essay about truth and compassion

20 Reasons Why Compassion Is So Important in Psychology

Imagine a world without Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Jr., St. Francis of Assisi, Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, and so many others.

Imagine a world without the countless individuals who risked their own lives to save others during wartime (i.e., the thousands of Holocaust martyrs listed as the Righteous Among Nations). Imagine a world without those who’ve run into burning buildings or executed other heroic feats of rescue during times of trauma. It’s unthinkable.

And what about the concept of compassion in modern everyday life? After all, if this quality has the power to inspire courageous deeds, it must also encourage all sorts of positive behaviors that have both individual and societal benefits.

This article will address these ideas by looking closely at the concept of compassion; such as its meaning, value, psychological and other benefits, and relationship to qualities that promote coping (i.e., resilience).

Empirical research examining the impact and correlates of compassion will also be included. If compassion may be perceived as a requisite for a meaningful existence and civilized society, it is indeed a concept worthy of continued discovery. So, let’s begin our inquiry into this precious quality that is compassion.

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This Article Contains

The concept of compassion in psychology, compassion and positive psychology, research and studies, why is compassion important and necessary, the value and power of compassion, 20 proven benefits of compassion, is compassion linked to resilience, does compassion help to deal with stress, why is compassion important in society, other common questions, 12 psychology journals on compassion, a take-home message.

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

The Dalai Lama’s words are instructive because they refer to the emotional benefits of compassion to both the giver and recipient. In other words, the rewards of practicing compassion work both ways.

But what exactly is meant by ‘compassion?’ Various definitions of compassion have been proposed by researchers and philosophers. For example, in his detailed review, Cassell (2009) reported the following three requirements for compassion:

1) “That the troubles that evoke our feelings are serious;”

2) “that the sufferers’ troubles not be self-inflicted— that they be the result of an unjust fate;” and

3) “we must be able to picture ourselves in the same predicament” (p. 3).

As such, compassion is not an automatic response to another’s plight; it is a response that occurs only when the situation is perceived as serious, unjust and relatable. It requires a certain level of awareness, concern and empathy.

Consistent with the above definition, seeing a homeless man on the sidewalk will register differently depending upon how this situation is uniquely perceived by passersby. The amount of compassion elicited by others will be dependent upon how serious his situation is deemed, as well as the perceived degree of fault attributed to him for his predicament.

This example is pertinent to a quote that is prevalent in studies of compassion: “ Make no judgments where you have no compassion ” (Anne McCaffrey, goodreads.com). Judging a person’s predicament in the absence of compassion amounts to little more than judgment. Compassion can be painful to feel because it requires empathy for others, but it is also necessary because it evokes positive action.

A Look at Self-Compassion

Psychologists are also interested in the role of compassion towards oneself. When individuals view their own behaviors and shortcomings without compassion, they may ruminate about their faults and inadequacies in such a way that erodes self-esteem and happiness.

Because of the importance of self-kindness and -forgiveness to mental health, the concept of ‘ self-compassion ’ is occurring more often in the psychological literature.

Self-compassion has been defined as involving “self-kindness versus self-judgment; a sense of common humanity versus isolation, and mindfulness versus overidentification” (Neff, 2003, p. 212). It is a way of recognizing one’s inability to be perfect and to see oneself from a comforting rather than critical perspective (Neff, 2003).

Self-compassion is gaining popularity in psychology because of its reported relationships with reduced feelings of anxiety, depression, and rumination (Neff, Kirkpatrick, & Rude, 2007), as well as increased psychological wellbeing and connections with others (Neff et al., 2007; Zessin, Dickhäuser, & Garbade, 2015).

As research emerges suggesting that self-compassion represents an important protective mechanism, increased numbers of psychological interventions are including self-compassion as a key treatment component.

The field of positive psychology “ is founded on the belief that people want to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives, to cultivate what is best within themselves, and to enhance their experiences of love, work, and play ” (International Positive Psychology Association in Donaldson, Dollwet, & Rao, 2014, p. 2).

It is a field that encompasses an array of positive experiences such as contentment, optimism, and happiness which cover past, present and future timepoints; as well as individual (i.e., forgiveness) and group (i.e., civility) level traits (Kashdan, & Ciarrochi, 2013).

Considering positive psychology’s focus on the promotion of positive emotions, traits, and behaviors that ultimately foster positive wellbeing (Donaldson et al., 2014); the study of compassion fits in well with the interests of positive psychologists. The role of compassion in positive psychology is being increasingly supported by science.

In their comprehensive review of empirical studies within the positive psychology field between 1999 and 2013, Donaldson and colleagues (2014) identified 771 articles across 46 countries addressing the aims of positive psychology.

Wellbeing was the most prevalent topic studied. The researchers reported a number of studies indicating that compassion and gratitude were predictors of increased wellbeing (Donaldson et al., 2014).

Additionally, mindfulness was the most frequently researched intervention, and intensive mindfulness training was related to increases in several positive outcomes, including self-compassion. There is little doubt that compassion will continue to maintain its place in positive psychology as a quality meriting continued attention and research.

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There are a growing number of research studies examining the benefits and correlates of compassion.

The following table provides a list of 14 examples:

Increased compassion is related to increased happiness and decreased depressionShapira & Mongrain, 2010

Since Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi (2000) originally set the groundwork for the positive psychology movement 15 years ago, many exciting research studies have emerged within the field. Included within this research is the aim of increasing the understanding of important predictors of prosocial outcomes, such as compassion.

But why compassion? Seppala, Rossomando and James (2013) describe social connection as an underlying drive of human behavior, even at the physiological level. As we are a highly social species, fostering meaningful relationships is an essential aspect of healthy human adjustment.

Establishing such connections requires the ability to express care and concern for other people, as well as to identify with them. This latter concept has been termed ‘perspective taking’ (Kashdan, & Ciarrochi, 2013) and is an area of importance in relationship-building because being able to identify with another person’s feelings is strongly related to empathy.

Compassion and empathy are fundamental aspects of quality relationships as they enable kind and loving behavior. Compassionate behavior such as volunteer work also has been associated with positive outcomes such as increased academic aspirations and self-esteem among adolescents (Kirkpatrick, Johnson, & Beebe, et al., 1998), as well as improved mortality rates among older volunteers (Yum & Lightfoot, 2005).

Not only does showing compassion for others make us feel better about ourselves, but self-compassion also serves an important function for wellbeing. Unfortunately, people often disparage themselves over mistakes for which they would readily forgive others. Yet, when we look beyond our flaws and treat ourselves with forgiveness and understanding, we increase our psychological health and wellbeing.

In fact, self-compassion has been reported as more beneficial than self-esteem because it strongly enhances emotional resilience without also fostering some of the negative correlates that have been associated with self-esteem (i.e., ego-defensiveness; Neff, 2011).

The reported relationships between both compassion and self-compassion with various positive outcomes represent exciting findings for both researchers and psychologists alike.

According to the Dalai Lama:

Each of us in our own way can try to spread compassion into people’s hearts. Western civilizations these days place great importance on filling the human ‘brain’ with knowledge, but no one seems to care about filling the human ‘heart’ with compassion. This is what the real role of religion is.

(Quotegarden.com).

This quote is pertinent to the field of medicine, wherein medical school training places a strong emphasis on the attainment of knowledge— with minimal attention given to the teaching of compassion.

This lack of attention to compassion in the medical field has been reported by patients, with one survey indicating that only 53% of hospitalized patients reported experiencing compassionate care (Lown, Rosen, & Marttila, 2011).

However, for those experiencing serious or traumatic healthcare issues, bedside manner makes a huge difference in terms of the patient’s emotional and physical health. Moreover, it only takes one uncaring medical professional to discourage future trips to the doctor.

Clearly, the value and power of compassion are essential within the medical field. As patients face their pain, anxiety and fear; nurturing of the soul takes on a vital role in both healing and coping.

For example, in a 17-year longitudinal study of HIV patients, researchers found that greater giving of compassionate love and compassionate love towards oneself were predictive of longer survival (Ironson, Kremer, & Lucette, 2018). This finding is a true testament to the power of compassion.

While the value of compassion in healthcare has gained increased attention among researchers, especially in the field of nursing— it remains a neglected focus of training.

In a poignant story recently posted on Facebook (Treasureside.com), the value of compassion in the nursing field is beautifully articulated. This article chronicles a woman who lost her baby during delivery; it’s a raw and gut-wrenching description of her experience. Despite her despair, the mother used social media to convey her experience as a way of honoring the compassion of nurses.

In her ‘thank you’ letter, she expressed her gratitude to her nurses by noting the many loving and compassionate acts they displayed during her trauma. Here are a few of her expressions of appreciation toward the nurses:

• “ Thank you for being my advocate when I couldn’t speak up because I was too busy fighting for my life. ”
• “ Thank you for holding me as I wept at the burden [breast milk] I could not release. Your embrace did nothing to lighten the heaviness in my breasts, but you brought a glimmer of light into my very dark world. ”
• “ Thank you to the nurse in the ICU who came in to clean me up after my daughter died. Thank you for taking the time to help me wash my face and brush my hair. ”
• “ Thank you to the nurse who dressed my baby and took her picture. Thank you for making sure her hat didn’t cover her eyes and that her hands were positioned gracefully. ” (Treasureside.com).

This beautiful letter says everything about the necessity and power of compassion among nurses, who – especially in situations such as this one— often represent the healthcare professionals who nurture patients through their worst nightmares.

The article portrays, not just one or two compassionate nurses; but a full team of caring individuals who seemed to work together in fully embracing a devastated family’s emotional, psychological, and physical needs. These skills go well beyond medical training; they reflect a depth of understanding and sensitivity that is the epitome of kindness, generosity, and love.

Compassion has been described as the “essence of nursing” (Chambers & Ryder 2009), as it requires the ability to perceive the patient’s experience while promoting healing and alleviating suffering. Training healthcare workers in compassion becomes complex because everyone expresses and receives compassion differently.

In their qualitative study of hospital patients in the United Kingdom, Bramley and Matiti (2014) explored patients’ experiences of compassion during their nursing care.

Patients defined nursing compassion in the following ways:

1) Compassion was reported as strongly connected to care, involving encouragement, plenty of time dedicated to patients, and individualized, personal care;

2) Empathy was also considered important and included the desire for nurses to understand how the lack of compassion might feel to a patient; and

3) While the value of compassion did not waver among patients, they disagreed about whether it represents a teachable quality versus an innate trait.

The authors suggest that clinical practice emphasize the importance of nursing compassion by using compassionate care activities (i.e., hearing patient stories, role-playing compassionate behavior, etc.; Bramley and Matiti, 2014). Therapeutic materials based on Mutzel’s therapeutic relationship model have also been designed to teach student nurses how to be more compassionate and empathetic toward patients (Richardson, Percy, & Hughes, 2015).

Of course, there is no reason for compassion within healthcare to be a requirement only for nurses; doctors also have a responsibility to respond to patients in a way that reduces anxiety and promotes wellness and coping— especially for patients dealing with serious illness.

One study found that physicians significantly reduced anxiety among cancer patients by simply providing a 40-second compassion video to patients (Fogarty, Curbow, & Wingard, et al., 1999). Moreover, among patients who viewed this short video, doctors were rated as higher in caring, compassion, and warmth.

If 40-seconds of compassion can make a meaningful difference in reducing patient anxiety, why not ensure that it is consistently applied during patient-doctor conversations?

We are all familiar with the flight video instructing parents to provide oxygen for themselves before their children. This is because we can only help others if we take care of ourselves first; otherwise we have nothing to offer.

Along these lines, the notion of self-compassion is gaining increased attention in healthcare research. Doctors, nurses and other medical professionals may work long hours doing highly stressful work. Self-compassion is an important way for such healthcare professionals to practice self-care and -kindness in order to prevent burnout.

Compassion fatigue (to be subsequently described) and burnout are significant nursing stressors (Neville & Cole, 2013), with research reporting moderate to high levels of burnout among 82% of ER nurses (Hooper, Craig, Janvrin, Wetsel, & Reimels, 2010).

Visualize, for example, a nurse or physician who works a 12-hour shift in a busy emergency room. There are times when he/she may be exhausted with little time to eat; all the while experiencing the stress and sense of personal responsibility that comes with life or death situations.

By emotionally restructuring cognitions in a way that is consistent with self-compassion (i.e., by understanding that some events are beyond one’s control), the medical professional will be better able to cope with highly stressful situations.

Despite the logical justification for increased self-compassion among healthcare workers (including benefits to patients), there isn’t a great deal of research or medical training emphasis on self-compassion.

Consequently, physicians tend to instead value personal qualities such as perfectionism (Mills & Chapman, 2016), which is an important omission. After all, self-compassion predicts reduced anxiety and increased psychological wellbeing (Neff et al., 2007)— qualities that will only serve to enhance the ability of medical personnel to perform quality work.

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Even though self-compassion and compassion toward others are still burgeoning areas of research, many proven benefits have already been identified.

Here are 20:

• Compassion promotes social connection among adults and children. Social connection is important to adaptive human functioning, as it is related to increased self-esteem, empathy, wellbeing; and higher interpersonal orientation (Seppala et al., 2013).
• Compassion is related to increased happiness (Shapira & Mongrain, 2010).
• Compassion is related to higher levels of wellbeing (Zessin et al., 2015).
• Compassionate love is associated with higher patient survival rates, even after adjusting for social support and substance use effects (Ironson et al., 2017).
• Patient-reported clinician empathy and compassion is related to increased patient satisfaction and lower distress (Lelorain, Brédart, Dolbeault, & Sultan, 2012).
• Brief expressions of compassion expressed by doctors are related to decreased patient anxiety (Fogarty, et al., 1999).
• Compassion has a mediating effect on the link between religion and aggression among adolescents. Stated another way, a relationship between religion and aggression was diminished among youths rated higher in compassion and self-control (Shepperd, Miller, Tucker, & Smith, 2015).
• Compassion-focused therapy is reported as a promising therapeutic approach for individuals with affective disorders characterized by high self-criticism (Leaviss & Uttley, 2012).
• Compassion promotes positive parenting by improving parent-child relationships (i.e., more affection and less negative affect; Duncan, Coatsworth, & Greenberg, 2009). Consequently, there are various mindfulness-based parent training approaches and parenting books with a specific focus on compassionate parenting  (i.e., Parenting From Your Heart: Sharing the Gifts of Compassion, Connection, and Choice , Kashtan, 2004; and Raising Children Compassionately: Parenting the Nonviolent Communication Way , Rosenberg, 2004).
• Compassion within classrooms is related to increased cooperation and better learning (Hart & Kindle Hodson, 2004).
• Compassion for teachers as expressed by colleagues is linked to increased teacher job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and sense of emotional vigor (Eldor & Shoshani, 2016).
• Compassion expressed as a function of service work is related to improved health and wellbeing among volunteers (Black & Living, 2004; Yum & Lightfoot, 2005).
• Self-compassion has a number of proven psychological benefits, such as reduced PTSD symptom severity (Thompson & Waltz, 2008), and lower levels of psychopathology in general (MacBeth & Gumley, 2012).
• Self-compassion is linked to more positive aging (Phillips & Ferguson, 2013).
• The combination of self-compassion and optimism is beneficial for depression-vulnerable people (Shapira & Mongrain, 2010).
• Self-compassion during smoking cessation training is associated with reduced smoking among participants with low readiness to change, high self-criticism, and vivid imagery during the treatment program (Kelly, Zuroff, Foa, & Gilbert, 2010).
• Low habitual self-compassion and high self-criticism are related to a higher risk of depression (Ehret, Joorman, & Berking, 2014).
• Self-compassion can be linked to various aspects of general wellbeing, such as happiness, optimism, positive affect, wisdom, personal initiative, curiosity and exploration (Neff et al., 2007).
• Self-compassion reduces burnout and fosters important adaptive qualities among medical professionals (Mills & Chapman, 2016).
• Self-compassion buffers the negative impact of stress (Allen & Leary, 2010).

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Resilience is defined as “the process of, capacity for, or outcome of successful adaptation despite challenging or threatening circumstances” (Masten, Best, & Garmezy, 1990). It is a type of mental armor that protects individuals from the impact of adversity. Along with promoting wellbeing and social connectedness, there is reason to believe that compassion also fosters resilience.

In their review article, Peters and Calvo (2014) describe compassion as the act of being sensitive to the suffering of others. The authors further note that compassion represents a form of affiliation that motivates us to help those in need. It is in this way that “ compassion triggers positive affect in the face of suffering and therefore contributes to resilience and wellbeing ” (Peters and Calvo, 2014, p. 48).

Resilience has also been proposed as important for reducing the likelihood of ‘compassion fatigue’ – which occurs among workers who deal with high trauma patients (i.e., social workers, hospice nurses, oncologists, rape victim counselors, etc.).

Compassion fatigue has also been referred to as secondary stress that occurs when compassion decreases over time for individuals in roles demanding a high level of compassion. As compassion fatigue is a precursor to burnout, it essential to take steps toward avoiding it.

Interestingly, Mother Theresa was proactive when it came to compassion fatigue, as she required her nuns to restore themselves emotionally by taking leave for a full year every 4-5 years.

Others have suggested that occupational resilience that inhibits compassion fatigue is supported by a work environment with sufficient support for self-care, self-protection, professional development, safety measures, personal experiences, and education (Kapoulitsas & Corcoran, 2014).

These findings suggest that, while compassion plays a role in promoting resilience; there is a line at which a constant need for high levels of compassion can produce burnout. Fortunately, supervisors of those with high stress helping occupations have begun to take some necessary steps toward promoting emotional health and resilience among these invaluable workers.

Several research studies have suggested that there are stress-buffering benefits of compassion. For example, one study by Pace, Tenzin Negi and Adame (2009) investigated the impact of compassion meditation— which consists of meditation that goes beyond soothing the mind by also adding a compassion-enhancement component.

More specifically, following a Tibetan Buddhist mind-training approach, the goal of compassion meditation is to challenge unexamined cognitions toward others in order to promote altruistic feelings (Pace et al., 2009).

Study participants attended twice-weekly 50-minute compassion meditation sessions for a total of six weeks, as well as additional sessions that were completed at home. The researchers found that compassion meditation participation was associated with innate immune responses to psychosocial stress (Pace et al., 2009).

A similar study examined mindfulness-based stress reduction training that consisted of sensory awareness exercises, yoga, loving-kindness meditation; as well as education regarding stress symptoms and consequences (Birnie, Speca, & Carlson, 2010). Research findings indicated that self-compassion was related to reduced stress symptoms (Birnie et al., 2010).

Laboratory studies also have reported stress-related benefits of compassion. For example, in an ego-threat experiment, self-compassion was found to protect participants from anxiety (Neff et al., 2007).

And finally, compassion was assessed among participants who completed a high-stress task. Those who were higher in compassion reported a greater degree of liking for supportive evaluators.

Compassion also interacted with social support such that those participants who were higher in compassion and received social support as part of the experiment showed less physiological stress reactivity as measured by blood pressure, HF-HRV, and cortisol reactivity (Cosley, McCoy, Saslow, & Epel, 2010).

The above studies support the notion that individuals who are high in self-compassion or compassion for others respond to stress in a healthier way than those who are lower in such constructs.

With respect to self-compassion, psychologists argue that self-compassionate individuals buffer themselves from stress by using self-kindness and positive cognitive restructuring as a way of coping with stressful situations (Allen, & Leary, 2010). More research is needed examining the link between compassion and stress, but evidence thus far provides promising support for the stress inoculating power of compassion.

The 14th Dalai Lama, known as Gyalwa Rinpoche, once said,

“ We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves .”

The inner peace this quote illustrates regards the concept of self-compassion. Self-compassion consists of three distinct constructs (Hollis-Walker & Colosimo, 2011):

• showing ourselves warmth and kindness, rather than harsh self-criticism or judgment;
• accepting that imperfection, failure, and suffering are an unavoidable part of the human condition;
• mindfully paying attention to one’s suffering in the present moment with clarity and balance.

Self-compassionate behavior has been linked to increased optimism, emotional intelligence, coping, and several physical health benefits (Neff, 2003). The 12 self-compassion techniques can be implemented to start or develop your journey to self-compassion.

In his classic song “Imagine,” John Lennon envisioned a world in which people lived peacefully without greed or hunger. He was singing about his dream for a compassionate world.

Philosophers have also shared many thoughts on compassion, such as Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860), who believed that “ Compassion is the basis of all morality ” (thinkexist.com). In a compassion-based society, historical atrocities such as genocide, war, and acts of terrorism would not have happened.

Fortunately, as history is a window to the future, we can learn a great deal from it. History needs to be considered with a compassionate mindset, which includes an understanding of ongoing historical trauma. And with the hypervigilance to notice and act upon current wrongdoings such that they do not escalate, and negative historical events are not repeated.

More poignantly stated in Deuteronomy 4:9, “ Only guard yourself and guard your soul carefully, lest you forget the things your eyes saw, and lest these things depart your heart all the days of your life. And you shall make them known to your children and to your children’s children ” (Deuteronomy 4:9). This is living with compassion both for the past and the present.

Compassion is suggested as an integral component of evolution by serving to protect vulnerable offspring, promote cooperative behavior between non-family members, and encourage adaptive mate selection (Goetz, Keltner, & Simon-Thomas, 2010). Stated another way, compassion has served to enhance the survival of the human species.

Being moved by the suffering of another has always been necessary for the betterment of society and there is a multitude of modern examples where an ounce of compassion makes a world of difference. Unfortunately, research indicates modern society is showing an alarming decline in social connectedness (Seppala et al., 2013), which is a likely byproduct of the reliance on technology versus face-to-face contact.

Another area in society where increased compassion is sorely needed is driving. Road rage represents a worldwide epidemic that is responsible for millions of injuries per year (James, 2000). If compassionate driving was societally reinforced, as well as a key priority of driving schools, drivers would be less likely to berate other drivers.

Rather, they would be more inclined to understand that drivers are simply human beings who make mistakes. After all, a person who is driving too slowly or fails to signal might simply be having a really bad day. Lives would be saved, injuries avoided, and anger both expressed and modeled for children would be reduced if people would practice compassion behind the wheel.

There are numerous other areas where the suffering of others is too often viewed with an eye of judgment, rather than compassion. For example, homelessness and drug use have reached epidemic proportions in some cities, leaving politicians and citizens at a loss for what to do. There are, however, compassionate approaches that DO work.

In Seattle, WA, the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) project took a novel approach toward chronic drug-users who habitually cycle through the criminal justice system.

The LEAD philosophy is based on research indicating that continued prosecution and jail time for drug addicts fail to deter recidivism. And most importantly, the revolving door in and out of jail leaves individuals dealing with a large sequelae of serious risk factors and problems (i.e., child and/or domestic abuse, poverty, homelessness, mental illness, lack of family support, racial and cultural disparities, medical problems, lack of educational opportunities, etc.) worse off than before.

By taking both a compassionate and research-based approach, the LEAD program offered repeat offending drug users (the majority of whom were also chronically homeless) the opportunity to avoid arrest and jail time by enrolling in a cooperative effort between Seattle police officers and case managers assigned to participants.

Participants received compassion, rather than judgment; as well as the dignity to make their own treatment-related choices. The program was highly individualized and comprehensive, with each participant receiving extensive case management and supportive services specific to their own needs, and for as long as necessary.

Relative to controls, LEAD participants experienced 60% lower odds of arrest and felony charges (Collins, Lonczak, & Clifasefi, 2017), as well as a significantly greater likelihood of obtaining housing, employment and legitimate income at follow-up (Clifasefi, Lonczak, & Collins, 2016). The LEAD program— which has since been replicated in other states and countries, represents a community of compassion that works.

One of the beautiful aspects of the LEAD program is that the police offers became compassionate adversaries for many individuals who had experienced law enforcement in a very different way for much of their lives.

In their essay on “ Mindfulness, Compassion, and the Police in America ,” DeValve and Adkinson (2008) provide an argument for a new paradigm of organizational mindfulness among police.

The authors propose that police officers “ deepen their practices sufficiently to exude compassion” and institute problem-orienting policing as a way to address “economic inequality, mental illness, individual suffering, and substandard education… [while moving away from] their traditional order-maintenance worldview, and re-empower themselves to act in different (e.g., policy) spheres as well as in areas of public safety ” (DeValve & Adkinson, 2008, pgs. 100 & 102).

In line with the notion of community justice, it is proposed that Buddhist philosophy is an instructive model for law enforcement by applying mindful action toward the reduction of suffering. Not only would a compassionate-based way of policing reduce racial tensions between police and the community, but it also would “ predicate a relationship of trust, a reservoir of goodwill, to help salve the wounds of the community ” (DeValve & Adkinson, 2008, pgs. 103).

Compassion clearly holds an invaluable place in many aspects of society, such as among police officers, medical professionals, teachers, and social workers. Role models of compassion among those in power (i.e., politicians), have the capacity to dampen motivation toward hateful acts; while instead bolstering kindness, love, and understanding. Moreover, by recognizing human fallibility while considering the suffering of others with an eye toward compassion, individuals can make a difference in creating a more peaceful society.

Here is a list of frequently asked questions and answers about compassion.

1. Can compassion be learned?

Absolutely. While some of us behave more consistently compassionate than others due to upbringing and various other factors, interventions promoting compassion indicate that compassion is teachable. Moreover, such interventions have found increases in various positive factors such as social connection.

Naturally, teaching compassion should begin with young children in order to foster a trajectory toward empathy, compassion, and kindness at a time when personalities and beliefs are still developing.

2. Do other animal species have compassion?

Yes, compassion is evident among other animal species, such as monkeys, whales, elephants, and so many more. And of course, dogs and cats have been known to show endless amounts of unconditional love and compassion for humans.

3. What can I do to be more compassionate?

• Be altruistic . We can be more compassionate by moving beyond our comfort zones and helping individuals or engaging in service work as a way of helping people, animals, and our communities. Altruistic behaviors also improve the self-esteem and wellbeing of those who offer them.
• Avoid judgment. It is impossible to know the factors that have led a person toward their current predicament; nor how we would fare in the same situation. Considering our own similarities to others in need will help to promote empathy and compassion.
• Practice gratitude . Reflecting on the things in your life that you appreciate will foster a sense of compassion for those less fortunate.
• Consider Buddhism. The objective of Buddhism is to enhance one’s own wisdom, kindness and compassion; and ultimately to achieve unconditional happiness and enlightenment.
• Be kind to yourself. Sometimes we are our own worst enemies. Remember that all human beings are flawed and will make mistakes; ongoing rumination and self-loathing serves no benefit to you or anyone around you. Instead, practice self-forgiveness and coping tools that will help you to move forward in a more positive way.

4. How can I be a more compassionate parent?

Compassionate parenting is an essential component of positive parenting. Positive parents show compassion by:

• Avoiding labeling children (i.e., “the smart one,” “the athlete,” “the naughty one,” etc.), as doing so is hurtful and promotes both sibling rivalry and self-fulfilling prophecies.
• Be sensitive to your child’s developmental stage.
• Practice regular, open communication.
• Provide affection and emotional warmth.
• Empathize with your child’s feelings.
• Empower autonomy in order to support creativity, empowerment, and self-determination.
• Teach respect for other living creatures by teaching him/her how to care for and show kindness to animals.
• Practice positive discipline, which is warm and democratic, and never violent.
• Guide and teach your child by role modeling kind and compassionate behavior.
• Show optimism and help your child to believe in him/herself and the future.
• Provide unconditional love.

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Readers interested in finding academic articles focused on compassion might check-out the following psychological journals:

• Current Directions in Psychological Science
• Human Architecture : Journal of the Sociology of Self-Knowledge
• Human Development
• International Journal of Human Caring
• Cognition and Emotion
• Journal of Happiness Studies
• Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
• The Journal of Positive Psychology
• Journal of Research in Personality
• Journal of Traumatic Stress
• Mindfulness
• Motivation and Emotion

Along with psychology journals, medical (especially nursing) and social work journals are also excellent resources for learning about compassion.

Here are 10 examples:

• Ethics and Social Welfare
• The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine
• Journal of Clinical Nursing
• Journal of Emergency Nursing
• Nursing Inquiry
• Palliative Medicine
• Qualitative Social Work
• Self and Identity
• Social Work
• Stress and Health

The biggest take-home message of this article is that compassion matters. There are numerous proven benefits of both self-compassion and compassion toward others, such as increased happiness, improved medical outcomes, reduced stress, reduced psychopathology, and increased social connectedness.

Compassion plays a vital role in the medical field, as well as those where workers consistently aid the suffering. Among patients, compassion has the power to increase coping and healing; and self-compassion is highly beneficial to healthcare workers. In high compassion-demanding occupations, it is essential that workers be supported such that the likelihood of compassion fatigue (e.g., burn-out) is reduced.

While some people are more compassionate than others, it is a quality that can be learned as evidenced by research interventions that have shown significant increases in compassion and related qualities.

Compassion is an essential element in society and is vital to the survival of the human race. Individuals and groups with power (i.e., police, policymakers, politicians, etc.) have an opportunity to contribute to more healthy, peaceful communities by practicing and promoting compassion. Serious societal problems (i.e., homelessness and recidivism) have been significantly reduced following compassionate, research-based interventions.

There are many ways in which individuals can practice compassion such as by being altruistic, avoiding judgment, being grateful, and by applying positive parenting techniques.

By remembering history— including where compassion was both lacking and in abundance— human beings will be more empowered to make compassionate and meaningful life choices. This is the first step toward creating the loving and peaceful society imagined by so many of us.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our three Self Compassion Exercises for free .

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You know articles like this are a dime a dozen and always state the obvious and can actually work with relatively normal people. Compassion can be a good thing and everyone knows it. But sometimes compassion is not a good thing and can even make things worse. For example, one may give a gift out of compassion to someone may misread the intent. And, sometimes when you show compassion by helping someone, and not especially expecting a thank you, it can hurt if the help goes unrecognized. If it happens once its not too bad and you can get over it. But, if the situation continues to happen, it can make you not want to share anymore with some people.

Steve, these are great challenging reflections. Such articles can feel trite, but it’s when we really sit and examine compassion in our inner life and in our relationships, and how it works, that they become meaningful. Your described situations in which compassion leads to ‘bad’ outcomes maybe are situations where people’s expectations are unrealistic that they know best what will be helpful to others or that they are able to control others’ response. Compassion is not the problem in these situations. The trouble is a lack of discernment about what will actually be of help to the other person. Truthfully, we can never know for sure how to help, but it doesn’t mean that compassion is any less valuable as a motivation. In fact, the not knowing may make compassion all the more important. If compassion is strong, we are more likely to keep trying to figure out how to be of help, even when we fail or have our efforts ignored. Maybe we even see that we have helped, and that feels good even though our efforts are ignored by others. That we we are rewarded intrinsically, even if no one notices from the outside. Maybe we realize that the part of us that wants to be thanked is actually self-centered, so we really were not acting entirely out of compassion after all? The intrinsic desire to help is what compassion is referring to, and it need not be impacted by whether or not we are acknowledged for helping or whether we are able to help. The desire is there, and it can be cultivated and sustained, and it can be extended to be more inclusive. over time. This great article explains why this is beneficial to ourselves, not just others! To learn more about compassion experientially, perhaps see The Compassion Shift at Emory University, a training program to make sense of these things on a practical, on-the-ground level.

An exceptionally good article addressing the most urgent need of society today. Compassion to others and self will enable practitioners (anyone including parents) to view their roles and life in a balance way. Compassion to others and self are equally important for the ministers of religions and their team/associates. I personally found this article very useful because I am a parent and I work with people who have autism and severe learning disabilities.

compassion is a valuable human quality for all ( most of all those in the helping professions) As an executive coach and church counselor I am often perplexed as to the dividing line between identifying with the client and /or keeping a professional distance; such that the client has the ownership of the issue and YOU the coach/counselor is the objective observer or solution provider.

Thank you so much for your article on compassion, highlighting it’s importance in today’s COVID-19 context and how sick the world would be without compassionate people around. It is due to lack of compassion that so much of stigma is created around COVID 19. Very true. Compassion promotes personal as well as Society’s well being. Thank you again.

Hi Sr. Mary, Thank you for your kind words. Indeed, the world would do well if we all worked hard to show one another that little bit more compassion in the wake of this crisis. I hope you are keeping safe and well. – Nicole | Community Manager

Your writing on compassion is spot on. Thank you for doing this article. I am sharing it with Compassionate Pomona and Compassionate California so that others can benefit from your research. You are right that what the world needs now is compassion in action everywhere.

Hi Diana, Couldn’t agree more. We’re glad to hear that this post resonated with you, and thank you for sharing it. – Nicole | Community Manager

Is this peer reviwed journal

Its informative article thanks.

Thanks, Heather, for this great overview. Some people fear that self-compassion leads to being too lazy. While being hard on oneself is certainly no good recipe for well-being, it has worked for many to be successful. Or so it seems. Do you know of any scientific research shedding light on this issue?

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Essay Curve

Essay on Compassion – Examples, 10 Lines to 1200 Words

Essay on Compassion: Compassion is a fundamental aspect of human nature that has the power to transform lives and bring about positive change in the world. In this essay, we will explore the importance of compassion, its impact on individuals and society, and how we can cultivate and practice compassion in our daily lives. By understanding and embodying compassion, we can create a more empathetic and connected world where kindness and understanding prevail.

Table of Contents

Compassion Essay Writing Tips

1. Start by defining compassion in your own words. Compassion is the ability to empathize with others, understand their suffering, and take action to help alleviate it.

2. Begin your essay with a powerful introduction that grabs the reader’s attention and sets the tone for the rest of the piece. You could start with a personal anecdote, a quote about compassion, or a thought-provoking question.

3. Use examples to illustrate the importance of compassion in everyday life. You could talk about how a small act of kindness can make a big difference in someone’s day, or how showing compassion towards others can create a more caring and empathetic society.

4. Discuss the benefits of compassion, both for the person receiving it and the person giving it. Research has shown that acts of compassion can improve mental health, increase feelings of happiness and fulfillment, and even boost physical health.

5. Address any potential challenges or barriers to practicing compassion. For example, you could talk about how societal norms or personal biases can sometimes make it difficult to show compassion towards certain groups of people.

6. Offer practical tips for cultivating compassion in your own life. This could include practicing active listening, volunteering in your community, or simply taking the time to smile and say hello to strangers.

7. Reflect on how showing compassion has impacted your own life. Have you experienced moments of compassion from others that have made a difference for you? How has practicing compassion changed your perspective on the world?

8. Conclude your essay by emphasizing the importance of compassion in creating a more connected and caring society. Encourage readers to think about how they can incorporate more compassion into their own lives and challenge them to make a difference in the world through acts of kindness and empathy.

9. Edit and revise your essay to ensure clarity, coherence, and conciseness. Check for grammar and spelling errors, and make sure your ideas flow logically from one paragraph to the next.

10. Consider seeking feedback from a teacher, friend, or family member to get a fresh perspective on your essay and make any necessary revisions before submitting it.

Essay on Compassion in 10 Lines – Examples

1. Compassion is the ability to feel empathy and show kindness towards others. 2. It involves understanding and sharing the feelings of others, especially those who are suffering or in need. 3. Compassion is a fundamental aspect of human nature that helps to build connections and foster a sense of community. 4. It can be expressed through acts of generosity, support, and understanding. 5. Compassion is essential for creating a more caring and inclusive society. 6. It can have a positive impact on both the giver and the receiver, promoting feelings of happiness and fulfillment. 7. Compassion can be cultivated through practice and by actively seeking to understand the experiences and perspectives of others. 8. It is a key component of ethical behavior and moral development. 9. Compassion can help to bridge divides and promote unity among individuals and communities. 10. Ultimately, compassion is a powerful force for creating a more compassionate and empathetic world.

Sample Essay on Compassion in 100-180 Words

Compassion is the ability to feel empathy and understanding towards others who are suffering or in need. It is a fundamental aspect of human nature that allows us to connect with others on a deeper level and provide support and comfort in times of distress.

Compassion is essential for creating a more caring and harmonious society. When we show compassion towards others, we are able to build stronger relationships, foster a sense of community, and promote a culture of kindness and understanding.

By practicing compassion, we can make a positive impact on the world around us and help to alleviate the suffering of others. Whether it is through acts of kindness, lending a listening ear, or offering a helping hand, compassion has the power to bring hope and healing to those in need.

In conclusion, compassion is a powerful force that has the ability to transform lives and create a more compassionate and empathetic world. It is a quality that we should all strive to cultivate in ourselves and encourage in others.

Short Essay on Compassion in 200-500 Words

Compassion is a fundamental aspect of human nature that has the power to transform lives and bring about positive change in the world. It is the ability to empathize with others, understand their suffering, and take action to alleviate it. Compassion is not just a feeling or emotion, but a way of being that involves kindness, generosity, and a willingness to help those in need.

One of the key components of compassion is empathy, the ability to put oneself in another person’s shoes and understand their perspective. When we are able to empathize with others, we are more likely to feel compassion towards them and take action to help them. This can be as simple as offering a listening ear to a friend in need or as complex as volunteering at a homeless shelter or donating to a charity.

Compassion is also closely linked to kindness and generosity. When we feel compassion towards others, we are more likely to act in ways that are kind and generous. This can involve small acts of kindness, such as holding the door open for someone or giving a compliment, or larger acts of generosity, such as donating money or time to a cause we care about. These acts of kindness and generosity not only benefit the recipient, but also bring a sense of fulfillment and happiness to the giver.

Compassion is not limited to helping those we know or care about. It extends to all living beings, including strangers, animals, and even the environment. When we cultivate a sense of compassion towards all beings, we are more likely to act in ways that are beneficial to the greater good. This can involve advocating for social justice, protecting the environment, or speaking out against injustice and oppression.

Compassion is also a powerful tool for building connections and fostering a sense of community. When we show compassion towards others, we create a sense of trust and mutual respect that can strengthen relationships and bring people together. Compassion can bridge the gap between individuals from different backgrounds, cultures, and beliefs, and create a sense of unity and solidarity.

In conclusion, compassion is a vital aspect of human nature that has the power to transform lives and bring about positive change in the world. By cultivating empathy, kindness, and generosity towards others, we can create a more compassionate and caring society where all beings are valued and respected. Let us strive to cultivate compassion in our own lives and inspire others to do the same, so that we may create a more compassionate and just world for all.

Essay on Compassion in 1000-1500 Words

Compassion is a fundamental aspect of human nature that has the power to bring people together, heal wounds, and create a more empathetic and understanding society. It is the ability to feel and show empathy, kindness, and understanding towards others, especially those who are suffering or in need. Compassion is a virtue that is often overlooked in today’s fast-paced and individualistic world, but it is essential for fostering a sense of community, connection, and mutual support.

One of the key aspects of compassion is empathy, the ability to understand and share the feelings of others. When we empathize with someone, we are able to put ourselves in their shoes and see the world from their perspective. This allows us to connect with them on a deeper level and offer them the support and understanding they need. Empathy is the foundation of compassion, as it enables us to recognize the pain and suffering of others and respond with kindness and care.

Compassion is also about taking action to alleviate the suffering of others. It is not enough to simply feel sorry for someone or offer them words of sympathy. True compassion requires us to take concrete steps to help those in need, whether it is through acts of kindness, generosity, or support. This could be as simple as lending a listening ear to a friend in distress, volunteering at a local charity, or donating to a cause that is close to our hearts. By taking action to help others, we not only alleviate their suffering but also strengthen our own sense of empathy and connection to the world around us.

Compassion is a powerful force for good in the world, as it has the ability to break down barriers, build bridges, and create a more inclusive and caring society. When we show compassion towards others, we are able to see past our differences and connect with them on a human level. This can help to foster understanding, empathy, and mutual respect, leading to greater harmony and cooperation among individuals and communities.

Compassion is also essential for promoting mental and emotional well-being. When we show compassion towards others, we not only help them to feel supported and cared for, but we also boost our own sense of self-worth and purpose. Studies have shown that acts of kindness and compassion can have a positive impact on our mental health, reducing stress, anxiety, and depression, and increasing feelings of happiness, fulfillment, and connection.

In today’s fast-paced and often self-centered world, it can be easy to overlook the importance of compassion. We are bombarded with messages that prioritize individual success, competition, and material wealth, often at the expense of our relationships with others. However, it is in times of crisis and hardship that the true value of compassion becomes apparent. Whether it is a natural disaster, a personal loss, or a global pandemic, it is compassion that brings people together, provides comfort and support, and helps us to navigate through difficult times with strength and resilience.

One of the key challenges in cultivating compassion is overcoming our own biases, prejudices, and judgments. It is easy to show compassion towards those who are similar to us or who we perceive as deserving of our help, but true compassion requires us to extend our empathy and kindness to all, regardless of their background, beliefs, or circumstances. This can be a difficult and uncomfortable process, as it forces us to confront our own biases and step outside of our comfort zones. However, it is only by embracing diversity, empathy, and understanding that we can truly embody the spirit of compassion and create a more inclusive and compassionate society.

In conclusion, compassion is a fundamental aspect of human nature that has the power to bring people together, heal wounds, and create a more empathetic and understanding society. It is the ability to feel and show empathy, kindness, and understanding towards others, especially those who are suffering or in need. Compassion is a virtue that is essential for fostering a sense of community, connection, and mutual support, and it is through acts of kindness, generosity, and empathy that we can create a more compassionate and caring world for all.

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Brutal Honesty Vs. Speaking Your Truth With Compassion

What does it mean when someone describes themselves as “brutally honest?” It’s not as simple as many people think.

The idea of brutal honesty has been placed in a positive light in today’s world. Perhaps because of the word “honesty.” Because honesty is a good thing, right? Of course, it is.

We all agree that it’s important to be honest and truthful. But, in reality, the truth often hurts.

Many times in our lives we are faced with situations in which we need to share a message that may hurt the recipient. And there are many possible ways to manage those situations.

Brutal Honesty

Declaring yourself brutally honest is perhaps the easiest way around the “truth/hurt” quandary. It’s essentially a free pass to say what you think or what you feel in the moment you think it or feel it.

Chances are high that you know someone like this, who goes through life unfiltered:

You’re the most thoughtless person I know , Marcy says to her husband Edward.

What made you buy that coat? Jenny says to her friend Lori.

Only an unintelligent person would make that argument , Bill says to his colleague.

Looks like you’ve been eating a few too many cheeseburgers, Grandma Bea says to her grandson.

The upside of brutal honesty is that you seldom have to guess what the brutally honest person is thinking. The downside is that you don’t always want to know what the brutally honest person is thinking.

Brutal honesty hurts people. Long after the “honest one” has had his say, the recipient will be suffering the damages.

There is another way to deal with the conundrums of life. It involves no potshots, far less damage to the recipient, and far less hurt all around. Yet it still communicates the necessary message. It’s called Truth With Compassion.

Truth With Compassion

Truth with compassion is a way to express your truth while reducing its hurtfulness as much as possible. Hurting others immediately and automatically sparks their defenses. And once the defenses come up, you’ve lost their open ear. They will no longer hear you.

3 Steps to Speak Your Truth With Compassion

1. Clarify your message within yourself before saying anything to the other person

Example: Marcy’s You’re the most thoughtless person I know becomes: You should have checked with me before taking on that giant project at work.

2. Think about the personality and nature of your recipient. How emotionally fragile is he? How will he best hear this message?

Example: Marcy knows that Edward is normally a thoughtful person, but that he is also somewhat of a workaholic. When he’s absorbed in his work, he tends to think of nothing but the job.

3. Identify the best time, place, and words to communicate your message

Example: Marcy tells Edward she has something important to talk with him about. They agree to talk when they both get home from work. Marcy says I’m hurt that you took on this big project when I hardly get to see you as it is. Did you think about me at all when you made this commitment?

By wording her truth this way, Marcy is avoiding a common barrier to communicating difficult truths: she is not sparking Edward’s defenses. Starting with “I’m hurt,” is a good way to let the recipient know that you are talking about yourself, not him. Asking a question is a good way to open a discussion without making an accusing assumption.

While Jenny and Grandma Bea should keep their “honesty” to themselves, Bill should use a question with his colleague instead of such a blunt and shaming declaration.

Why do you think that?

What makes you say that?

Have you thought about…..?

All of these are possible ways to express doubts about a colleague’s argument. They will not spark the recipient’s defenses, and they will not hurt his feelings. Nor will they likely damage the relationship.

So speak your truth. It’s important. Express yourself and be honest. But pause first to think about the other person. Filter, filter, filter. When you respect the other person’s feelings, your message will be far more likely to be heard.

To learn much more about the importance of speaking your truth and how to show compassion for the other person , plus how to share emotions in relationships, see the book Running On Empty No More: Transform Your Relationships

To learn more about Childhood Emotional Neglect, see my first book Running on Empty. 

Click Here to Leave a Comment Below

I believe people who assert they are “brutally honest” may not be aware of the other’s rights to have boundaries. I don’t want someone shaking their wet umbrella on me when they want to get the rain off of it. Just like I don’t want a person unloading their thoughts and feelings on me unexpectedly and uninvited.

I interpret this brutal honesty as comfort neglecting boundaries. This is one way parents neglect kids, they don’t allow them to have their own psychological and emotional safe space. In this way, this can replay in adulthood with thinking that everyone should be able to handle their “brutal honesty.”

It’s helpful to include “honesty” when describing the communication style because the speaker does identify with the unfiltered nature of their truth. But the forceful, aggressive, unsafe nature of the communication gets downplayed if we’re thinking about the recipient. It’s a lot to take.

Thank you for your good work.

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I often call myself “brutally honest”, thinking it’s a good thing. After reading this article, I realized I can be honest, just add more of the compassion I have into my truth. I mean we all could use a little more compassion, right?

Right, indeed, Tina!

Dear Jonice,

Great article. The idea of truth with compassion really sits well for me. As someone who experienced CEN with parents who both worked in emergency-response and had mental health challenges, I developed an all or nothing approach to honesty. I either hold it all in, for fear of rejection or conflict, or blurt it all out if I’ve been holding it in for too long.

I am slowly but surely getting better at setting and maintaining compassionate boundaries, so I think truth with compassion will fit in nicely.

As a relatively new therapist myself, I am looking forward to seeing how this concept fits into my therapeutic work as well as my personal relationships. I love how the work I do for myself creates a ripple effect to the people I meet in my life and in my work. It reminds me of the quote by Maya Angelou – “people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel”

Thank you! Kate

Dear Kate, yes, I love that Maya Angelou quote too. It says so much. I’m sorry you grew up with CEN, but now, as a new therapist, you are in a unique position to help other CEN people from a deep and personal place.

Amazing how many people there are who are compassionate and considerate of each others feelings. Pity the politicians do not read these pages!

Yes, I agree, Dannielle, there are so very many people who are living in the world of brutal honesty. It’s an unnecessarily harsh world.

This was very helpful, thank you Dr for following your purpose and call. I read your articles often and wonder what drives you but whatever it is may it grow stronger and your legacy shine. Ever since I came across your work my mindset has shifted and so much makes sense and the weekly emails are God sent. You’re amazing Dr Jonice.

Thank you for the article. I never knew that truth with compassion existed. My father was diagnosed with Aperger’s Syndrome late in his life. My mom was dysfunctional from having NO support from her whole life. There was non communication, no talking in our home. Expectation and grounding: yes. Until I read this, I always thought that brutal honesty was good, because it was communication. Now I have to learn to be truthful with compassion. Maybe you could do another article with more examples of how to say it right?

Dear Sharon, you are in the company of many, many people who think brutal honesty is good. I’m so glad you are motivated to learn truth with compassion and I’ll definitely try to write another article about it.

I think I can relate…My husband was diagnosis with Asperger’s a few years into our marriage. I was blunt, and sometimes hostile due, to not understanding his withdrawn nature but we got good counseling and opened up world of wonder between us. Unfortunately, he passed away but I am still working on learning to be honest with compassion. I am currently studying with Non violent communication coaches. We cant talk too much about this so more articles will be wonderful.

This is a really important topic. My parents both had mental illness which has resulted in difficulty for all of their children. It has made relationships among the children difficult. My parents used the ‘divide and conquer’ style of parenting, pitting the children against each other, instead of cooperation. Both of my brothers have extremely fragile egos. Even speaking carefully, is close to impossible without them reacting. For example, simply mentioning my sister’s suicide is a topic (over 30 years later) for them. I feel as though I have to walk on eggshells (not just with my mother, who had BPD) but my brothers. I have had lots of therapy, but my brothers don’t believe in it. Any suggestions or insights about my situation will be appreciated. Thank you

Dear Amy, good for you for the work you have done on yourself. Sadly, it’s not possible for us to save our family members. They must save themselves. The best thing you can do is continue to set an example for them by healing and strengthening yourself.

Thank you Dr Webb. Thank you for sharing another insightful article.

I’m not the type of person who would be brutally honest in any situation. I avoid saying anything in disagreement, or that might cause offence or upset, no matter how carefully crafted. Is this just the other side of the same coin, or a completely different characteristic?

Thank you for all the help your work provides. Each time I learn a little more, mostly about me..

Dear Tim, it is the other side of the same coin. It’s all about the skills; you just tend to hold back instead of blurting. You can start working on learning those skills you missed so you can speak up in a compassionate way.

I had a situation recently where I was asked a question about my children when they were younger (they were present). Caught off guard, I responded truthfully, without compassion and Immediately regretted it. I know they were hurt. What can I do?

Dear Diane, there is nothing more meaningful than receiving an apology from your parent. I recommend you talk with each child and explain yourself in a way that will help them understand what happened. You could also make it a teaching moment by telling them you are working on communicating in a more thoughtful way.

Dear Dr. Jonice, Thank you for the perfect timing on this vital topic.

Some times processing chronic toxic grief can manifest as anger; urging one to express their pain in black and white colors; due to their long suffering and their tendency to put other’s needs before their own.

Would it be advisable to take time in addressing the emotional charge before one is capable of “authentic compassionate communication” ?

Dear Maria, yes, definitely. that’s an important part of truth with compassion. Managing whatever negative feelings you are having well enough to speak in a way that the other person can hear.

An added dimension to people being brutally honest is that sometimes the people in the family think the brutally honest person cannot change and so the recipients of the brutal honesty are made to put up with it. I had a grandmother who was very emotionally spoiled and would speak her mind and we lived in a household where there was a taboo around any sort of argument or vocal tension. This meant that when there was eventually an argument it would be a mega one – which was of course proof that all arguments were terribly destructive. In the end when my sisters asked my father why my grandmother was so mean to me he said “Well can’t you see. Its all part of the dementia” The rule of silently putting up with things existed long before the dementia started. Long after my grandmother died some of the hurtful things she said still rattled around my brain as though she was still alive. I learnt a very good technique though from a book called “The happiness trap” which is not to answer the “grandmother voice” back which I sometimes did when alone leading into a fantasy argument. Instead you say – not in a sarcastic way “Thank you mind”. Another thing I can say is “Its amazing what the brain comes up with” This has proven very effective – also with other bullying voices from the past. I hope this technique will help other people who read this paragraph.

Thanks for sharing that, Richard. It’s important to disempower those old voices which mean nothing and have no value.

Dear Jonice … All morning I have been composing an email for a friend who appears to have a handful of addictions — spending, eating disorder, and quite possibly a sex and “love” addiction. I have been approaching this with as much deliberation as I can, and with all the guidance that I’m pretty sure Higher Power is giving me. Yet, I have still been questioning myself. But then your email and blog came 2 hours ago, and that was the last reminder and confirmation I needed from Higher Power that I am doing the right thing, and that my email needs to be sent. I’m sure many people say you are a godsend. If ever there was an absolute and Divine example of that happening through you, it is right now. If I’m lucky, I might even be coming through for her at just the right time, Indiana Jones like. Time to get out the fedora and leather jacket!

Dear Arlyn, it’s very caring for you to express concern to your friend. Just remember that it will be up to them what they decide to do with it. Situations like this can be disappointing. Just be kind and honest and compassionate and you will have done your part.

Thank you Jonice. I appreciate the extra guidance. It’s very timely too.

This advice is good for dealing with people who you care about but who just may lack the ability to express themselves any other way. But setting boundaries with and addressing the abusive behavior of toxic people is a completely different subject matter. With the toxic comments of two examples here, Jenny and Bea, you don’t offer any insight on how to deal with those comments or those types of people. In the world many times we don’t have the luxury of ignoring abusive and toxic behavior by people in our lives, as evidenced by this charade of an election cycle – its there in our face every time we turn around. it’s clear in America neither the left nor the right know how to deal with the abusive and toxic behavior of people in their lives, whether it’s Bea, Jenny or, for example, Donald Trump, other than booting them out entirely. As many times we can’t vote the pain producing people out of our lives, what are some things we can do to respond to these types of people when we can’t just give them the boot?

Yes, this article is written to help the speaker rather than the recipient. Jenny and Bea should keep their rude comments to themselves. Dealing with toxic people is a separate-but-related topic that deserves many articles on its own. One time-tested response that works in many situations is to say to Jenny or Bea, “I’m not sure why you’d want to say something hurtful like that,” and then remove oneself from the situation. The problem is that we can’t control the behavior of toxic people. All we can do is try to protect ourselves from them.

Thank you so much for the article and appreciate the comments and questions. I’ve been following the email subscriptions because I know I’ve been dealing with CEN parents for a long time and I know that I do not want to be one. It has been a struggle from young to adult age and reading these helps me understand myself and how to deal with them. I do like to learn more on how to handle as the recipient from CEN – along with a community of CEN people who are significantly affecting their peers as well. As always, I’ll always try to be honest but compassionate about my experiences and perspective.

Dear Nhu, it’s great that you’re aware of this at a young age. You can do so much to affect your own life and be a different kind of parent to your children. I wish you all the best!

Hi Tim, I thought the same exactly. My ex narcissistic partner could say to me (and this was projection, which is what they typically do) “you are crazy”, “you are wrong, as always”, “you are stupid”, “you are fat”, “you have pimples, don’t eat chocolate” (yeah, and that pimple problem is actually hormonal). So those comments were not brutally honest…they were just brutal. Brutal lies. When he was clearly wrong, he quickly turned it that way that it was me who is wrong etc. This is what toxic, manipulative people do. I don’t know if there is any good way to respond to those. If I tried, he quickly reacted with “no, you!” -defense, making me feel I had done something that made me “deserve” those comments. BS. Run away and don’t look back! I think that’s the only sane way to deal with those people!

Thanks for a brilliant article. I hadn’t realised that my CEN was making me brutally honest. People often recoil from me when I blurt out what I’m thinking, then it’s the end of that friendship. Now I know I’m like this because I was brought up by a mother who was brutally honest because she had no emotional skills. She never, ever talked about emotions, they were forbidden, things to be suppressed and dismissed, and she got angry when I had emotions. Thanks to your 3 steps advice, I can now practice speaking truth with compassion 🙂

I’m sorry you grew up this way, Olivia. And I’m so happy you’re on a good path now. You will learn these skills and it will be worth it.

Everything is helpful. But, because my first language is spanish, I am not absorbing the maximum benefits of your help. ¿Is there any razón,why you have not published you knowledge for speaking Spanish people?

Please… Write a list…10 por cent of your article for those that we speak and read primary spanish.

Muchas gracias

Dear Bernardo, I do not speak Spanish myself, unfortunately. If a Spanish publisher would like to publish my books translated they can reach out to my publisher to request the rights. I would love that. All my best and I wish I could help more.

Thank you Dr. Jonice, your timing today is excellent. I have been battling the last few months in my head about writing a letter to my family , asking them to reconcile with me, or if they refuse, to make a clean break with them. Today was the day to begin writing it up. And I was seeking advice on HOW. I am one of the more damaged from CEN, and other things. Have spent 25 years in inner healing, counseling and deliverance trying to find normality without much success, until I found you. Your books and articles are key for me. I truly wish I could afford your services. But the world has seen fit to keep me broke and broken. So instead, may I ask you to point me towards resources on the subject of delivering difficult messages to ears that have steadfastly refused to hear? Thank you in advance. Sincerely, Mark

Dear Mark, you can find lots more help on this by reading books on assertiveness and starting to practice it. It’s a complex communication skill that is worth the effort to master.

OH MY GRACIOUS. THIS MAKES SO MUCH SENSE. I HAVE BEEN THE RECIPIENT OF THE “BRUTAL HONESTY” MESSAGE SO MANY TIMES, I LOST COUNT. AND, TWO WEEKS AGO, I WAS ALSO BRUTALLY HONEST WITH MY HUSBANDS SISTER IN LAW IN A PHONE CONVERSATION. WE ARE TWO WOMEN WHO ARE POLAR OPPOSITES. WE’VE KNOWN ONE ANOTHER FOR OVER 30 YEARS AND IT’S ALWAYS BEEN TENSE BETWEEN US. SHE FROM BIRMINGHAM, AL AND ME FROM MADISON, WISCONSIN. CONSERVATIVE/LIBERAL – FUNDAMENTALIST/AGNOSTIC – HIGH HEELS/BAREFOOT – HEAVY DRINKER/RECOVERING ALCOHOLIC – THE LIST GOES ON. I WAS NOT NICE BUT FELT IT NEEDED TO BE SAID THAT “WE ARE VERY DIFFERENT WOMEN AND THERE’S ROOM FOR BOTH OF US ON PLANET EARTH, SUSAN. AND, I CAN SAFELY SAY THAT WE WOULD NEVER CHOOSE ONE ANOTHER FOR FRIENDS IF IT WEREN’T FOR THE FACT THAT OUR HUSBAND’S ARE BROTHERS.”

NOW THERE IS NO COMMUNICATION WHATSOEVER. MY HUSBAND AND HIS BROTHER ARE ALSO NOT TALKING. I FEEL ASHAMED AND GUILT RIDDEN. DID I BLOW IT?? THANK YOU, JANET MARIE

Dear JM, you may have hurt your sister in law’s feelings. But the good thing is that most mistakes like this can be fixed. If you care about this relationship, you and/or your husband may have to reach out to them and try to smooth things over.

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The Power of Compassion

Compassion creates unity and harmony..

Posted February 19, 2024 | Reviewed by Monica Vilhauer

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• To be compassionate is to see the true nature of the suffering we all face.
• Compassion is a deep, heartfelt concern for the well-being of others.
• The ultimate aim of compassion is creating greater unity and harmony.

When we see what we are all up against—when we see the suffering and struggle that all humans face—the only response that makes sense is simple compassion. The Dalai Lama said, "Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive."

What Is Compassion?

Compassion is the quality of being attuned to people and attending to their needs. It involves the desire to be moved by suffering and the motivation to help alleviate and prevent it. Genuine compassion is a deep, heartfelt concern for the well-being of others . It overcomes the human tendency toward selfishness. We can also extend compassion to ourselves, paying attention to our own needs and feelings in a respectful, gentle way.

Foundation of Compassion

Compassion is comprised of three fundamental principles: awareness, kindness, and openness .

Awareness is the prerequisite. As a starting point, we must be clear about who we are in the present moment—not who we wish or hope to be, and not how others see us or want us to be.

Kindness is an extension of awareness. It allows us to welcome reality and the present moment with gentleness. In kindness, we learn to appreciate who we are, accepting ourselves where we are without judgment, while becoming willing to drop false identities and heal our wounds gently. Kindness toward the self decreases reactivity and also leads to an increased appreciation of others.

Openness involves keeping a sense of curiosity about whatever emerges in our experience. It asks us to let go of our natural human inclination to hold strongly to opinions, biases, and expectations. It invites us to experience life without attaching ourselves to a particular outcome. Openness gives you a broader perspective; it frees you from a limited view. When your views become less fixed and more fluid, you create more room for compassion to naturally arise.

Exercise Compassion

To be compassionate is to see the true nature of the suffering we all face. One who feels compassion views pain, disrespect, injustice, and other challenging emotions and situations without judgment, and then acts empathetically and assertively to address the issue, with the ultimate aim of creating value and greater unity and harmony in the world.

Compassion for Others

When you learn to empathize with others, recognizing that each of us struggles with difficult situations and negative emotions, you develop a broader perspective on humanity. You are able to put yourself in another person’s place and view him or her with understanding.

Everyone is doing the best they can. The next time you’re tempted to blame someone for your unhappiness, stop and use compassion to counter your negative thoughts.

Ask yourself:

• What if that person didn’t have the capacity to act differently?
• Would it change the way you relate to him or her?
• Would you have more compassion for that person?

When we see others living unsuccessfully, it’s because of limited ability, perspective, resources, or skills. Imagine the person who has wronged you as having done the very best he or she could, under the circumstances, even if the outcome fell far below your expectations. Notice how this changes the way you relate to the situation and the person. What does this perspective create inside you?

If you can view other people’s anger as a call for help or as a message that they are in pain, you will be wiser and more generous in your response. This not only benefits your interpersonal relationships—it’s also good for your own soul. Compassion restores calm and diffuses volatile situations. You are able to respond positively to others, respecting and appreciating how they are feeling. Instead of lashing out when others disappoint us or disagree with us, we can show compassion and understanding. In addition, when you care for others, focus your attention on their distress or needs, feel concern for them, and work toward providing them with what they need, you are rewarded by observing their growing well-being.

Compassion for Self

Self-compassion is a positive and caring attitude toward oneself, even during times of difficulty and failure, when self-criticism may naturally arise. Just as we strive to be gentle and kind to others when they experience hardship, it is healthy and constructive to treat ourselves the same way.

Self-compassion comes from understanding and accepting the universality of our core needs along with the need to avoid suffering and gain happiness . It also acknowledges that often we simply don’t know how to go about achieving these fundamental desires. When you develop kindness toward yourself, you can more easily move through difficult situations, which ultimately enables you to notice possibilities for becoming happier and more effective.

How do you develop self-compassion? The first step—and probably the most important one—is relating to yourself with acceptance, no matter what comes. This begins with mindfulness —that is, with the intention to be aware of our own painful experiences in a balanced way, one that neither avoids nor amplifies painful thoughts and emotions. When we are mindfully aware of personal suffering, we are able to extend compassion to ourselves.

Ways to Cultivate Self-Compassion

Here are additional ways to develop and strengthen your capacity for self-compassion:

• Realize that difficult times are a normal part of the human experience.
• Other people have similar issues, too; you are not alone in this situation.
• Remind yourself that everything in life passes, including difficult situations.
• Talk to someone you trust who will help you see the big picture.
• Be gentle with yourself. Avoid beating yourself up when you feel down.
• Talk to yourself with compassion. Be kind in what you say to yourself.
• Avoid comparing yourself to others.
• Meet yourself where you are and gently and gradually improve your position.
• Accept your struggles and challenges. Failures are part of your story toward becoming your best self.

Cultivating compassion invites you to abandon the struggle of the ego, which allows you to move toward the highest version of yourself. Compassion opens the door to greater connection with others. It promotes a soft response toward the undesirable events we inevitably experience in life.

When you adopt the attitude of compassion, you move from criticism to forgiveness , from separation to unity, and from anger to grace. You meet everyone (including yourself) with unconditional love and without blame or judgment, while aspiring toward peace and harmony.

Moshe Ratson, MBA, MFT, is a psychotherapist and executive coach in NYC. He specializes in personal and professional development, anger management, emotional intelligence, infidelity issues, and couples and marriage therapy.

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REVIEW article

Ways of knowing compassion: how do we come to know, understand, and measure compassion when we see it.

• 1 Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, United States
• 2 Graduate Division of Religion, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States
• 3 Department of Behavioral, Social, and Health Education Sciences, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States
• 4 Department of Spiritual Health, Woodruff Health Sciences Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States
• 5 Center for Contemplative Science and Compassion-Based Ethics, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States
• 6 Department of Psychology, Southern Oregon University, Ashland, OR, United States
• 7 School of Human Ecology, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI, United States

Over the last decade, empirical research on compassion has burgeoned in the biomedical, clinical, translational, and foundational sciences. Increasingly sophisticated understandings and measures of compassion continue to emerge from the abundance of multidisciplinary and cross-disciplinary studies. Naturally, the diversity of research methods and theoretical frameworks employed presents a significant challenge to consensus and synthesis of this knowledge. To bring the empirical findings of separate and sometimes siloed disciplines into conversation with one another requires an examination of their disparate assumptions about what compassion is and how it can be known. Here, we present an integrated theoretical review of methodologies used in the empirical study of compassion. Our goal is to highlight the distinguishing features of each of these ways of knowing compassion, as well as the strengths and limitations of applying them to specific research questions. We hope this will provide useful tools for selecting methods that are tailored to explicit objectives (methods matching), taking advantage of methodological complementarity across disciplines (methods mixing), and incorporating the empirical study of compassion into fields in which it may be missing.

Introduction

The last decade has seen a substantial increase in the empirical study of compassion. Programs of research investigate the phylogenetic continuity and evolutionary history of compassion ( Goetz et al., 2010 ; Preston and Hofelich, 2012 ; Gilbert and Mascaro, 2017 ; Marsh, 2019 ), the physiological systems supporting compassion ( Gilbert, 2014a ; Kemper et al., 2015 ; Wang et al., 2019 ), and the impact of compassion on psychological and physical health ( Galante et al., 2014 ; Neff et al., 2016 ). Along with this more foundational research, applied and translational studies examine the role and optimal manifestation of compassion in healthcare and educational settings, and test the efficacy of interventions and training programs aimed at expanding compassion toward self and others in a variety of contexts ( McCaffrey and McConnell, 2015 ; Bibeau et al., 2016 ; Sinclair et al., 2016b ; van Berkhout and Malouff, 2016 ; Luberto et al., 2018 ). Each of these domains of research has advanced in large part due to the development of measurement tools for identifying, describing, and quantifying compassion, as well as for empirically evaluating theoretical models of compassion. While this abundance of multidisciplinary and cross-disciplinary research has advanced what is known about compassion, the diversity of methods, assumptions, and theoretical frameworks makes it challenging to draw conclusions across studies and/or to incorporate compassion research into new fields, especially fields in which compassion may already be partially or implicitly operationalized.

While not without contention, large bodies of literature have generally cohered around a definition of compassion as a benevolent emotional response toward another who is suffering, coupled with the motivation to alleviate their suffering and promote their well-being ( Dalai Lama, 2002 ; Goetz et al., 2010 ; Halifax, 2012 ; Klimecki et al., 2013 ; Post et al., 2014 ; Singer and Klimecki, 2014 ; Strauss et al., 2016 ; Sinclair et al., 2017c ; Gilbert, 2019 ). From this starting point, we will survey research conducted on compassion and related constructs that share or resemble some or all of the basic criteria that characterize compassion. These are (1) an awareness of another’s suffering, (2) a benevolent emotional or affective response, and (3) the motivation to help or act ( Strauss et al., 2016 ).

This theoretical review of empirical methods used to study compassion has the broad aim of promoting communication, collaboration, and convergence across disciplines. Our goal as a team of interdisciplinary scholars trained in foundational and applied areas of public health (K.P., M.A., and T.F.), social psychology (P.C.), biological anthropology (J.M. and T.F.), psychiatry (C.R.), and religious studies (M.F.) is twofold. First, we provide an integrated and interdisciplinary theoretical review of methods currently used in the empirical study of compassion. Second, we examine the strengths and limitations of applying them to specific research questions. We hope this will provide useful tools for selecting methods that are tailored to explicit objectives ( methods matching ), taking advantage of methodological complementarity across disciplines ( methods mixing ), and incorporating the empirical study of compassion into fields in which it may be absent or non-operationalized ( methods missing ) (for an overview of key terminology used in this article, see glossary in Table 1 ).

Table 1. A glossary of terms and their associated definitions used in this paper.

Within the scope of this review, we have deliberately set aside a number of worthwhile goals. First, we do not intend to critique alternate definitions or ways of operationalizing compassion. Constructive critiques are ongoing to refine and validate the construct of compassion, but this is not our project ( Singer and Klimecki, 2014 ; Gu et al., 2017 ). Neither do we intend to privilege any empirical method or set of methods over others. For our purposes here, the suitability of a method is principally driven by research objectives. In addition, while many studies helpfully review and evaluate the impact of compassion ( Eisenberg et al., 2010 ; Perrone-McGovern et al., 2014 ), these are too numerous and wide-ranging to adequately evaluate here. Moreover, this will not be a systematic or meta-analytic review of any one method. Our goal, instead, is to forge connections between disparate areas of compassion research in order to generate an overview of the current state of available methods for studying compassion. Lastly, we do not seek to prescribe directions for future research. Rather, we will conclude with recommendations for selecting and combining methods to advance understandings of compassion and maximize knowledge transfer across domains.

Research indicates that compassion has immediate health benefits for both the giver and receiver ( Fogarty et al., 1999 ; Steffen and Masters, 2005 ; Galante et al., 2014 ), positively impacts relationship outcomes ( Neff and Beretvas, 2013 ; Perrone-McGovern et al., 2014 ), and improves resilience in the context of adversity threat ( Cosley et al., 2010 ; Neff and McGehee, 2010 ; Lim and DeSteno, 2016 ; Presnell, 2018 ). In medical care, compassion is linked with improved patient satisfaction, compliance, and clinical outcomes ( Patel et al., 2019 ). In the workplace, compassion is associated with improved employee resilience and retention, as well as overall organizational health ( Kanov et al., 2004 ; Spreitzer et al., 2013 ). In educational settings, compassion is associated with emotional well-being among children and adolescents ( Neff and Pittman, 2010 ; Roeser and Eccles, 2015 ), and cultivating compassion during adolescence may lay the foundation for well-being during this sensitive period of social development and beyond ( Játiva and Cerezo, 2014 ; Roeser and Pinela, 2014 ; Bach and Guse, 2015 ). Compassion also stands at the center of some third-wave psychotherapeutic interventions, which emphasize the relationship between thoughts and emotions ( Gilbert, 2010 , 2014b ; Hayes and Hofmann, 2017 ). For example, compassion-focused therapy is an evolutionarily and neurophysiologically informed approach to psychotherapy that aims to improve mental health by understanding and promoting a compassionate motivational system ( Gilbert, 2014b ).

In many contexts, compassion is thought to be trainable either as a skill in itself or as an emergent gestalt of underlying skills that can be cultivated ( Kanov et al., 2004 ; Klimecki et al., 2014 ). Motivated by this assumption, evidence-based training programs have proliferated for cultivating compassion for social and emotional health ( Pace et al., 2009 ; Germer and Neff, 2013 ; Jazaieri et al., 2013 ; Roeser et al., 2018 ; Schuling et al., 2018 ; Borden, 2019 ; Condon and Makransky, 2020 ). Compassion has also emerged as a core value and “active ingredient” of diverse helping professions and professional environments, especially in medical care. At least 25 interventions have been developed to cultivate compassionate nursing care ( McCaffrey and McConnell, 2015 ; Blomberg et al., 2016 ), and compassion training has become a more explicit goal of medical training and practice and is a key component of the American Medical Association’s first principle of medical ethics ( Shih et al., 2013 ; American Medical Association, 2016 ; Rao and Kemper, 2017 ). In addition, in 2013, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services implemented a value-based purchasing system that tied hospital reimbursement to patient satisfaction surveys, making patient-rated compassion critical to healthcare systems’ bottom line ( Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), HHS, 2011 ).

While this breadth and depth of research on compassion and compassion training has arguably advanced scientific understanding and improved clinical, educational, and professional outcomes, there are several inherent issues complicating the study of compassion. First, because compassion includes both an affective and motivational component, there is a lack of consensus about how to compare and draw inferences from studies employing disparate units of measurement or levels of analysis. For example, recurring questions arise about relationships between behavioral and physiological observations on the one hand, and indicators of compassionate affect and motivation on the other: Can researchers intuit a compassionate state in the absence of physiological or behavioral data? Can researchers intuit a compassionate state from physiology or behavior alone ?

Second, prominent models of compassion implicitly or explicitly assume that compassion emerges from discrete competencies, which can, in turn, be differentially facilitated or inhibited ( Halifax, 2012 ; Lown, 2016 ; Gu et al., 2017 ). One influential evolutionary account theorizes that compassion is a suite of universal physiological and experiential responses that emerges because of situation-dependent cognitive appraisals. Besides the basic perception that someone is indeed suffering, compassionate responding is facilitated by the following appraisals: (1) the suffering individual is both relevant and of value to oneself; (2) the sufferer does not deserve their suffering; and (3) one is capable of helping ( Goetz et al., 2010 ). The influence of this and similar models has propelled research focused on emotions and skills that may be necessary but incomplete constituents of compassion. Understanding complex interactions among these components requires empirical strategies that can differentiate between them and explore their dynamics.

Third, compassionate responses themselves are context-, experience-, and state-dependent, requiring empirical methods sensitive to factors ranging from bodily states to social and environmental conditions. A large body of theoretical and experimental research indicates that compassion is influenced by the observer’s perceptions of the in-group/out-group status of the suffering individual(s) ( Cikara et al., 2011 ; Preston and Ritter, 2013 ). Such perceptions can depend on psychological resources ( Dyrbye et al., 2019 ), environment ( Kim and Lopez de Leon, 2019 ), psychological priming ( Mikulincer and Shaver, 2001 ), and training or intervention ( Kang et al., 2014 ). Understanding this broader picture of compassion, including psychological states and traits, relationships, environment, and personal history, is crucial for designing appropriate compassion research and for interpreting and contextualizing any findings.

Fourth, multiple related constructs, including but not limited to altruism, empathy, empathic concern, sympathy, prosociality, and care, overlap with broad understandings of compassion and should be considered part of the body of empirical knowledge about it. Significant obstacles to comparing data on compassion-related constructs arise because of well-documented shifts in how they are operationalized and defined ( Batson, 2009 ; Marsh, 2019 ). Yet, their conceptual relatedness suggests that mapping—that is, formalizing and conventionalizing how terms in one research domain correspond with one or more terms in another field—could reveal that transdisciplinary findings converge in significant ways. Related, disparate fields of inquiry have distinct sets of methodologies, assumptions, and theoretical frameworks, which we will explore below. All of these inherent challenges invite consideration from those designing, interpreting, and evaluating research on compassion in any discipline.

We understand ways of knowing compassion to be any empirical phenomena that signal to an investigator that compassionate affect, motivation, and action are present in an individual or group. This includes signs that a necessary component of or condition for compassion may be present. Such an empirical approach to understanding compassion requires a consilient effort to alternate between vantages that focus on measurable physical, biological, and behavioral changes, and on more holistic vantages that focus on human-level, emergent properties of experience and interaction ( Slingerland and Collard (eds), 2012a ). Each way of knowing compassion that we describe evinces strengths and limitations. Some are more deeply shaped by the propensities of humans as social beings, including tendencies toward explanatory confabulation, concern for socially desirable self-representation, expectancy bias, memory bias, errors in affective forecasting, and plain old not knowing . Through understanding these, we can identify complementarity among different frameworks and methodologies and combine approaches and findings strategically to strengthen evidence and claims.

Among the ways of identifying and quantifying compassion, four clusters of features serve as guideposts or heuristics: (1) empirical perspective, (2) state versus trait, (3) quantitative versus qualitative, and (4) ecological validity. Figure 1 organizes the major methodologies reviewed according to these guiding heuristics.

Figure 1. Mapping the ways of knowing compassion. This figure maps the major methodologies reviewed here into theoretical spaces. The shape of the methodology denotes frame of reference. Color represents the extent to which that method has ecological validity. Positioning on the x -axis corresponds to the extent to which a method measures internal versus external aspects of compassion. Positioning on the y -axis corresponds to whether the methodology is generally used to measure state or trait compassion or is used to measure both. Methods on the line between state and trait can be used to measure both, depending on the specifics of the methodology.

Empirical Perspective

To examine diverse methods for studying compassion, we will employ a heuristic feature related to the empirical perspective or point of view reflected in their evidence. That is, if there is a compassionate experience in question, it may be examined from a first-, second-, or third-person perspective. First-person data typically focus on the subjective experience and self-reported assessment of one’s own compassion, collected in scale questionnaires, interviews, and focus groups. Studies that rely at least partially on first-person perspectives collect participants’ reports on subjective experiences of compassionate feelings and motivations in response to others’ suffering. Methodologies rely on data emerging from first-person perspectives, when researchers collect, analyze, and interpret participants’ observations as primary evidence of compassion, or when study participants interpret their own experience of compassion as in phenomenological accounts. Second-person data often represent the perspective of the receiver or in vivo witness of compassion. Studies that depend on second-person evidence assess when and how participants recognize and experience compassion in others, be they companions, peers, caregivers, supervisors, or entire organizations. A third-person perspective, or observational perspective, applies when the experimenter or observer determines the presence, absence, and measurement of compassion, and interprets evidence such as physiological and behavioral observations. In this case, the observer neither experiences nor receives the compassion in question. These three perspectives can be mapped onto the emic and etic distinctions ( Pike, 1967 ). Here, third-person perspectives emerge from an etic point of view: observations made by persons outside and relatively objective to the compassionate feeling, action, or interaction under study. First- and second-person perspectives arise from the emic point of view, provided by those who have an insider’s perspective on the compassion (or lack thereof). Of note, we use this heuristic differently than qualitative researchers, who often refer to the interviewee and interviewer using a first- and second-person distinction ( Stelter, 2010 ).

Each empirical method or way of knowing compassion yields evidence from one or more of these perspectives and can be strategically selected to address the researchers’ questions, frameworks, or models of compassion. In other words, those interested in the internal thoughts or emotions surrounding compassion may be correct in prioritizing a first-person perspective. On the other hand, researchers interested in the behavioral aspect of compassion may be better served by informant-reporting and/or third-person measures (discussed below). Complementary first- and second-person measures may together create a more nuanced, accurate understanding of the relationship between internal states and external behavior. Moreover, combining self-report with second- or third-person reporting promises to generate new questions and hypotheses to explain conflicting evidence. In the main sections of this review to follow, we found empirical perspective to be a helpful superordinate criterion for organizing and presenting the various ways of knowing compassion.

State Versus Trait

Another heuristic is the familiar psychological distinction between dispositional or trait-level versus momentary or state-level measurement. Many studies employ measures that frame compassion as a fluctuating internal state , and self-report is used to query the extent to which a respondent endorses feeling compassion at that point in time. In addition to self-report measures of compassionate states, researchers also detect compassion by observing behavior—including speech—that is best explained by the occurrence of a compassionate state, such as responding to another person’s suffering with demonstrable care or help (or expressing the desire to respond). These approaches investigate the relationship between internal processes and/or external circumstances and varying intensities of compassionate affect, motivation, and observable behavior.

Other research methods seek to understand compassion as an enduring individual or psychological trait . Traits, unlike states, are relatively stable aspects of a person’s way of thinking, feeling, and acting across time and in a broad range of circumstances. Because fluctuating conditions or contexts tend not to dislodge an individual’s traits, their origins or causes are, in theory, traceable to more stable and general underlying processes. This is not to say that traits are immutable or hardwired. Indeed, contemplative practices and other ways of priming and cultivating compassion usually presume that repeatedly engendering compassionate states will gradually strengthen the corresponding trait ( McCrae and Costa, 1995 ; Baumert et al., 2017 ; Goleman and Davidson, 2017 ). Similarly, in the context of social and emotional education, traits are considered factors that have some level of mutability over child development ( Knafo et al., 2008 ; Bengtsson et al., 2016 ). This view of traits is informed by Bandura’s (1976 , 1999 ) impact on the field of behavioral learning, which posits that traits can be capabilities that are learned. From this perspective, compassion, like other social and emotional capabilities, can be cultivated over the course of child development and with training, an assumption that guides many social and emotional development programs. Some methods reviewed below aim to illuminate dispositional or trait compassion or the extent to which individuals tend to have compassion throughout their life.

Quantitative Versus Qualitative

A third heuristic category that distinguishes ways of knowing compassion is the distinction between quantitative and qualitative methods. Quantitative data are numeric values that correspond directly or indirectly to measurements and/or observations of compassionate phenomena. Qualitative data, by contrast, describe compassionate phenomena in language or images to be interpreted using non-mathematical methods. While specific features of qualitative data, such as directions of change, intensities, frequencies, etc., can be systematically quantified, doing so rounds out potentially explanatory features and context that do not translate into numeric values ( Gavin, 2008 ; Ruane, 2016 ). Merging two of the heuristics that we will use here, all three empirical (first-, second-, and third-person) perspectives can be queried using quantitative and qualitative methods.

Ecological Validity

Lastly, ways of knowing compassion generate data that vary in ecological validity , meaning that they cannot be uniformly transferred or generalized from controlled settings to real-life contexts outside the research setting. Theoretically, the more closely a study’s methods mirror everyday life, the more ecologically valid their evidence will be. Usually, studies with stricter control of variables sacrifice this advantage in favor of precision, replicability, or other strengths. Ecological validity is an especially weighty consideration in light of the social and environmental situatedness of emotions and the centrality of emotion, in the form of affect and motivation, to our understanding of compassion and how it manifests ( Griffiths and Scarantino, 2009 ).

Ways of Knowing Compassion

First-person perspective.

In this section, we begin our review of ways of knowing compassion with research methods for collecting and analyzing first-person empirical evidence, including quantitative and qualitative approaches to understanding compassionate states and traits.

Quantitative

Self-report measures that use first-person data to quantify compassion are the most common methodological tools researchers use, particularly in the health and psychological sciences ( Sinclair et al., 2017c ), and are by far the most common outcome measures used in randomized controlled trials to assess the impacts of interventions for increasing compassion and prosociality ( Luberto et al., 2018 ). The majority of self-report measures assess compassion as a dispositional or trait-like quality. One example, the Compassionate Love Scale ( Sprecher and Fehr, 2005 ), rates 21 items reflecting two subscales: compassion toward significant others (example item: “If a person close to me needs help, I would do almost anything I could to help him or her”) and compassion toward strangers or humanity more widely (example item: “When I see people I do not know feeling sad, I feel a need to reach out to them”).

Self-report measures of the absence or inhibition of compassion are arguably more developed within the literature than measures of compassion itself. These compassion-negative constructs include empathic distress, 1 burnout, compassion fatigue, and secondary traumatic stress. They indicate conditions in which a potential caregiver fails to experience or exhibit compassion. The implicit and sometimes explicit explanation is that the caregiver’s reserves of compassion are depleted and/or displaced by feelings of frustration, emotional isolation, exhaustion, and a decreased sense of accomplishment and meaning ( Boyle, 2015 ). Compassion fatigue has been studied among caregivers and providers who work in stressful environments and who are frequently exposed to suffering and death, including physicians, nurses, first responders, teachers in at-risk school districts, and spiritual caregivers ( Roberts et al., 2003 ; Yoder, 2010 ; Hotchkiss and Lesher, 2018 ; Buelher, 2019 ). In healthcare, the Professional Quality of Life Scale is frequently used to examine the relationship between compassion fatigue, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress among providers ( Alkema et al., 2008 ; Smart et al., 2014 ; Beaumont et al., 2016 ). While the construct of compassion fatigue receives frequent attention, critical reviews of this area highlight the need for further research that explicitly addresses the relationship between failures of compassion and compassion itself ( Fernando, and Consedine, 2014 ; Ledoux, 2015 ; Sinclair et al., 2017b ). Measurement will be integral toward this end.

Whether quantifying compassion or its absence, self-report measures have various limitations ( Strauss et al., 2016 ). Many commonly used scale questionnaires are retrospective in nature, meaning they require participants to summarize their experience over an entire day, week, month, or a lifetime (e.g., “How much stress have you felt over the past 2 weeks?”; Conner and Barrett, 2012 ). These retrospective measures tend to reflect participants’ beliefs about themselves rather than their actual behavior, lived experience, or physiological correlates ( Mauss and Robinson, 2009 ). Relatedly, in simulation or hypothetical scenario-based questionnaires, participants may be asked to recall or imagine a helping scenario, rate their sense of compassion, and speculate about whether they would help. Responses in this paradigm are most likely driven by generalizations about the self (e.g., “I am a compassionate person”) and about the value of specific emotions and helping behavior (e.g., “Compassion leads to helping, which feels good.”). People often underestimate or overestimate how they might feel in a hypothetical circumstance, which is known as a limitation in affective forecasting ( Wilson and Gilbert, 2003 ). For instance, physicians’ reports of their probable experience of compassion in response to hypothetical vignettes might not resemble their actual interactions with patients. Further complicating matters, the self-reported experience of an emotion does not always match prototypical conceptions of emotional experiences, for example, when fear feels pleasant during a scary movie. This mismatch has been shown to be true of compassion in particular, with study participants reporting that compassion prototypically feels uniformly pleasant yet describing both pleasant and unpleasant experiences of compassion ( Condon and Barrett, 2013 ).

Because of limitations of retrospective self-reports, many researchers rely on momentary measures, often classified as ecological momentary assessment or experience sampling techniques. These techniques require participants to carry a device, such as a smartphone, and respond to alerts or prompts in the moment throughout their day (e.g., “How much compassion do you feel toward your patients?”). Studies have shown that such measures are more closely associated with real-time physiology and behavior patterns than retrospective self-report measures ( Conner and Barrett, 2012 ). This technique has not been widely applied to the study of compassion; however, one experience sampling study demonstrated that compassion meditation training resulted in reduced momentary reports of mind-wandering and corresponding increases in self-reported caring behaviors ( Jazaieri et al., 2016 ). While findings from momentary assessment have high ecological, convergent, and predictive validity, they are time- and resource-intensive. Moreover, although momentary reports overcome some of the limitations of retrospective reports, they remain subject to social desirability and participant expectations, although likely to a lesser degree.

Qualitative

Qualitative, first-person methods based on narratives, interviews, interactions, or focus groups examine the richer contours of compassion. These approaches allow participants to contextualize their responses, appraise significance, and inform researchers about unexpected factors that arise in situ . They capture first-person experiences and interpretations, although not exclusively. To analyze the complexity of narratives, dialog, and descriptions requires rigorous planning, often relying on computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software ( Lewins and Silver, 2007 ; Saldaña, 2011 , 2016 ).

Qualitative descriptive (QD) research uses a variety of forms of data, including first-person accounts, to craft a detailed description of a situation or process and suggest further avenues of inquiry ( Sandelowski, 2000 ; Leeman et al., 2007 ; Kim et al., 2017 ). This method has been used to investigate experiences and causes of compassion fatigue among nurses ( Berg et al., 2016 ; Fukumori et al., 2018 ). Often, QD research is an initial step before more controlled and fine-grained experimentation and analysis ( Neergaard et al., 2009 ).

Grounded theory is a more methodologically formal procedure for analyzing qualitative data, which is used in the human, social, and health sciences. It involves time-consuming recursive sifting, categorizing (i.e., coding), and interpretation to discover recurring themes and patterns in participants’ responses and interactions ( Bryant and Charmaz, 2007 ). To understand compassion, grounded theorists examine firsthand accounts of participants’ perceptions and/or experiences by reviewing and sorting transcribed interviews and interactions to identify themes or patterns that recur throughout a data set and code passages of text exemplifying those themes. They then interpret the prevalence and significance of recurring themes and features (for examples, see Crowther et al., 2013 ; McPherson et al., 2016 ; Sinclair et al., 2017a ; Tierney et al., 2017 ; Jain et al., 2019 ). Many grounded theory accounts focus exclusively on respondents’ conceptual understandings of compassion and may not assess any specific occurrence of compassion. Such projects help constitute a way of knowing how compassion is understood by a person or group. In general, grounded theory is best suited to exploratory projects that supplement or pave the way for explanatory studies ( Bryant and Charmaz, 2010 ).

Other qualitative research in the human and social sciences relies on a phenomenological framework for collecting and analyzing first-person data ( Dowling, 2007 ). This approach takes inspiration from the philosophical phenomenological tradition initiated by Edmund Husserl and developed by subsequent phenomenologists interested in developing a rigorous “descriptive psychology” of conscious phenomena such as existence, perception, care, and empathy ( Husserl, 1989 ; Stein, 1989 ; Fisette, 2018 ; Zahavi, 2018 ). From its inception, phenomenology arguably launched the first-person empirical study of compassion-related experiences. Phenomenological method involves systematically altering one’s attitude toward one’s own perceptions and cognitions, which permits a more rigorous and systematic study of subjective states. By investigating how different phenomena appear to conscious awareness, phenomenologists seek to discover an underlying structure governing consciousness itself.

However, philosophically trained phenomenological researchers are quick to note that the majority of phenomenology-inspired scientific studies depart significantly from foundational methods and questions and are conspicuously unconcerned with investigating the structure of consciousness ( Giorgi, 2010 ; Smith, 2016 ). Phenomenology-inspired empirical studies of compassion address questions ranging from how participants identify subjective experiences of feeling, receiving, and training in compassion ( Pauley and McPherson, 2010 ), to what compassion “is like for them” to experience, receive, and cultivate ( Lawrence and Lee, 2014 ; Jarvis, 2017 ). Other studies address similar questions regarding compassion inhibition, fatigue, etc. ( Waite et al., 2015 ; Jack, 2017 ).

All qualitative first-person evidence has the potential to reveal insights into how compassion is conceived of and experienced firsthand and how conscious, subjective understandings, and attitudes lead to compassionate behavior. For example, qualitative approaches have documented the uniquely rewarding and replenishing feelings that can be associated with compassion, even in the face of suffering, a documented experience of highly trained contemplative practitioners ( Dreyfus, 2001 ). First-person perspectives also reflect human sensitivities to social desirability, usually framed as an evaluative bias, which is the tendency to present oneself in a positive light and potentially underreport socially undesirable thoughts or behaviors. The presence of an interviewer often increases social desirability biases, an effect that can be moderated by the gender and characteristics of the respondent ( Krumpal, 2013 ). Qualitative researchers have given rigorous thought to minimizing social desirability biased responding, especially in interviews about highly evaluative topics ( Fisher, 1993 ; Johnson and Van de Vijver, 2003 ; Bergen and Labonté, 2020 ). While subjective, qualitative accounts of compassion draw connections between experiences, interpretations, and acts of compassion, findings are often not intended to be generalizable or transferable to different groups and settings. Still, it is clear that first-person data can reveal otherwise unknowable information about the mental contents of the compassionate (or non-compassionate) individual being studied. In this way, first-person data can also be used to complement second- and third-person empirical perspectives.

Second-Person Perspective

The limitations inherent to first-person reports of such a highly evaluative construct as compassion highlight the importance of verification with other empirical perspectives. Methods examining second-person evidence of compassion, also referred to as informant reporting , is one approach for doing so. Examples of informant reports of compassion include teacher reporting on children’s compassion, often using a psychometric instrument such as the Prosocial Behavior subscale of the Teacher Social Competence Scale ( Harter, 1982 ). Other informant reports measure compassionate acts within an intimate relationship, for example, Reis et al. (2014) ’ 10-item dyadic inventory of compassionate acts.

Informant reporting by medical patients is a common method for assessing healthcare provider compassion ( Sinclair et al., 2017c ). Scale questionnaires measure general state-level compassion conveyed in a particular clinical encounter. Examples of such tools include the Physician Compassion Questionnaire ( Fogarty et al., 1999 ), the Compassionate Care Assessment Tool ( Burnell and Agan, 2013 ), the Schwartz Center Compassionate Care Scale ( Lown et al., 2015 ), and a new 5-item clinician compassion measure ( Roberts et al., 2019 ). Healthcare provider compassion is also measured by informant reports from colleagues in both allopathic and osteopathic medicine ( Evans et al., 2004 ), as well as clinical psychology ( Kaslow et al., 2009 ).

Some widely used measures of patient satisfaction in healthcare assess general aspects of care that are understood to tangentially reflect patient experiences of compassionate care. The Press Ganey patient satisfaction survey includes items assessing the degree to which hospital staff “addressed your spiritual needs” and “addressed your emotional needs.” One study of more than 1.7 million patient responses observed that ratings of how well staff addressed patients’ spiritual and emotional needs correlated with three Press Ganey performance areas: (1) staff response to concerns or complaints, (2) staff effort to include patients in treatment decisions, and (3) staff sensitivity to the inconvenience that health problems and hospitalization can cause ( Clark et al., 2003 ). The Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems, a patient satisfaction measure widely used in Medicare and Medicaid value-based purchasing, has versions for hospital (H-CAHPS) and outpatient (CG-CAHPS) contexts ( Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), HHS, 2011 ; Dyer et al., 2012 ). One cross-sectional study of 269 acute care hospitals in the United States found that hospitals that reward provider compassion and provide compassionate support for their employees have higher H-CAHPS ratings and are more likely to be recommended by patients ( McClelland and Vogus, 2014 ). The H-CAHPS survey has also been used to examine compassion in the context of a hospital chaplain consultation by measuring elements of the interaction commonly understood to comprise compassionate care ( Marin et al., 2015 ).

Qualitative research methods are also used to examine compassion from second-person perspectives. Indeed, this method may be a particularly apt alternative or complement to the measurement of overt or external behavior and its impact ( Vazire and Mehl, 2008 ). In-depth interviews allow participants to report on the importance and meaning of receiving compassion, specifics that could not be anticipated in a survey question and that may not translate into quantitative measurement. In their exemplary study, Sinclair et al. (2016a) interviewed 53 palliative care patients and used grounded theory to analyze their experiences of providers’ compassion. They also compared these experiences of compassion with patients’ experiences of related constructs, such as empathy and sympathy ( Sinclair et al., 2017a ). They found that patients viewed overt behaviors such as demonstrative and grandiose expressions of emotion as emblematic of sympathy and reported it as off-putting. In contrast, patients saw subtle behaviors, often falling outside of routine care and tailored to individual needs, as authentically compassionate ( Sinclair et al., 2017a ). The resultant empirical model of compassion is arguably the most comprehensive in clinical medicine. It identifies provider virtues such as authenticity, tolerance, and honesty as essential ingredients of compassion, and it details how these requisites of compassion are carried out in a clinical relational context.

While these strengths may tempt us to conclude that informant reports are inherently more reliable and powerful than self-reports of compassion, it is important to consider the potential sources of explicit and implicit bias when using second-person compassion data, just as with first-person data. Again, our point is not to discourage the use of any research method, but rather to assist in strategic use of multiple research methods to gain a clearer understanding of compassionate phenomena. First, it is likely that informant reports of compassion are skewed by cultural and class differences, as well as racial and gender biases, similar to those shown to impact informant reporting of other non-compassion behaviors and competencies (for example, in student evaluations, Fan et al., 2019 ). There is, moreover, some evidence to indicate that such biases may influence perceptions of care received from out-group members. For example, one study found that patient–provider social concordance levels (a measure of the patient and provider’s match on race, gender, age, and educational status) were related to patient ratings of satisfaction with their provider’s care ( Thornton et al., 2011 ). Therefore, rather than ranking the value of any one perspective on compassion, we believe that matching methods and perspectives to the research questions they are best suited to answer is vital, as we will discuss below.

Third-Person Perspective

A broad array of methods and evidence are used when observing compassion from a third-person point of view. In fact, any quantitative and qualitative data can be studied from a third-person standpoint, even when the evidence itself reflects participants’ subjective experiences of extending and receiving compassion. The crucial difference lies in whether data are examined for their insights into the subjective perception, experience, or understanding of compassion, or whether data are being marshaled as intersubjective evidence of compassion itself. In this review, we do not intend to overlook the ways that third-person observers’ subjective tendencies influence their findings and conclusions. This undoubtedly influences all research on compassion. However, we distinguish empirical perspectives as third-personal by emphasizing how the object of inquiry is specified, while remaining cognizant that there will be overlap and ambiguity in specific cases. Third-person evidence may include researcher’s observations of human-, animal-, and group-level behavior and functioning, as well as measurements of physiological changes from which compassion might be inferred, such as brain states, facial expressions, writings, etc. Human-made products—discourse, design principles, art, laws, archeological, and other artifacts—can also serve as intersubjective evidence of compassion. In the following section, we discuss several forms of third-person evidence from which a state or disposition of compassion may be inferred.

Compassionate Behavior

A great deal of behavioral research on compassion is conducted using social psychology experimental methodologies. Social psychologists generally view compassion as a prosocial state that is responsive to others’ suffering and that motivates costly helping behaviors intended to alleviate suffering, potentially at the expense of oneself. An action or state is prosocial to the extent that it is conducive to social bonding and acceptance. While prosocial helping is distinct from compassion, it is understood as an outcome of some compassionate motivational state. As such, costly helping behavior is often used to infer that compassion is present. For this reason, observations of helping behaviors have been instrumental in garnering ecological validity for compassion as a psychological construct that can influence human (and perhaps animal) behavior. Batson et al. (1983) pioneered several paradigms for studying costly helping in which participants observe a confederate —an actor posing as a study participant—typically facing a difficult situation, such as receiving electric shocks or experiencing distress over a car crash or academic demands. Importantly, these paradigms are constructed such that self-interested factors such as seeking social recognition and avoiding punishment could not explain the participant’s decision to engage in the costly helping behavior. Participants who opt to help are therefore thought to be demonstrating a compassionate state ( Batson et al., 1991 ; Batson, 2009 ; Goetz et al., 2010 ).

Confederate paradigms that assess prosocial behavior in real-time settings are perhaps the criterion standard for ecologically valid prosociality research—they overcome limitations of self-reports because of memory and affective forecasting biases and provide direct assessment of actions that alleviate others’ suffering in situations that reflect daily life. In this way, researchers can measure prosocial behavior when participants themselves are not aware that they are being observed. At the same time, confederate paradigms can be difficult or inefficient to implement, given that they require careful training of confederates and careful debriefing to assess participant suspicion. Additionally, some research scenarios may skew behaviors in a prosocial direction. For example, a participant might demonstrate compassion for someone receiving shocks or struggling with academic work within a confederate paradigm but may not be able to access or extend compassion as readily in a familiar context. Intriguingly, experiments using confederate scenarios have demonstrated the efficacy of mindfulness and compassion training for enhancing prosocial behaviors, even when situational pressures dampen the impulse to help, such as offering one’s seat to a stranger who is using crutches, even when others seated nearby are unresponsive and ostensibly less considerate ( Condon et al., 2013 ).

Other research in social psychology has used both naturalistic and simulated settings to demonstrate positive changes in real-world prosocial behavior after various types of meditation training across different contexts. In one study, mindfulness training was associated with participants’ increased willingness to interact with an ostracized individual via Cyberball, a computer-based ball-tossing game, an effect that was mediated by self-reported warmth and compassion ( Berry et al., 2018 ). Compassion training was also associated with reduced amygdala reactivity and more sustained visual attention to scenes of suffering in an experiment using an eye-tracking protocol ( Weng et al., 2018 ). In another experiment, compassion training was associated with greater increase in participants’ optimism and willingness to write a letter to a convicted murderer ( Koopmann-Holm et al., 2019 ). Behavioral markers of compassion in naturalistic settings, much like confederate-paradigm studies, can require extra time and resources to capture and evaluate, yet they reveal diverse genres of compassion-evincing behaviors across contexts and populations.

As an alternative to confederate and other behavioral paradigms, researchers often use controlled economic exchanges to examine generosity and cooperation in monetary transactions. Various studies have demonstrated that kindness-oriented meditation programs enhance prosocial behavior in the form of economic donations. Loving–kindness meditation has been shown to enhance prosocial helping in computer-based video games ( Leiberg et al., 2011 ) and in online economic transactions ( Weng et al., 2013 , 2015 ). Among preschoolers, a mindfulness-based kindness curriculum resulted in increased peer donations of stickers ( Flook et al., 2015 ). Economic paradigms have also been fruitful in neuroimaging studies that link compassion-related neural processes with prosocial behavior ( Leiberg et al., 2011 ; Weng et al., 2015 ; Ashar et al., 2016 ). While behavioral economic measures offer a well-controlled environment for research on prosocial behavior and are widely used for studying influences on human cooperation and moral decision-making, they are often conducted via computer-based interfaces and impose artificial constraints on social exchange. This approach lacks ecological validity with respect to real-time face-to-face social interactions. Results likely reflect distinctive psychological dynamics of exchange relationships that may not apply to the social bonds that occur in close communal relationships ( Clark and Mils, 1993 ). It is unclear to what extent economic generosity extends to common real-world situations involving the suffering of another individual that would purportedly elicit compassion (e.g., an interaction with a student who is struggling or a patient who is sick).

An alternative to experimental behavioral paradigms such as the confederate or behavioral economic approaches described above are naturalistic observational methods that increase ecological validity and reduce evaluative biases. One example is the Electronically Activated Recorder (EAR), an audio recorder that intermittently captures ambient sound throughout a person’s daily routine without the person being aware of when it is recording, yielding an acoustic log of the person’s day ( Mehl, 2017 ). Previous studies have used the EAR to examine fathers’ empathic language and compassionate responses to their child’s cries ( Mascaro et al., 2017 ). Another study used the EAR to examine correlations between (1) participants’ self-reported mindfulness and (2) language and behavioral indicators associated with mindfulness ( Kaplan et al., 2018 ). The authors found that self-reported mindfulness was not related to prosocial behavior as assessed by the EAR, highlighting the kind of mismatch that can occur between different empirical perspectives (first- vs. third-person). To our knowledge, few studies have explicitly used the EAR to study compassion in the wild , and it remains a methodological tool of relatively high and untapped potential. While naturalistic observations offer high levels of external and ecological validity, they often generate a wealth of data and are time consuming to code and evaluate. In addition, they may be prohibitive in contexts where privacy and confidentiality are at a premium, for example, in clinical contexts.

Compassion in Dyads

Some third-person methods assess compassionate responding by evaluating a dynamic encounter between two or more people, such that the measurement takes into account the interchange between individuals. In the field of family psychology, researchers investigate dyadic behavior between parents and children or between intimate partners. A standard experiment involves having a parent and child collaborate on a difficult task. Researchers code and quantify communication and behavioral indicators that convey warmth (e.g., affection, encouragement, etc.) or that lack warmth (e.g., criticism, eye rolling, etc.) ( Miller et al., 2015 ). Paradigms such as these can be used to couple personal, interpersonal, and physiological correlates with parental compassion ( Miller, 2018 ). For example, Leerkes et al. (2016) examined mothers’ physiological arousal and behavior in response to a distressed infant, with a focus on sensitivity (e.g., appropriate calming behavior) and lack thereof (withdrawing). Methods such as this have been used to examine the impact of life history or trauma exposure on maternal caregiving behavior that occurs in the context of a mother–infant dyad ( Strathearn et al., 2009 ). While the behaviors and constructs examined in these studies are often referred to as something other than compassion (e.g., parental warmth), from our perspective there is a great deal of overlap between these concepts and the model of compassion as an affective and motivational response to perceiving another’s suffering. We believe these findings will converge with those of related disciplines explicitly studying compassion.

Because compassion contributes to success in clinical encounters, third-person behavioral observations are also used to evaluate and understand compassion in these dyadic encounters. Interactions between patients and providers are either observed or recorded, and those data were analyzed using a variety of approaches (e.g., grounded theory). For example, Suchman et al. (1997) examined transcripts of clinical interactions for patients’ emotional expression (direct or implied) and corresponding physician responsiveness. Others have used an ethnographic observational approach and qualitative analysis to examine compassionate communication in hospice, in which the researchers provided a rich description of hospice workers engaging in emotion recognition, relating, and reacting to alleviate patient suffering ( Way and Tracy, 2012 ).

A dyadic approach avoids many of the limitations and biases inherent in the use of self-report questionnaires. It also yields more ecologically valid findings than many behavioral paradigms, and dyadic analysis is a particularly useful tool to understand how compassion unfolds verbally or non-verbally among individuals. However, dyadic approaches are not without limitations. Of primary concern is a lack of agreement regarding the optimal markers or exemplars of compassionate behavior. For example, what constitutes compassion in a provider–patient interaction? Across studies examining patient–provider communication, a diversity of linguistic and performative markers have been coded as compassion ( Beck et al., 2002 ). Common themes included reassurance, active listening, and responsiveness to emotional cues, yet consensus is lacking. Finally, if compassion requires an affective response and motivation to help, as is suggested by most definitions, then all observable behavior, whether occurring in dyads or not, must assess compassionate intentions primarily by inference.

Organizational Compassion

Emergent features of communities and organizations constitute yet another way of knowing compassion. In an influential article, Kanov et al. (2004) define organizational compassion as a collective noticing, feeling, and responding to suffering that promotes healing. They argue that organizational compassion differs from individual-level compassion in that it is collective, sanctioned, promoted, or codified by organizational norms and policies and then coordinated and propagated across individuals. Cameron and others likewise differentiate research investigating the culture and functions of an organization itself (“virtuousness through organizations”) from studies focused on individuals acting compassionately within an organizational context (i.e., “virtuousness in organizations”) ( Kanov et al., 2004 ; Dutton et al., 2006 ; Cameron, 2017 ). Of the former, empirically tractable factors such as shared values, shared beliefs, norms, practices, leaders’ behavior, and the structure and quality of relationships relate to and indicate the emergence of organizational compassion ( Lilius et al., 2008 ; Dutton et al., 2014 ; Cameron, 2017 ).

Physiology and Compassion

Detectable changes in the functioning and structures of the body are alternative ways of knowing compassion. In general, this physiological frame of reference rests on the tenet that brain and body systems are shaped by natural selection to engender compassion and related prosocial emotions and skills. A second tenet is that these states are associated with outward compassionate behavior. It follows from these assumptions that physiological assessment helps us understand the body’s necessary conditions and likely outcomes of compassion, as well as individual variation. In addition, there is often an implicit or explicit claim that physiological measures, not being subject to self-report biases described above, are inherently more accurate than other measures ( Kirby et al., 2017 ).

The neurophysiological domain advances our ability to describe and quantify the activity of neural systems involved in compassion using neuroimaging assessment tools such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) ( Kim et al., 2020a ), high-density electroencephalography and event-related potentials, and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) ( Petrocchi et al., 2017b ). A common method involves inducing the affective components of compassion in participants using emotionally evocative picture or video stimuli of suffering others and comparing this putatively compassionate neural response to that which occurs while viewing neutral stimuli or stimuli thought to elicit other emotions, such as pride ( Simon-Thomas et al., 2011 ; Klimecki et al., 2012 ). Other studies have examined the relationship between prosocial behavior during an economic game and neural activity elicited by compassion-inducing stimuli ( Weng et al., 2013 ). Still other neurophysiological studies also look for correlations between participants’ self-reported state-level compassionate affect and neural activity elicited by a compassion-inducing task (see for example, Marsh et al., 2014 ; Brethel-Haurwitz et al., 2017 ). Other studies have examined brain function during the self-directed cultivation of compassion, for example, during compassion meditation ( Engström and Söderfeldt, 2010 ; Schoenberg et al., 2018 ) or after compassion meditation training ( Mascaro et al., 2013a , b ). Findings from these assessments are inherently constrained by the relative paucity of ecological validity that can be achieved in a scanner environment, the inferences necessary to link behavior with internal compassionate states, and biases inherent in self-reports. Notably, a recent meta-analysis found some inconsistency in the existing findings on the neural correlates of compassion, especially with respect to the amygdala and midbrain regions important for pain modulation and autonomic function, which may relate to whether the compassion in question was generated as a “top-down” or “bottom-up” process. While there was a high degree of consistency in other brain regions thought to be important for compassion (anterior cingulate cortex, bilateral anterior insula, basal ganglia, and bilateral inferior frontal gyri), this meta-analysis pointed to a relative sameness in the methods used thus far to study compassion in the fMRI scanner. The researchers ultimately advocated increased specification of research targets and additional innovative methods to advance neurophysiological understandings of compassion ( Kim et al., 2020a ). Future research that combines multimodal physiological assessments will be informative for potentially providing convergent evidence about the bidirectional associations between multiple physiological systems important for compassion (e.g., see Nguyen et al., 2016 ; Petrocchi et al., 2017b ; Kim et al., 2020b ). Moreover, future studies combining neuroimaging assessments with behavioral and experience sampling methods will extend the ecological validity, precision, and discriminant validity of existing measures of compassion.

A related physiological methodology focuses on the role of neuropeptides thought to be important modulators of compassion. Oxytocin is a neuropeptide synthesized in the paraventricular and supraoptic nuclei of the hypothalamus and stored and released back into the brain and into peripheral circulation by the pituitary gland. Thus, oxytocin acts as both a hormone and a neuropeptide and has effects on both the brain and the body. Two decades of research have focused attention on the role of oxytocin in parental attachment and bonding, as well as in prosocial emotions, motivations, and behavior more broadly ( Bethlehem et al., 2013 ; Johnson and Young, 2017 ). For example, Palgi et al. (2014) conducted a double-blind, crossover experiment in which participants self-administered either intranasal oxytocin or a placebo before listening to stories of suffering and writing compassionate responses to the victims in each story. The presence of self-administered oxytocin was associated with more compassionate responses toward women but not toward men. Other groups have examined the relationship between endogenous oxytocin and the amount of compassion participants report receiving or experiencing toward others. For example, endogenous oxytocin levels are positively correlated with the amount of maternal compassion that patients with bipolar disorder report receiving as a child ( Ebert et al., 2018 ).

Other researchers have examined the possibility that autonomic responses to suffering, and their downstream impact on heart rate and breathing, can serve as a bodily signal of compassion. Porges’ polyvagal theory posits that, in the face of another’s suffering, an initial fight–flight response has to be down-regulated via myelinated vagal efferent pathways of the parasympathetic nervous system. Vagal tone, as the activation of these pathways is sometimes called, impacts cardiac function and the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis to support “spontaneous social engagement” in the face of distress by dampening other, less prosocial responses ( Porges, 2007 ). Early research in this area highlighted the measurement of heart rate variability (HRV) as an indicator of parasympathetic activity. HRV is a measurement of the beat-to-beat changes in cardiac output, and early thought was that the ratio of high-frequency (HF) to low-frequency (LF) HRV reflects the intrinsic balance between parasympathetic and sympathetic activity. However, more recently, researchers have called into question whether the ratio of HF HRV to LF HRV is an accurate metric for the ratio between sympathetic and parasympathetic activity and identified alternate calculations of vagal tone as a more accurate reflection of the underlying physiology ( Heathers, 2014 ). HF HRV and the root mean-square of successive differences have both been used in recent research as a measure of autonomic control of the heart, mediated by the vagus nerve ( Matos et al., 2017 ; Petrocchi et al., 2017a ; Kim et al., 2020b ).

As recent critiques have improved the rigor of research using HRV as an index of vagal tone ( Heathers et al., 2015 ), accumulating evidence supports the measurement of HRV for understanding and evaluating compassion. Researchers have found that HRV relates to the experience of compassion and predicted compassionate behavior ( Stellar et al., 2015 ). Others have found that compassionate responses appear to rely on the parasympathetic nervous system to modulate the emotional response to suffering, as indexed by HRV ( Rockliff et al., 2008 ). Still others have found that training in compassion meditation or engaging with compassion-focused therapy improves HRV, either during a resting state ( Matos et al., 2017 ; Kim et al., 2020c ), in response to stressful stimuli or a task ( Petrocchi et al., 2017a ; Ceccarelli et al., 2019 ), or during compassion training itself ( Kim et al., 2020b ). While not explicitly investigating compassion, another recent study used tDCS applied near the left anterior insula and found that stimulation increased both self-reported soothing positive affect and HF HRV. This innovative methodological approach links a brain region hypothesized to be important for compassion and empathy to both compassion-related affect and changes in HRV ( Petrocchi et al., 2017b ). Based on these findings, some have argued that HRV should be included as a primary outcome measure when assessing and training compassion ( Kirby et al., 2017 ), and recent meta-analytic evidence supports this approach ( Di Bello et al., 2020 ).

Other researchers have used the Facial Action Coding System (FACS) to quantify the spontaneous expression of compassionate affect elicited by video stimuli ( Baránková et al., 2019 ). One of the first uses of this methodology emerged in a study of adults and children whose facial movements were documented as they watched a compassion-inducing video ( Eisenberg et al., 1989 ). Researchers found that movements indicating “concerned attention” or “sympathy-directed toward another” correlated with later helping behavior. Compassionate facial movements included lowered and/or furrowed eyebrows, lowered upper eyelids, and sometimes raised lower eyelids, facing forward, and relaxation of the lower face and jaw. Another group used FACS to evaluate physiognomic responses to video stimuli of human suffering to determine whether responses were impacted by a 3-month meditation retreat ( Rosenberg et al., 2015 ). They found that the intensive meditation training increased facial displays of sadness and decreased displays of rejection (operationalized as anger, contempt, or disgust). Of note, a recent theoretical article by Barrett et al. (2019) is skeptical of facial indicators of emotion, arguing that people do not express emotions with enough consistency or specificity to allow for the kinds of inferences made from FACS assessment. Moreover, even among prominent emotion scientists who endorse the theory that a core set of emotions has discrete biological bases—often referred to as “basic emotions”—a large majority (80%) do not believe compassion to be a discrete emotion ( Ekman, 2016 ).

Compassion in Text

Other methodologies are used to qualitatively mine textual content for elements of compassion. Some researchers have used qualitative analysis of content from online platforms such as Facebook or Twitter to look at compassionate language and activity within a Facebook support group ( Pounds et al., 2018 ) or by soliciting Twitter users to describe instances of organizational compassion toward healthcare staff ( Clyne et al., 2018 ). As with non-virtual interactions, online communities can be analyzed at the individual or dyadic (and beyond) level, which has the potential to reveal the dynamic nature of the digitally mediated expression and reception of compassion ( Sun, 2019 ). Others have conducted archival text analysis, for example, analyzing first- and second-century medical writing for evidence of physician compassion ( Porter, 2016 ), or used exegetical and hermeneutic approaches to sacred texts to derive doctrinal or personal positions on compassion (See for example Sears, 1998 ; McCaffrey et al., 2012 ; Gibson, 2015 ; T̈āhir ul-Qādrī, 2015 ). While textual analysis has many of the strengths of the third-person perspective, one must consider the source of the text, which in some cases may be self-reported or informant-reported and therefore subject to the limitations of those methodologies.

Summary and Conclusion

In this review, we have surveyed a variety of indicators and measures that have been used to define and study compassion. Examining these methodologies in the context of one another is vital to making compassion research more accurate, reliable, and transferable. It is also key for increasing knowledge transfer across the range of academic disciplines and other fields of compassion inquiry. Compassion is a multifaceted, intersubjective object of inquiry, glimpsed from a variety of separate viewpoints, each of which contributes to the unity of knowledge about compassion. We end with three summary points:

Method Matching

First, we find it evident from this review that the method(s) chosen to evaluate compassion should be theory-grounded and guided by specific research hypotheses. There may be times when first-person self-report measures are the best choice; however, those should be privileged only when the person’s internal states are most crucial to the hypothesis being tested and with recognition of the limitations of this methodology. Similarly, it stands to reason that other hypotheses will require methods that tap other perspectives and frames of reference. For example, identifying facilitators and inhibitors of helping behaviors directed toward strangers would be most directly inferred from third-person (i.e., behavior-based) evidence rather than self-report.

We also suggest that more thought is warranted on the use of state measures of compassion when testing hypotheses about trait compassion. Behavioral and confederate paradigms are frequently used to measure changes in trait compassion, for example, after a compassion-training intervention. The underlying rationale is that one’s augmented compassionate trait makes it more likely that they will enter into a compassionate state, such that measuring the likelihood of a compassionate response tells us something about trait compassion. The relationship between trait and state compassion is of great interest to many, and more methodological sensitivity toward this issue will be important toward advancing the field of compassion science.

Method Missing

In addition, our review process showed that certain research areas that target compassion would benefit from measurement techniques that are more fine-grained and that explicitly assess compassion. Some K–12 education programs explicitly target compassion cultivation as a broader focus, yet the majority of the effectiveness studies that provide the evidence base for such programs do not assess changes in compassion as a primary outcome being measured ( Jones et al., 2017 ). This lack of explicit measurement makes it difficult to meaningfully evaluate whether compassion-based interventions targeting K–12 students actually promote the development of compassion. Given the demonstrated impact of compassion cultivation on resilience in adulthood ( Bach and Guse, 2015 ; Bluth et al., 2016 ), education research explicitly assessing compassion in childhood and adolescence is well-warranted. Relatedly, the field of social and emotional education development could greatly benefit from interdisciplinary collaborations to create such measures.

It is also clear that there is a lack of clarity about how to measure compassion at the level of organizations and communities. Do the three core components of compassion—awareness of suffering, an affective response, and a motivation to help—also hold for organizations and communities? If so, what do “awareness” and “affective response” look like at the community or organizational level, and how can it be measured?

We have made the claim here that discipline-specific constructs such as parental warmth share a conceptual relatedness with compassion, such that cross-disciplinary sharing may reveal convergences. While this idea has in part motivated the current review, we view this claim as an empirical question for future research. Thus arise questions such as “What does the construct of parental warmth share with compassion for those who are unrelated?” We acknowledge that questions like these are not new (e.g., see Swain et al., 2012 ), but we contend that they will be informed by increased sharing of methods across disciplines. Of note, given the problematic history of the conflation of terms and constructs across disciplines, such work will require care and precision so as not to cause further confusion.

Method Mixing

A key point that emerges from this review is the importance of strategic method mixing for studies of compassion. The multiple frames of reference we have discussed can be combined to create a more accurate understanding of the relationship between internal emotions, goals, and perceptions on the one hand, and external behavior on the other. There are valuable exemplars of method mixing already in the literature. For example, Sinclair et al. (2017a , 2018) used second-person qualitative evidence to understand the perspective of patients receiving compassion and then conducted a follow-up study to understand healthcare providers’ first-person experiences offering compassion. We are optimistic that future research across disciplines will continue to utilize method-mixing approaches; however, it is important to note that at times the results of such method mixing may contradict one another. In fact, this may be important in its own right. The resulting ambivalence can be addressed by enhanced research methods that combine and cross-reference multiple ways of knowing, such as correlating individuals’ self-report scale measures with their behavior, with informant reports, or by using neurophenomenological experimental designs. For example, within intimate couples, first- and second-person reporting could be combined to reveal discrepancies between the way compassion was intended and the way it was received. It is exactly this type of method mixing that has been called for in compassion neuroimaging studies, where researchers have argued that including measurements of both motivation and action in research on the physiology of compassion will be crucial toward establishing links between neurobiology, emotion, and behavior outside the laboratory ( Kim et al., 2020b ).

Moreover, method mixing could advance consensus within controversial areas such as self-compassion and compassion fatigue research. We believe combinations of first-, second-, and third-person compassion measures would help solidify our understanding of how compassion for self relates to compassion for others ( López et al., 2018 ). In clinical research, method mixing can inform how obstacles to provider compassion relate to compassion failures and in so doing will provide a more nuanced landscape for identifying organizational solutions and interventions. Progress here will move the field beyond vague and abstract notions of compassion fatigue resulting from a depleted compassion reservoir and toward a richer understanding of the contexts and resources that foster sustainable compassion. Increasing the versatility and eclecticism of compassion research is of critical importance to comprehensive and interdisciplinary examinations of diverse ways of knowing compassion.

Limitations

Our intent in this review was to summarize the current state of methodologies that are used to understand and quantify compassion across widely varying fields of inquiry. No doubt we bring our own disciplinary biases to this work, but throughout we have used this space to bridge disparate fields. These biases may have led us to overlook important methods that could have further enhanced this review. Moreover, while we defined compassion in accordance with our own disciplines, there are nuanced differences in how compassion is operationalized that will influence the methods chosen to study it. Because of issues of feasibility, while we attempt to incorporate disparate fields of compassion research, we were unable to review all areas to the same degree as the literature from psychology, religion, and contemplative science, with which we are most familiar.

We contend that a better understanding of ways of knowing compassion is a type of consilience that at its best can improve research design, unify knowledge, and bridge disciplines for the benefit of all investigators interested in compassion ( Wilson, 1999 ; Slingerland and Collard, 2012b ). Future research will advance our knowledge by innovating novel ways of combining the measurement of multiple indicators of compassion. Ultimately, research designs that link the affective, cognitive, and motivational components of compassion with compassionate behavior will be of benefit to the many clinical, education, organizational, and interpersonal domains in which compassion is so critical to positive outcomes.

Author Contributions

JM, MF, MA, PP, TF, and PC conceived of the manuscript and wrote significant sections. All authors provided critical and substantive feedback and critical revisions for important intellectual content.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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Keywords : compassion, empathy, altruism, methods, phenomenology, compassion meditation

Citation: Mascaro JS, Florian MP, Ash MJ, Palmer PK, Frazier T, Condon P and Raison C (2020) Ways of Knowing Compassion: How Do We Come to Know, Understand, and Measure Compassion When We See It? Front. Psychol. 11:547241. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.547241

Received: 30 March 2020; Accepted: 28 August 2020; Published: 02 October 2020.

Reviewed by:

Copyright © 2020 Mascaro, Florian, Ash, Palmer, Frazier, Condon and Raison. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Jennifer S. Mascaro, [email protected]

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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Telling The Truth With Compassion

Truth expressed without compassion can easily be hurtful. Compassion expressed without honesty becomes delusional. Ultimately to create a healthier world, truth needs to be joined with compassion when relating with ourselves as well as with others. You likely have heard others claiming to be just ‘telling the truth,’ when in reality they are using the truth as a weapon to hurt us or someone else. Truth is important, but we need to be conscious of why and how we express something that may be hurtful to another. Truth and Compassion are important values that at times may pull in different directions. At NHI, we learn that compassion, and compassionate truth-telling, is a healing modality in its own right. Massage, compassion, the truth, empty cups and full-hearted living are among the healing skills our students learn.

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The impact of helping others – a deep dive into the benefits of providing support to those in need.

Compassion is a virtue that ignites the flames of kindness and empathy in our hearts. It is an innate human quality that has the power to bring light into the lives of those in need. When we extend a helping hand to others, we not only uplift their spirits but also nourish our own souls. The act of kindness and compassion resonates in the depths of our being, reminding us of the interconnectedness and shared humanity we all possess.

In a world that can sometimes be filled with hardships and struggles, the power of compassion shines like a beacon of hope. It is through offering a listening ear, a comforting embrace, or a simple gesture of kindness that we can make a profound impact on someone else’s life. The ripple effect of compassion is endless, as the seeds of love and understanding we sow in others’ hearts continue to grow and flourish, spreading positivity and light wherever they go.

The Significance of Compassionate Acts

Compassionate acts have a profound impact on both the giver and the receiver. When we extend a helping hand to others in need, we not only alleviate their suffering but also experience a sense of fulfillment and purpose. Compassion fosters a sense of connection and empathy, strengthening our bonds with others and creating a more caring and supportive community.

Moreover, compassionate acts have a ripple effect, inspiring others to pay it forward and perpetuate kindness. One small act of compassion can set off a chain reaction of positive deeds, influencing the world in ways we may never fully realize. By showing compassion to others, we contribute to a more compassionate and understanding society, one that values empathy and kindness above all else.

Understanding the Impact

Helping others can have a profound impact not only on those receiving assistance but also on the individuals providing help. When we lend a hand to someone in need, we are not just offering material support; we are also showing compassion and empathy . This act of kindness can strengthen bonds between individuals and foster a sense of community .

Furthermore, helping others can boost our own well-being . Studies have shown that acts of kindness and generosity can reduce stress , improve mood , and enhance overall happiness . By giving back , we not only make a positive impact on the lives of others but also nourish our own souls .

Benefits of Helping Others

There are numerous benefits to helping others, both for the recipient and for the giver. Here are some of the key advantages:

• Increased feelings of happiness and fulfilment
• Improved mental health and well-being
• Building stronger connections and relationships with others
• Reduced stress levels and improved self-esteem
• Promoting a sense of purpose and meaning in life
• Contributing to a more compassionate and caring society

By helping others, we not only make a positive impact on the world around us but also experience personal growth and benefits that can enhance our overall happiness and well-being.

Empathy and Connection

Empathy plays a crucial role in our ability to connect with others and understand their experiences. When we practice empathy, we put ourselves in someone else’s shoes and try to see the world from their perspective. This act of compassion allows us to build a connection based on understanding and mutual respect.

By cultivating empathy, we can bridge the gap between different individuals and communities, fostering a sense of unity and solidarity. Empathy helps us recognize the humanity in others, regardless of their background or circumstances, and promotes a culture of kindness and inclusivity.

Through empathy, we not only show compassion towards those in need but also create a supportive environment where everyone feels valued and understood. It is through empathy that we can truly make a difference in the lives of others and build a more compassionate society.

Spreading Positivity Through Kindness

One of the most powerful ways to help others is by spreading positivity through acts of kindness. Kindness has the remarkable ability to brighten someone’s day, lift their spirits, and create a ripple effect of happiness in the world.

Simple gestures like giving a compliment, lending a helping hand, or sharing a smile can make a significant impact on someone’s life. These acts of kindness not only benefit the recipient but also bring a sense of fulfillment and joy to the giver.

When we choose to spread positivity through kindness, we contribute to building a more compassionate and caring society. By showing empathy and understanding towards others, we create a supportive environment where people feel valued and respected.

Kindness is contagious and has the power to inspire others to pay it forward, creating a chain reaction of goodwill and compassion. By incorporating acts of kindness into our daily lives, we can make a positive difference and help create a better world for all.

Creating a Ripple Effect

When we extend a helping hand to others, we set off a chain reaction that can have a profound impact on the world around us. Just like a stone thrown into a calm pond creates ripples that spread outward, our acts of compassion can touch the lives of many, inspiring them to do the same.

By showing kindness and empathy, we not only make a difference in the lives of those we help but also create a ripple effect that can lead to positive change in our communities and beyond. A small gesture of kindness can ignite a spark of hope in someone’s heart, motivating them to pay it forward and spread compassion to others.

Each act of generosity and care has the power to create a ripple effect that can ripple outwards, reaching far beyond our immediate circles. As more and more people join in this chain of kindness, the impact multiplies, creating a wave of positivity that can transform the world one small act of kindness at a time.

Building a Stronger Community

One of the key benefits of helping others is the positive impact it can have on building a stronger community. When individuals come together to support one another, whether it’s through acts of kindness, volunteering, or simply being there for someone in need, it fosters a sense of unity and connection. This sense of community helps to create a supportive and caring environment where people feel valued and respected.

By helping others, we also set an example for those around us, inspiring others to also lend a hand and contribute to the well-being of the community. This ripple effect can lead to a chain reaction of kindness and generosity that can ultimately make the community a better place for everyone.

Furthermore, when people feel supported and cared for by their community, they are more likely to be happier and healthier, both mentally and physically. This sense of belonging and connection can help to reduce feelings of isolation and loneliness, and can improve overall well-being.

In conclusion, building a stronger community through helping others is essential for creating a more positive and caring society. By coming together and supporting one another, we can create a community that is resilient, compassionate, and unified.

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Student Essays

Essay on Compassion | Meaning, Purpose, Importance of Compassion in Life

Compassion is the powerful motivating force that is essentially important in our lives. The following essay, written by our experts, sheds light upon the meaning, purpose and importance of having compassion in life This essay is quite helpful for children & students in their school exams, college test, etc

Essay on Compassion | Meaning, Purpose & Importance of having Compassion in Life

The Compassion is an emotional energy that we feel for someone or something else and which draws us to offer our support. If we have compassion for someone in need, it means that we feel their pain in our own hearts and are motivated to alleviate it in some way.

On a broader scale, compassion is loving kindness. It’s the heartfelt intention to offer hope and support, to feel someone else’s pain as if it is our own and to offer help.

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Compassion vs Empathy:

Empathy can be defined as, “the feeling that you understand and share another person’s experiences and emotions.”

While both compassion and empathy are about relating to the feelings of others, empathy is more focused on the other person’s emotions. Compassion expands that focus to include a desire to help. It shows up as wanting to support, to be there for someone in a time of need, and to offer help.

Empathy often causes an emotional resonance within us that motivates us to action, which is an aspect of compassion. However, empathy can be limited by our own feelings and experiences. For example, if someone else is feeling sad, but the only thing you can relate to in that moment is your own sadness, you may feel empathy for them but not be able to experience their sadness fully. This might lead you to try to cheer them up instead of letting them feel what they need to feel in order to heal.

On the other hand, compassion is more about emotional resonance and less about our own emotions. Because of this, it can be a more effective motivator for both giving and receiving help.

Kinds of Compassion

Compassion can be broken down into two categories: familial and altruistic. Familial love is the kind of compassion that comes from our personal family experiences. Whenever we feel love for someone in our family, we are experiencing familial compassion. For example, your parents showed you love and support when you were growing up—those are moments of familial compassion.

Altruistic love is the kind that focuses on loving others without any expectation for reciprocity. It’s the kind of love that you can feel for people you don’t know or have just met. It’s what leads to charity, volunteering, and philanthropy. People who dedicate their lives to helping others are often motivated by altruistic love.

Compassion in our daily Life

Having compassion for ourselves and others is an important part of keeping our hearts open. We all experience challenges in life that can cause us to shut down and close our hearts. When we have compassion for ourselves in these moments, it can prevent us from closing down further.

Compassion is also often necessary when helping others. If we are trying to support a homeless person on the street, for example, it’s much more helpful if we can offer them compassion. If we are judgmental of their situation, if we think that they “should” be doing something about it or that this is “their own fault,” we are not offering effective support. The same can be said for trying to help someone who is grieving, or a person struggling with anxiety.

It’s important to receive compassion as well as offer it. We all need support sometimes, and when we don’t get it, we can feel even worse about ourselves and the situation. If you are going through a tough time, it’s important to receive compassion from others to keep your heart open.

In order to offer compassion, we have to practice awareness of the suffering in our world and take a stand against it. We can’t offer compassion if we don’t know about the problem. In addition, mindful awareness of our own thoughts and feelings is a crucial part of compassion. Without self-awareness we can’t know what others need and we won’t be able to relate to them properly.

Developing Compassion in Life

Compassion can be developed by practicing mindfulness and meditation. Mindfulness is the practice of keeping our attention on the present moment and noticing how we’re feeling. We can think of this as “taking a moment” to check in with ourselves. Meditation is another way to practice mindfulness.

Compassion can also be encouraged by focusing on people’s beneficial qualities rather than their shortcomings or mistakes. If you focus mainly on the negative qualities of someone who is suffering, it can be harder to feel compassion for them. Another way to develop more compassion is by trying to imagine

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Compassion is essential to keeping our hearts open, and developing more of it will ultimately help us build better relationships with others. When we feel compassion, we feel motivated to help and support others, but it’s important to recognize that compassion is a whole-hearted feeling, not an emotion. Therefore it’s important that we also receive compassion from others, especially when we need it.

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Greater Good Science Center • Magazine • In Action • In Education

The Power of Self-Compassion

Are you your own worst critic?

It’s common to beat ourselves up for faults big and small. But according to psychologist Kristin Neff, that self-criticism comes at a price: It makes us anxious, dissatisfied with our life, and even depressed.

For the last decade, Neff has been a pioneer in the study of “self-compassion,” the revolutionary idea that you can actually be kind to yourself, accept your own faults—and enjoy deep emotional benefits as a result. Last year, she distilled the results of her research in the popular book Self-Compassion . (A Greater Good essay we adapted from the book is the most popular piece we’ve ever published.)

Neff, an associate professor in human development and culture at the University of Texas, Austin, will present highlights from her work at a Greater Good Science Center seminar at UC Berkeley next Friday, March 23, called “Self-Compassion and Emotional Resilience” —part of our “Science of a Meaningful Life” seminar series. The event will be webcast live, so anyone around the world can participate.

As part of our “ Greater Good Podcast ” series, she recently spoke with Greater Good Editor-in-Chief Jason Marsh about how self-compassion differs from self-esteem, why self-compassion can be hard for Americans, and the transformative effect it had on her own life.

You can listen to the interview here , and we encourage you to subscribe to the podcast series through iTunes .

Below we present a condensed version of the discussion.

Jason Marsh: So please start by telling us: What is self-compassion?

Kristin Neff: The quick version is that it’s treating yourself with the same type of kind, caring support and understanding that you would show to anyone you cared about. In fact, most of us make incredibly harsh, cruel self-judgments that we would never make about a total stranger, let alone someone we cared about.

JM: In your work you’ve identified three core components of self-compassion. Could you please tell us what they are?

KN: Right, the first one is self-kindness, as opposed to self-judgment. A lot of times when we suffer, we just take a very cold attitude toward ourselves. So self-compassion involves being warm and supportive—actively soothing ourselves—as opposed to being cold and judging ourselves.

The second part is remembering that imperfection is part of the shared human experience—that you’re not alone in your suffering. Often, when something goes wrong, we look in the mirror and don’t like what we see—we feel very isolated in that moment, as if everyone else has these perfect lives and it’s just us who’s flawed and defective. When we remember that imperfection is part of the shared human experience, you can actually feel more connected to people in those moments.

The third component is mindfulness. If you aren’t mindfully aware that you’re suffering, if you’re just repressing your pain or ignoring it or getting lost in problem solving, you can’t give yourself compassion. You have to say, “Wait a second. This hurts. This is really hard. This is a moment where I need compassion.” If you don’t want to go there, if it’s too painful or you’re just too busy to go there, you can’t be compassionate.

JM: When I hear you describe it like that, it seems so obvious that this is something we should all try to practice. Yet the truth of the matter, which you explain in your book, is that a lot of us, most of us perhaps, are really bad at practicing self-compassion. Why do you think that is? And why is that such a bad thing?

KN: It’s very interesting because in our culture, we value compassion for others. We see clearly that it’s good to be a supportive friend and be kind to others, to help those in need.

We treat ourselves very differently than we treat other people. And I think there are several reasons why.

One of the big reasons is that people feel that they need to be self-critical in order to motivate themselves. We think we need to beat ourselves up if we make mistakes so that we won’t do it again. It’s a convoluted form of self-care: I criticize myself because I don’t want to keep engaging in this behavior that’s problematic.

More on Self-Compassion

Register for Neff's upcoming Greater Good Science Center seminar (which includes a live webcast), "Self-Compassion and Emotional Resilience."

But that’s completely counterproductive. Self-criticism is very strongly linked to depression. And depression is antithetical to motivation: You’re unable to be motivated to change if you’re depressed. It causes us to lose faith in ourselves, and that’s going to make us less likely to try to change and conditions us for failure. If every time you fail or make a mistake you beat yourself up, you’re going to very quickly try to avoid failure at all costs. It’s a natural survival instinct. Which means you may not take risks—maybe you take the course that’s an easy A [instead of a more challenging one].

Maybe the biggest problem with using self-criticism as a motivator is that if it’s really painful to be honest with yourself about your weaknesses—because you know you’re going to tear yourself to shreds with self-criticism—your subconscious pulls every trick in the book to not have to own up to your weaknesses.

The easiest trick is to blame someone else. Think about fights you have with your significant other—“You did it!” “No, you did it!” Each one’s trying to defend their ego, blaming the other person. But when you have self-compassion, it actually gives you the courage and the emotional safety you need to say, “Mea culpa—I did do that, I was out of line.” And that clarity actually gives you not only the wisdom to see what needs changing but the emotional strength and courage to go ahead and change it.

JM: So what what’s the difference between self-esteem and self-compassion?

KN: Self-compassion and self-esteem both involve positive emotions toward the self. But self-esteem is about judging yourself positively: I am good. Or, unfortunately, if you can’t keep up that self-definition: I am bad.

Self-compassion does not involve judgment or evaluation. It’s not about, “What type of person am I?” It’s just about: I’m suffering—can I respond to my suffering with kindness, understanding, caring, and concern?

Self-esteem is present when we succeed. Self-compassion is a way of relating to ourselves kindly when we fail. Self-esteem is all about being special and above average. You subtly try to position yourself above other people so you can maintain your self-esteem. But self-compassion is about shared humanity—it’s all about being average. It’s about being a human: We have strengths and beautiful qualities, and we have weaknesses; we succeed and we fail and it’s all part of this shared human condition.

JM: I want to talk a little bit about your personal experience with self-compassion, how you really came to embrace it both personally and scientifically. How did you personally come to believe in the importance of self-compassion?

KN: I had a hippie, New-Agey childhood. But when I got to Berkeley for grad school, I decided I had to reject all that. And then what happened was—if you read my book, I tell my dirty laundry—but basically I was going through a very messy divorce, and I was stressed about finishing my dissertation and finding a job. There was a lot going on in my life. And I realized that when I just went for the intellect and tried to reject all my spirituality, I was shutting myself down. So I decided to give Buddhism a try.

I started meditating. And the lady teaching the meditation class talked a lot about self-compassion, and I just thought, “Oh my god, not only is this what I need, but this makes so much sense. Why has no one ever just said before, ‘You really should be kind to yourself, and it’ll actually be really healthy if you are?’” It immediately changed my life, so much so that when I got remarried shortly thereafter, we ended our marriage vows with the vow to help each other be more self-compassionate. We were both so moved by the concept.

After doing my post-doc and getting the job at UT-Austin, it was kind of scary because no one knew how to even define self-compassion, let alone conduct research on it in academia, although a lot of people had written about it in other circles. But I just knew that this was so important, I wanted it to be my life’s work. I started doing research on it, and I continued to practice it—going on retreats, practicing in my daily life, etc. But when it really saved me was when my son was diagnosed with autism in 2004.

I can’t even imagine how I would have coped if I didn’t have my self-compassion practice. I was able to fully accept my grief, not feel guilty for grieving, which a lot of autism parents do: “How can I be grieving for my child who I love so much?” I was able to accept all my complex, intense emotions, to really soothe and comfort myself for what I was going through.

With autism, you are powerless. When my son used to have tantrums in public, there was nothing I could do.  I was completely powerless. I could try to keep him safe and that’s about it.  So self-compassion allowed me to accept that, and open my heart to it—he’d be throwing a tantrum, and I would just be saying, “Let me be kind to myself right now, let me be kind to myself, let me…” I would actually focus on myself rather than him, after making sure he was safe. I couldn’t help him, but I could help myself in that moment.

Self-compassion gave me the emotional stability I needed to help him, and then ultimately to embrace him, with a much more open heart and open mind than I would have been able to—to not try to fix him or control him but to celebrate who I was and kind of follow his lead. I won’t go into it here, but my husband wrote a book, and we made a documentary, called The Horse Boy , which is really about what happens if you open your heart and your mind to a child with autism or special needs.

JM: So it sounds like self-compassion was a revelation for you in your personal life and your family life. But why study it? Why would it necessarily follow that you should study it scientifically, especially given that there was a chance you could find no measurable benefits?

KN: Well, to be totally honest, I was convinced of the benefits and felt that what I wanted to do was demonstrate empirically that there were benefits. I don’t know what I would’ve done if there were no benefits. I probably would’ve still practiced self-compassion because it worked for me, but I would’ve been a bit flabbergasted if the data didn’t come out. Although I must admit, I was surprised by how strongly the links were between self-compassion and well-being—they’re really strong, robust associations. I thought, “Wow, we’re onto something here.”

JM: Looking back over the last decade or so of research, what are the findings that you think really attest to the benefits of self-compassion? KN: Well, there’s the data supporting the fact that self-compassion has the same mental health benefits as self-esteem: less depression, more optimism, greater happiness, more life satisfaction. But self-compassion offers the benefits without the drawbacks of self-esteem. Self-esteem is associated with narcissism; self-compassion isn’t. It’s self-compassion, not self-esteem, that predicts stability of self-worth—a type of self-worth that isn’t contingent on outcomes—as well as less social comparison, less reactive anger.

Now a lot of research is coming out around health behaviors, showing that people who practice self-compassion make really wise health choices. They exercise more for intrinsic reasons, they can stick to their diets, they go to the doctor more often, they practice safer sex. All this research is coming out showing that self-compassion is not just a good idea, and it doesn’t just make you feel good, it makes you act in healthier ways.

Also, people who are self-compassionate are kinder, more giving, and supportive to their relationship partners.

JM: Those research results sound encouraging, but could they just reflect that people who are self-compassionate also have these other traits and practice these other behaviors? Or is there research suggesting that self-compassion can actually be taught, and that by learning self-compassion, those other benefits will follow?

KN: Yeah, the research is already there, and it’s going to continue. There’s a lot of research on MBSR—Jon Kabat-Zinns’ Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program—and all the benefits that accrue from that. Well, it turns out that self-compassion increases through participation in the course; in fact, it may be that self-compassion is perhaps even the most powerful outcome of MBSR training that enhances well-being.

Some of the studies I’m talking about are based on short-term interventions, training people over four weeks. But my colleague Chris Germer and I have developed an eight-week program, very similar in structure to mindfulness-based stress reduction, where two hours a week for eight weeks, we talk about self-compassion, we teach exercises, we do self-compassion meditations, interpersonal exercises. I’ll have the data very soon to see if it does increase well-being. We’ve done pilot testing without a control group and the results were really good.

I could see this going into the schools. Already, people are starting to talk about teaching compassion in the schools, so I’d like to add this piece of having compassion for yourself as well.

JM: That brings up a point you mentioned earlier. When you talk about teaching self-compassion in schools, I think that might raise some red flags in some people’s minds.  I’m thinking of the concern I’ve heard before: Is self-compassion going to make people complacent and unmotivated to improve themselves and accomplish more?

KN: Yeah, that is a very common concern. It’s actually, I think, the number one block to self-compassion: the fear that if I’m too kind to myself, I’ll be complacent.

The research doesn’t show that.  The research really supports that people who are self-compassionate, their standards are just as high for themselves, but they don’t get as upset when they fail to meet their goals—they cope with it more productively. And as a result, when self-compassionate people don’t reach a goal, they’re much more likely to pick themselves up, dust themselves off, and re-engage in a new goal.

Self-compassion is associated with what’s called “learning goals” rather than “performance goals.” So people who are self-compassionate, they want to learn and grow for its own sake, not because they want to impress other people. There is a huge body of research showing that if your goal is to learn as opposed to just impress others, that’s a much more sustainable way of learning and growing.

JM: So if you could engineer our society in a way that fosters more self-compassion, how would you do that?

KN: I think our obsession with self-esteem and competition does mean that we’d have to engineer things differently here. Is that what we want to be promoting in the schools?  Is that what parents want to be promoting?

We don’t want kids to hate themselves, we want them to feel worthy, but is life all about being better than others?  Is it all about being special and above average? Or is about being a human being as happy and healthy as you possibly can be, about reaching your own potential? And I think if we made that type of cultural shift, at the level of parenting and education, I think we’d have a real chance of shifting things at the larger macro level.

About the Author

Jason Marsh

Jason Marsh is the executive director of the Greater Good Science Center and the editor in chief of Greater Good .

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Self-compassion is something that I am learning about after coming out of a life-altering depression. I realize that I need to be gentler and more supportive of myself, and to tell you the truth, it can be hard to remember to do. But as I practice, it becomes easier, and it is allowing me to see the world around me differently as well. It permits me to be more open and vulnerable, realizing that the harshest judgments often came from myself.

Faith | 2:04 pm, March 25, 2012 | Link

This idea that we must be critical of ourselves lest we lapse into undesirable behavior is critical. In my own - sadly extensive - experience with this tendency, I have found the concern with avoiding mistakes to be not just a source of depression, as Dr. Neff rightly points out, but actually a self-fulfilling prophecy. I am far more likely to get things wrong when I am beating myself up for getting something wrong (or, more often, just thinking that I got something wrong). That observation has led to a more compassionate attitude toward myself, and a wider understanding of this vicious circle would help overcome the larger, social resistance to self-compassion that Dr. Neff describes.

Jeffrey Thompson | 6:11 pm, March 31, 2012 | Link

Wow!  Just as I was beating myself up again for not handling my financial life better and for continually repeating the same mistakes,  I stumbled on this article.  I can’t wait to read the book.

Sandra Rosen | 5:33 am, April 7, 2012 | Link

This also dovetails very nicely with Brene Brown’s work on shame.

Terri | 7:12 am, April 7, 2012 | Link

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What Is Compassion?

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Signs of Compassion

Types of compassion, how to practice compassion, impact of compassion, how to be more compassionate, potential pitfalls of compassion.

Compassion involves feeling another person's pain and wanting to take steps to help relieve their suffering. The word compassion itself derives from Latin and means "to suffer together."

It is related to other emotions such as sympathy, empathy , and altruism , although the concepts have some key differences. Empathy refers more to the general ability to take another person's perspective and feel the emotions of others. Compassion, on the other hand, is what happens when those feelings of empathy are accompanied by the desire to help.

This article discusses the definition of compassion and how to recognize this emotion. It also covers some of the benefits of compassion and what you can do to become a more compassionate person.

Some signs that you have compassion for others include:

• Feeling like you have a great deal in common with other people, even if you are very different in many ways.
• Being able to understand what other people are going through and feeling their pain.
• Being mindful of other people's emotions, thoughts, and experiences.
• Taking action when you see that someone else is suffering.
• Having a high level of emotional intelligence so that you are able to understand, manage, and act on your own emotions as well as the emotions of others.
• Feeling gratitude when other people express compassion for your own hardships.

Compassion often comes in one of two forms, which vary depending on where these feelings are directed. Your experience of compassion may be either directed toward other people, or it may be directed inwardly toward yourself:

• Compassion for others : When you experience compassion for other people, you feel their pain and want to find a way to relieve their suffering. These feelings compel you to take action to do what you can to make the situation better.
• Self-compassion : This involves treating yourself with the same compassion and kindness that you would show to others. Rather than beating yourself up over mistakes you may have made in the past, you feel understanding, mindful, and accepting of yourself and your imperfections.

There are a number of different steps you can take to show compassion to others. 

• Speak with kindness
• Apologize when you've made a mistake
• Listen carefully and without judgment
• Encourage other people
• Offer to help someone with a task
• Be happy for someone else's success
• Accept people for who they are
• Forgive people for making mistakes
• Show respect
• Express gratitude and appreciation

When you practice compassion, you start by empathizing with another person's situation. You look at what they are going through without judgment and imagine how you might feel in their situation.

Compassion and empathy share common elements, but compassion goes a step beyond. Rather than just imagining yourself in their shoes, compassion drives you to take action to help that person. Because you are able to feel those emotions so keenly—almost as if it is happening to you—there is a strong motivation to find a way to change the situation or ease the other person's pain.

Compassion can have a positive impact on your life, ranging from improving your relationships to boosting your overall happiness. Some of the positive effects of compassion:

• Giving feels good : One of the reasons why compassion can be so effective is that both giving and receiving can improve your psychological well-being. Being the recipient of compassion can help you get the support you need to carry you through a difficult time. But giving compassion to others can be just as rewarding. For example, researchers have found that giving money to others who need it actually produces greater happiness rewards than spending it on ourselves.
• Compassionate people live longer : Engaging in activities such as volunteering to help those you feel compassion for can improve your longevity. One study found that people who volunteer out of concern for others tend to live longer than people who do not volunteer.
• Compassion contributes to a life of purpose : One study found that the happiness that comes from living a life of purpose and meaning—one that is fueled by kindness and compassion—can play a role in better health. In the study, participants who experience what is known as eudaimonic happiness—or the kind of happiness that comes from living a meaningful life that involves helping others—experienced lower levels of depression, stronger immunity, and less inflammation.
• Compassion improves relationships : Compassion can also help you build the social support and connections that are important for mental well-being. It can also protect your interpersonal relationships . Research suggests that compassion is a key predictor of the success and satisfaction of relationships.

According to one study published in the journal Emotion , compassion is the single most important predictor of a happy relationship. Interestingly, the study found that while people tend to gain the greatest benefits when their partner notices their acts of kindness, they actually experience benefits whether their partner notices or not. These findings suggest that compassion itself can be its own reward.

Compassion is good for both your physical and mental health. Not only that, it feels good to help others and can contribute to a greater sense of purpose and meaning in your life.

While some people tend to be more compassionate by nature, experts also suggest that there are steps you can take to cultivate a greater sense of compassion for both yourself and others:

• Bring your attention to the situation : The first component of compassion is to become more aware of what other people are experiencing. Imagine yourself in their shoes. Being able to see things from another person’s perspective can help you gain a sense of compassion for their situation. Practice putting yourself in someone else’s place and imagine how you might feel. Focus on feeling how they might be feeling.
• Let go of judgment : Accepting people as they are and avoiding judgment is important. Focus on accepting people for who they are without criticizing or blaming the victim .
• Practice mindfulness : Mindfulness is a practice of focusing on the present, becoming more aware of your own thoughts, and observing these thoughts without judging them. Research suggests that mindfulness-based interventions can be effective for improving self-compassion.
• Try loving-kindness meditation : This form of meditation, also known as compassion meditation, involves meditating while directing kind, compassionate thoughts toward yourself or others. Research suggests that this form of meditation can help people improve their connection to others and boost well-being.

One potential pitfall of compassion is that constant exposure to the distress of others may contribute to what is known as compassion fatigue.

What Is Compassion Fatigue?

Compassion fatigue involves feelings of physical and emotional exhaustion as well as a mental withdrawal from traumatized individuals. It can reduce feelings of empathy and compassion for people who are in need of help.

People who work in helping or caregiving roles (such as nurses, doctors, or emergency care workers) often experience an extreme state of tension as well as a preoccupation with those they are helping. Because of this, helpers can experience symptoms of trauma themselves, and this can potentially dampen their feelings of compassion.

Finding ways to combat compassion fatigue is particularly important in healthcare and other helping professions. Research suggests that interventions that involve mindfulness meditation can help people in these roles experience greater compassion for others, improve positive feelings, and reduce distress.

While it's good to have compassion for others, it's also crucial that you take the time you need for self-care.

A Word From Verywell

Compassion allows you to feel what others are feeling and motivates prosocial behaviors that can improve the well-being of others as well as improve your own physical and mental wellness. While some people experience compassion more often by nature, there are things that you can do to help improve your own ability to feel compassion for others.

Learning this ability takes some time and practice, but it's worth it to keep working on flexing your compassion skills. Being open to feeling what others are feeling can help you create deeper, more meaningful connections. Acting on these feelings of compassion can benefit others, but as the research suggests, sometimes compassion is its own reward.

Lilius J, Kanov J, Dutton J, Worline M, Maitlis S. Compassion Revealed: What We Know About Compassion at Work (and Where We Need to Know More).  Oxford University Press; 2011. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199734610.013.0021

Sinclair S, Beamer K, Hack TF, et al. Sympathy, empathy, and compassion: A grounded theory study of palliative care patients' understandings, experiences, and preferences .  Palliat Med . 2017;31(5):437-447. doi:10.1177/0269216316663499

Dunn EW, Aknin LB, Norton MI. Prosocial spending and happiness: using money to benefit others pays off . Curr Dir Psychol Sci . 2014;23(1):41-47. doi:10.1177/0963721413512503)

Konrath S, Fuhrel-Forbis A, Lou A, Brown S. Motives for volunteering are associated with mortality risk in older adults . Health Psychology . 2012;31(1):87-96. doi:10.1037/a0025226

Fredrickson BL, Grewen KM, Coffey KA, et al. A functional genomic perspective on human well-being . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . 2013;110(33):13684-13689. doi:10.1073/pnas.1305419110

Reis HT, Maniaci MR, Rogge RD. Compassionate acts and everyday emotional well-being among newlyweds . Emotion . 2017 Jun;17(4):751-763. doi:10.1037/emo0000281

Conversano C, Ciacchini R, Orrù G, Di Giuseppe M, Gemignani A, Poli A. Mindfulness, compassion, and self-compassion among health care professionals: what’s new? A systematic review . Front Psychol. 2020;11:1683. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01683

Zeng X, Chiu CP, Wang R, Oei TP, Leung FY. The effect of loving-kindness meditation on positive emotions: a meta-analytic review . Front Psychol . 2015;6:1693. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01693

Cetrano G, Tedeschi F, Rabbi L, et al. How are compassion fatigue, burnout, and compassion satisfaction affected by quality of working life? Findings from a survey of mental health staff in Italy .  BMC Health Serv Res . 2017;17(1):755. doi:10.1186/s12913-017-2726-x

Cocker F, Joss N. Compassion fatigue among healthcare, emergency and community service workers: a systematic review .  Int J Environ Res Public Health . 2016;13(6):618. Published 2016 Jun 22. doi:10.3390/ijerph13060618

Klimecki OM, Leiberg S, Lamm C, Singer T. Functional neural plasticity and associated changes in positive affect after compassion training . Cereb Cortex . 2013 Jul;23(7):1552-61. doi:10.1093/cercor/bhs142

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

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A Call to Compassion

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When we are concerned mainly with our own interests, inevitably we tend to neglect others’ interests. Because of this, preoccupation with our own interests—our own narrow desires, ambitions, and goals—undermines our ability to be compassionate. And since compassion is the source of happiness, self-centeredness prevents us from attaining that spiritual peace—peace of heart and mind—which is the principal characteristic of lasting happiness. Conversely, the more we concern ourselves with providing for others’ well-being, the more meaningful our lives become and the happier we ourselves will be.

(Read Britannica’s biography of the Dalai Lama.)

This is not to suggest that we all become full-time charity workers. What is more helpful—and practical—is that we become full-time workers of “charity” in the sense of kindness and compassion towards all others. As we do so, we will discover that ultimately there is no sharp distinction between our own interests and others’ interests. We all desire and appreciate affection, forbearance, truth, justice, and peace. And these are all both contained within and the fruits of compassion.

In helping others, we provide for our own happiness because happiness is not, we find, an end in itself. Rather it is a by-product of those actions we take for the benefit of others. Thus in serving others we serve ourselves. This is why I sometimes call compassion “wise selfishness.” Compassion entails exercising restraint and disciplining our negative thoughts and emotions out of a sense of responsibility towards all others. Yet alongside kindness, generosity, patience, tolerance, forgiveness, humility, and so on, these are the very things that happiness consists in. Compassion makes us happy!

Essay on Compassion

Students are often asked to write an essay on Compassion in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Compassion

What is compassion.

Compassion is the feeling of caring for others. When you see someone in trouble and feel the urge to help, that’s compassion. It’s like putting yourself in their shoes and feeling what they might be feeling. It’s more than just feeling sorry for them; it’s about wanting to make things better.

Why Compassion Matters

Compassion is important because it makes the world a kinder place. When people help each other, it creates happiness and peace. It’s like a warm blanket on a cold day. Compassion brings us together and helps us to understand one another.

Showing Compassion

You can show compassion in simple ways. If someone falls, you can help them up. If a friend is sad, you can listen and be there for them. It’s not about big things; small acts of kindness show compassion too. By doing these things, we help make the world better for everyone.

Also check:

250 Words Essay on Compassion

Compassion is when you notice someone is sad or in trouble and you want to help them feel better. It’s like when you see a friend fall and scrape their knee, and you feel sorry for them and offer a bandage or a hug. It’s not just feeling sorry, but also doing something to help.

Being compassionate is important because it makes the world a nicer place. When people help each other, it creates a chain of kindness. Imagine if you help someone today, they might help someone else tomorrow. This way, everyone starts feeling better and happier.

Compassion at School

At school, you can show compassion by being a good friend. If someone is alone during recess, you can ask them to play with you. Or if someone is struggling with their homework, you can offer to explain it to them. It’s about being there for others when they need it.

Compassion at Home

You can also be compassionate at home. This could mean helping your parents with chores without them asking or being kind to your siblings even if they annoy you sometimes. It’s doing little things to make your family’s day better.

Compassion is a superpower everyone has. It doesn’t cost money or take much time. It’s about caring for others and acting to make their lives a little bit easier. When we all use this superpower, we make the world a friendlier and more loving place.

500 Words Essay on Compassion

Understanding compassion.

Compassion is a feeling of wanting to help someone who is in trouble or is having a hard time. Imagine you see a friend fall off their bike and hurt their knee. If you feel bad for them and want to help them feel better, that’s compassion. It’s like having a little voice in your heart that tells you to be kind and caring towards others.

Why Compassion Is Important

Being compassionate is very important because it makes the world a nicer place. When people care for each other, they can make each other happy and less sad. It’s like when someone smiles at you and you feel good inside, so you smile at someone else. Compassion is like a chain of smiles that keeps going from one person to another.

Compassion At Home

You can start showing compassion at home with your family. If your brother or sister is upset because they lost their favorite toy, you can hug them or help them look for it. By doing this, you show that you understand their feelings and want to help. This makes your home a warm and loving place where everyone feels safe and cared for.

Compassion At School

School is another place where you can show compassion. If a new student comes to your class and they don’t have friends yet, you can talk to them and invite them to play with you. This can make them feel welcome and less alone. Being kind to others at school can also stop bullying and make everyone feel like they belong.

Compassion In The Community

Compassion doesn’t stop with people you know. You can also show it to others in your community. For example, you can help an elderly neighbor carry their groceries or make a get-well card for someone who is sick. Small acts of kindness can have a big impact on others and make your community a better place.

Learning Compassion

Challenges of being compassionate.

Sometimes, being compassionate can be hard. You might be busy, or you might not want to share your things. But even when it’s tough, it’s important to try to be compassionate. It’s like a muscle that gets stronger the more you use it. The more you practice compassion, the easier it becomes.

The Joy of Compassion

One of the best things about being compassionate is that it makes you feel good too. When you help others, you get a warm feeling inside. It’s like when you give someone a gift and you see their face light up. That happiness you see in them can make you feel happy too.

If you’re looking for more, here are essays on other interesting topics:

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Home — Essay Samples — Life — Compassion — The Power Of Compassion And Its Main Aspects

The Power of Compassion and Its Main Aspects

• Categories: Compassion Empathy Positive Psychology

About this sample

Words: 2711 |

14 min read

Published: Sep 1, 2020

Words: 2711 | Pages: 6 | 14 min read

Table of contents

Introduction, a biblical view of compassion, a mystical perspective on compassion, compassion in healthcare, the neuroscience of compassion, the significance of the day of compassion, summary and c0nclusion, works cited.

• Myss, C. (2004). Sacred Contracts: Awakening Your Divine Potential. Harmony.
• Myss, C. (2009). Defy Gravity: Healing Beyond the Bounds of Reason. Hay House.
• Kearsley, J. H. (2016). Compassion in palliative and supportive care: reflections from patients, families, and healthcare providers. The Permanente Journal, 20(2), 70-74.
• Linn, D. (2000). Soul Coaching: 28 Days to Discover Your Authentic Self. Hay House.
• Linn, D. (2003). Soul Coaching Oracle Cards: What Your Soul Wants You to Know. Hay House.
• Nouwen, H. J. M. (1975). Reaching Out: The Three Movements of the Spiritual Life. Doubleday.
• Decety, J., & Michalska, K. J. (2010). Neurodevelopmental changes in the circuits underlying empathy and sympathy from childhood to adulthood. Developmental science, 13(6), 886-899.
• Batson, C. D., Klein, T. R., Highberger, L., & Shaw, L. L. (1995). Immorality from empathy-induced altruism: When compassion and justice conflict. Journal of personality and social psychology, 68(6), 1042-1054.
• Weng, H. Y., Fox, A. S., Shackman, A. J., Stodola, D. E., Caldwell, J. Z., Olson, M. C., ... & Davidson, R. J. (2013). Compassion training alters altruism and neural responses to suffering. Psychological science, 24(7), 1171-1180.
• Goetz, J. L., Keltner, D., & Simon-Thomas, E. (2010). Compassion: an evolutionary analysis and empirical review. Psychological bulletin, 136(3), 351-374.

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• Truth and Compassion: Essays on Judaism and Religion in Memory of Rabbi Dr Solomon Frank

In this Book

• Edited by Howard Joseph, Jack N. Lightstone, and Michael Oppenheim
• Published by: Wilfrid Laurier University Press
• Series: SR Supplements
• View Citation

These essays represent a multidisciplinary approach to the study of religion and, especially, Judaism.

Setting aside common scholarly concerns with source criticism and history of interpretation, Shimon Levy argues that in Numbers 11 the redactor has forged diverse elements into a unity. Observing that much of what is said about Second Commonwealth Judaic culture is speculative, Jack Lightstone calls for radical revision of accepted portrayals of the period. Ira Robinson's study of al-Kirkisani's effort to differentiate magic and miracle while demonstrating the rationality of belief in miracle locates his thoughts in the context of Rabbinic and Muslim treatments of the subject.

While historians of modern Judaism have acknowledged in the influence of Kant and Hegel, Rousseau, contends Michel Despland, is often overlooked; he opened the way for changes in social and religious life. In Walter Benjamin's philosophy of history Charles Davis finds a significant combining of elements from Kabbalistic and Marxist thought. Michael Oppenheim finds a common core of concerns addressed by modern Jewish philosophers: a struggle with modernity, identification with Jewish thought and values, and commitment to their Jewish communities. Gershon Hundert's "Reflections on the 'Whig' Interpretation of Jewish History" argues—vis-à-vis the Jerusalem school of Zionist historians—that the responsibility of national historians to their community can be fulfilled only by repudiating ideologies that may stand in the way of the search for truth.

Howard Joseph's survey of teh extensive literature on the Holocaust indicates the options the authors find most worthy of continued focus. Jerome Eckstein critically examines one of the few published pieces by Joseph Soloveitchik, who combines the Talmudic genius of the Lithuanian Yeshiva world with mastery of the Western intellectual tradition. B. Barry Levy's study of the Artscroll series of translations of and commentaries on biblical literature examines the assumptions and methodology of the series and the hidden agenda that emerges.

Frederick Bird's comparison of charity ethics in Judaism and Christianity draws attention to the imprint on these ethics of the formative period of each religion.

The volume will be of interest to student of the Bible, Judaism, and Christianity.

Table of Contents

• Title Page, Copyright
• Dedicatory Preface
• The Editors
• Introduction
• A Comparative Study of Charity in Christianity and Judaism
• Frederick B. Bird
• Judaism of the Second Commonwealth: Toward a Reform of the Scholarly Tradition
• Jack N. Lightstone
• Jacob al-Kirkisani on the Reality of Magic and the Nature of the Miraculous: A Study in Tenth-Century Karaite Rationalism
• Ira Robinson
• A Key to Nineteenth-Century Critical Attitudes Towards Religion? The Work of Jean Jacques Rousseau
• Michel Despland
• Walter Benjamin, The Mystical Materialist
• Charles Davis
• Some Underlying Issues of Modern Jewish Philosophy
• Michael D. Oppenheim
• Reflections on the "Whig" Interpretation of Jewish History: Ma'assei banim siman le-'avot
• Gershon David Hundert
• pp. 111-120
• Between Dignity and Redemption: A Critique of Soloveitchik's Adam I and Adam II
• Jerome Eckstein
• pp. 121-136
• Our Torah, Your Torah, and Their Torah: An Evaluation of the Artscroll Phenomenon
• B. Barry Levy
• pp. 137-190
• Some Jewish Theological Reflections on the Holocaust
• Howard Joseph
• pp. 191-200
• Basar Ve-Ruah, Dat U-Medinah: lyun Be-Bamidbar II
• pp. 201-217

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