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Compassion
Compassion motivates people to go out of their way to help the physical, mental or emotional pains of another and themselves.
Compassion is often regarded as having sensitivity, an emotional aspect to suffering, though when based on cerebral notions such as fairness, justice, and interdependence, it may be considered rational in nature and its application understood as an activity also based on sound judgment.
Compassion involves allowing ourselves to be moved by suffering, and experiencing the motivation to help alleviate and prevent it.
An act of compassion is defined by its helpfulness.
Qualities of compassion are patience and wisdom; kindness and perseverance; warmth and resolve.
It is often, though not inevitably, the key component in what manifests in the social context as altruism, disinterested and selfless concern for the well-being of others.
Difference between sympathy and compassion is that the former responds to suffering with sorrow and concern while the latter responds with warmth and care.
Compassion is the component derived from empathetic distress.
- Theoretical perspectives of compassion :
- (^) Compassion is simply a variation of love or sadness, not a distinct emotion.
- From the perspective of evolutionary psychology, Compassion can be viewed as a distinct emotional state, which can be differentiated from distress, sadness, and love.
- Compassion as a synonym of empathic distress, which is characterized by the feeling of distress in connection with another person's suffering. This perspective of compassion is based on the finding that people sometimes emulate and feel the emotions of people around them. Compassion is a process of connecting by identifying with another person. This identification with others through compassion can lead to increased motivation to do something in an effort to relieve the suffering of others. Compassion is an evolved function from the harmony of a three grid internal system : contentment-and-peace system, goals-and-drives system and threat-and-safety system. Paul Gilbert defines these collectively as necessary regulated systems for compassion. Compassion consists of three major requirements :
- People must feel that troubles that evoke their feelings are serious,
- the understanding that sufferers' troubles are not self-inflicted, and
- ability to picture oneself with the same problems in a non-blaming and non-shaming manner.
Empathy
- Empathy means 'the ability to understand and share the feelings of another’
- Empathy is the capacity to understand or feel what another person is experiencing from within their frame of reference, i.e., the capacity to place oneself in another's position.
- Martin Hoffman is a psychologist who studied the development of empathy. According to Hoffman everyone is born with the capability of feeling empathy.
- Females tend to be more empathic than males
- Empathy and understanding builds connection between people.
- It is a state of perceiving and relating to another person’s feelings and needs without blaming, giving advice, or trying to fix the situation.
- Empathy also means “reading” another person’s inner state and interpreting it in a way that will help the other person and offer support and develop mutual trust.
- The activation of mirror neurons attempt to explain the basic processes of empathy
- Mirroring is believed to be the way in which the brain automatically interprets the actions, intentions and emotions of other people. Mirror neurons , the cells in the brain that activate when we perform a particular action or watch someone else perform that same action
- Empathy-induced altruistic motivation
- Cognitive empathy, rather than emotional empathy, predicted helping behavior towards victims
- Emotional empathy can cause emotional distress, helplessness, victim-blaming, and ultimately can lead to avoidance rather than helping
Having empathy increases the likelihood of helping others and showing compassion.
“Empathy is a building block of morality—for people to follow the Golden Rule, it helps if they can put themselves in someone else’s shoes,”
“It is also a key ingredient of successful relationships because it helps us understand the perspectives, needs, and intentions of others.”
Empathy is generally divided into two major components:
Affective empathy , also called emotional empathy: the capacity to respond with an appropriate emotion to another's mental states. Our ability to empathize emotionally is based on emotional contagion: being affected by another's emotional or arousal state.
Emotional contagion is when a person (especially an infant or a member of a mob) imitatively "catches" the emotions that others are showing without necessarily recognizing this is happening.
- Affective empathy can be subdivided into the following scales
- Empathic concern : sympathy and compassion for others in response to their suffering.
- During,Seligman and Petterson VIA model
- “Forgiveness is considered as a human strength because it meets the criteria of contributing to individuals fulfillment, satisfaction and happiness.” --Seligman
- (^) forgiveness as a conscious, deliberate decision to release feelings of resentment or vengeance toward a person or group who has harmed you, regardless of whether they actually deserve your forgiveness
- Evolutionary : Has an adaptive advantage that preserve social structure.Produces positive feelings in surrounding people.Submissive gestures stops aggression cycles.Forgiveness breaks violence cycle in humans.
- Neurobiology : The sense of self is located in the frontal, parietal and temporal lobes that mediate with limbic system via sympathetic nervous system and hypothalamus
- Forgiving the Other: 2 models
- Gordon & Baucom model
- Promote non-distorted, realistic appraisal
- Facilitate to remove ruminative, negative affects
- Lessening the desire to punish in the victimized partner
- Stages
- Initial Impact Stage
- Rampage of negative emotions- hurt, anger, fear etc
- Meaning Stage
- Develop reasoning; Comprehend the why’s
- Recovery Stage
- Recapture the sense of control over lives and proceed ahead
- REACH Model
- Recall the hurt; Promote Empathy; Altruistic Giving of Forgiveness; Commit Verbally; Hold onto Forgiveness
- Forgiving Oneself: Consequences for not forgiving Oneself is more severe than the Consequences of not forgiving others
- Forgiveness of the Self is based two levels of feeling
- Shame
- all encompassing view of self as worthless
- Process of dealing shame is more difficult
- (^) Cuts across circumstances
- Taking responsibility and letting it go
- Guilt (Situation specific negative self view)
- Regrets doing a particular thing
- Apologising or Confessing
- Forgiving Situation: Can be applied to inanimate objects
- Instructions to stop thoughts about the negative happenings
- (^) Accepting & moving forward
- Measuring Forgiveness:
- Heartland Forgiveness Scale (Thompson)
- Transgression Related Interpersonal Motivations Inventory (McCullough)
- Enright Forgiveness Inventory
Two Stages of Gratitude
First comes the acknowledgment of goodness in one’s life. In a state of gratitude, we say yes to life. We affirm that all in all, life is good, and has elements that make it not just worth living, but rich with texture and detail. The acknowledgment that we have received something gratifies us, both by its presence and by the effort the giver put into choosing it.
Second, gratitude is recognizing that some of the sources of this goodness lie outside the self. At this stage, the object of gratitude is other-directed; one can be grateful to other people, to animals, and to the world, but not to oneself. At this stage, we recognize not only the goodness in our lives, but who is to thank for it, and who has made sacrifices so that we could be happy.
Purpose of Gratitude
- People can use gratitude to form new social relations, or to build upon and make current ones better.
- Acts of gratitude can be used to apologize, make amends or help solve other problems people may face.
Why Gratitude Works
Gratitude is a selfless act. Gratitude acts are done unconditionally to show to people that they are appreciated, not because people are looking for something in return; however, that is not to say that people do not return the favor. Gratitude can be contagious, in a good way.
Catharsis is the process in which an individual releases strong emotions. For example, after a stressful or traumatic event, crying provides a means for such a strong release; thus, rendering the activity cathartic.
Reciprocity : In regard to gratitude, it is the exchange of positive emotion.
Someone performs an act of gratitude for another person, and in turn, that
person may be motivated to do something gracious for the former person, or
continue the favor for a stranger.
Modern Psychological Perspectives on Gratitude
Well being,Optimism,Happiness,Relationships,Stronger self,Better physical and mental health
