoffman, 2000)." (HAKANSSON 2003)