Figure 1.

Oxytocin can shape compassion at different processing stages. First, some personality characteristics appear to be related to low basal levels of oxytocin. In addition, similar distress cues may elicit different phasic responses and, consequently, different saliency levels as a function of the personal history or contextual factors in which these cues appear. Second, salient distress cues may elicit different motivations, cognitive processes, and emotional responses in different individuals and contexts.