In sum, the combined evidence from our experimental studies indicates that attachment security makes compassion and altruism more likely. Although there are other reasons for helping, the prosocial effects of attachment security do not depend on alternative egoistic motives, such as a person's desire to improve his or her mood or the desire to share a suffering person's relief. We infer that a sense of attachment security reduces one's need for defensive self-protection and allows one to direct attention to others' needs, feel compassion toward a suffering other, and engage in altruistic behavior with the primary goal of benefiting others.