Some psychologists claim that empathic responses are forms of moral behavior  Having observed that young children who witness another' s distress respond by expressing sadness and offering help, these psychologists believe that moral behavior begins early in life  A second group of psychologists claims that empathic response is not, by itself, moral behavior and that in order to count as moral, behavior must be based on a clear understanding of moral principles and a certain degree of moral reasoning skill
On the basis of children' s unsophisticated verbal responses to hypothetical moral dilemmas, these psychologists conclude that children lack the degree of moral reasoning skill necessary for their behavior, however compassionate, to be considered moral
People with strong empathic responses are more likely to be skilled in moral reasoning than are people with weaker empathic responses.