Yasmin Anwar, in the UC Berkeley News Center, reported yesterday on the findings of a study conducted by psychologists Robb Willer and Laura Saslow into the role of a feeling of compassion in motivating people to act compassionately.
http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/about/fellowships/past_fellows_grad
The aim of the study is complex and subtle. The findings cannot be adequately summed up in a headline such as the one attached to Anwar’s article which claims that “Highly religious people are less motivated by compassion than are non-believers”.
In her article Anwar describes the experiments the researchers performed.
In the first experiment, researchers analyzed data from a 2004 national survey of more than 1,300 American adults. Those who agreed with such statements as “When I see someone being taken advantage of, I feel kind of protective towards them” were also more inclined to show generosity in random acts of kindness, such as loaning out belongings and offering a seat on a crowded bus or train, researchers found.
When they looked into how much compassion motivated participants to be charitable in such ways as giving money or food to a homeless person, non-believers and those who rated low in religiosity came out ahead: “These findings indicate that although compassion is associated with pro-sociality among both less religious and more religious individuals, this relationship is particularly robust for less religious individuals,” the study found.
In the second experiment, 101 American adults watched one of two brief videos, a neutral video or a heartrending one, which showed portraits of children afflicted by poverty. Next, they were each given 10 “lab dollars” and directed to give any amount of that money to a stranger. The least religious participants appeared to be motivated by the emotionally charged video to give more of their money to a stranger.
“The compassion-inducing video had a big effect on their generosity,” Willer said. “But it did not significantly change the generosity of more religious participants.”
In the final experiment, more than 200 college students were asked to report how compassionate they felt at that moment. They then played “economic trust games” in which they were given money to share – or not – with a stranger. In one round, they were told that another person playing the game had given a portion of their money to them, and that they were free to reward them by giving back some of the money, which had since doubled in amount.
Those who scored low on the religiosity scale, and high on momentary compassion, were more inclined to share their winnings with strangers than other participants in the study.
The conclusion researchers have drawn is that
the link between compassion and generosity was found to be stronger for those who identified as being non-religious or less religious.
It is important to observe what is not being said here. It is not being said that religious people act in less compassionate ways. The only conclusion of the study is that religious people are less motivated by a particular feeling which researchers identify as “compassion”.
But, what happens when there are no “compassion-inducing videos” around to motivate “generosity”? What is the level of compassionate action when the nightly news is not flooded with pictures of earthquake victims, starving children, or war-ravaged villages?
Real compassion does not just show up when it feels compelled by sentiment. Real compassion shows up on a daily basis. It shows up when it does not feel like showing up. It gives generously when it may not be convenient, when it may not feel good, even when it hurts. I wonder if something more than a fleeting feeling may be required to motivate such long-term, reliable commitment.
6 comments
Comments feed for this article
May 1, 2012 at 7:31 am
Tress
I could not find the article! but i am interested in how they define religious.
.Is it a matter of conforming to a social pattern of attending a place of worship, either from a continuation of early training or from a desire to fit in with the social norms of the society in which one finds oneself?
In which case the degree of compassion might follow the pattern of the establishment..
Or is their a genuine commitment to understand the wisdom that has accrued in any faith. And is there a more compassionate attitude taught in some religions than others.
Overtly it seems that Christianity teaches a more open and compassionate love of others, but sometimes ,and in some places this compassion appears to be overlaid with prejudice .
I believe that the basis of the teaching of Jesus is that of understanding our relationship to god , but also to have compassionate love for each other,and yet I am not a church goer!( just a blog follower)at the moment.. so how are they choosing the subjects for this . i think . flawed assumption.
May 1, 2012 at 7:55 am
jaqueline
I wondered the same thing Tress.
May 1, 2012 at 7:51 am
jaqueline
“It is important to observe what is not being said here. It is not being said that religious people act in less compassionate ways. The only conclusion of the study is that religious people are less motivated by a particular feeling which researchers identify as “compassion”.”
We don’t need to excuse it Christopher, or belittle feeling.
A religion that is motivated by being ‘right’ and ‘good’ and ‘together’ would of course produce less compassion …The Pharisees were religious no?
And how exactly is not being motivated by a feeling of compassion a good thing? Thank God Jesus wept and he looked with people with that feeling.
Don’t forget that this is America in which the study was done, a country in which many identify themselves as religious..but many of them nominal.
As I was reading the results of the experiment I was reminded of a parable and thought…oh look, this is a pre sheep and goats sorting!
After all, in that story as well, many claimed to know Jesus….
May 1, 2012 at 9:12 am
compassionwestshore
Thanks for this Christopher. Regardless of the process employed the question of the place of compassion in faith communities, and esp. for me Anglican Christian communities is important. I can say that I have met the the most compassionate and most self-interested people in churches I have served. This should not surprise as churches are places where folks need help and can offer help. I think Karen Armstrong and the Charter for Compassion have provided fertile ground for exploration of compassion themes in a very helpful multi-faith context. On the charter website there are amazing (and some hokey) stores of compassion in action. In our local compassion study group the challenge is always to move to the action stage. We do this my raising up local compassionate successes and taking their leads as inspiration. People are now beginning to come forward with ideas of action which is a huge encouragement. This said, I also find myself surprised and encouraged by tremendous secular leadership feats, especially int he areas of locla food productiona dn distributon. Faith communities, and Christianity in particular has no monolopy on good works.
May 1, 2012 at 10:24 am
joan
I consider your blog to be an act of compassion. Not “compelled by sentiment”, it speaks to our condition and conditioning. This, for me, is a very big gift of grace, inviting me to go deeper in my consideration of “loving neighbour as self” and addressing my despair at the state of the institutional church. Perhaps despair induces a fuller expression of compassion – without the need of videos – because we develop a fuller sense of solidarity with those who suffer. And, of course, the commitment to stillness in the midst of chaos is the necessary action of compassion towards self. Contemplation leads to compassionate response ifor self and other in my humble experience.
May 7, 2012 at 12:07 am
danielwalldammit
It’s a reasonable criticism. The study is interesting, but far too many are running with the broadest possible interpretation of its findings. Folks oughtta know better.