The Conscious Road to Compassion Heidi A. Wayment, Ph.D. Department of Psychology Northern Arizona...

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The Conscious Road to Compassion Heidi A. Wayment, Ph.D. Department of Psychology Northern Arizona University May 16, 2013 A Social Psychological Perspective on the Quiet Ego

Transcript of The Conscious Road to Compassion Heidi A. Wayment, Ph.D. Department of Psychology Northern Arizona...

The Conscious Road to Compassion

Heidi A. Wayment, Ph.D.Department of PsychologyNorthern Arizona University

May 16, 2013

A Social Psychological Perspective on the Quiet Ego

Outline

What is compassion?

What are the barriers to compassion?

What is a “quiet ego?”

What good is a “quiet ego?”

Can a “quiet ego” be cultivated?

What is Compassion?

At the core of every spiritual and religious tradition

“... the feeling that arises in witnessing another’s suffering and that motivates a subsequent desire to help.”

Goetz, Keltner, & Simon-Thomas, 2010Psychological Bulletin

Is target deserving of

help? Anger

DistressAnxiety

Fear

Compassion

No

Yes

Do I have resources to

help?

No

Yes

Witness suffering

NoDoes target’s suffering satisfy

self goal?

Goetz, Keltner, & Simon-Thomas, 2010Psychological Bulletin

Is target deserving of

help? Anger

DistressAnxiety

Fear

Compassion

No

Yes

Do I have resources to

help?

No

Yes

Witness suffering

NoDoes target’s suffering satisfy

self goal?

Goetz, Keltner, & Simon-Thomas, 2010Psychological Bulletin

Is target deserving of

help? Anger

DistressAnxiety

Fear

Compassion

No

Yes

Do I have resources to

help?

No

Yes

Witness suffering

NoDoes target’s suffering satisfy

self goal?

Goetz, Keltner, & Simon-Thomas, 2010Psychological Bulletin

Is target deserving of

help? Anger

DistressAnxiety

Fear

Compassion

No

Yes

Do I have resources to

help?

No

Yes

Witness suffering

NoDoes target’s suffering satisfy

self goal?

Goetz, Keltner, & Simon-Thomas, 2010Psychological Bulletin

Is target deserving of

help? Anger

DistressAnxiety

Fear

Compassion

No

Yes

Do I have resources to

help?

No

Yes

Witness suffering

NoDoes target’s suffering satisfy

self goal?

Goetz, Keltner, & Simon-Thomas, 2010Psychological Bulletin

Is target deserving of

help? Anger

DistressAnxiety

Fear

Compassion

No

Yes

Do I have resources to

help?

No

Yes

Witness suffering

NoDoes target’s suffering satisfy

self goal?

Behavior Cognition

Emotion

Psychological Distance

Schopenhauer (1969, p. 372)

Compassion ...

the recognition that any perceived distinction between others and ourselves is only a

"fleeting, deceptive phenomenon"