Compassion training alters altruism and neural responses to suffering.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Weng HY
PROVIDER: S-EPMC3713090 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jul
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
Compassion training alters altruism and neural responses to suffering.
Weng Helen Y HY Fox Andrew S AS Shackman Alexander J AJ Stodola Diane E DE Caldwell Jessica Z K JZ Olson Matthew C MC Rogers Gregory M GM Davidson Richard J RJ
Psychological science 20130521 7
Compassion is a key motivator of altruistic behavior, but little is known about individuals' capacity to cultivate compassion through training. We examined whether compassion may be systematically trained by testing whether (a) short-term compassion training increases altruistic behavior and (b) individual differences in altruism are associated with training-induced changes in neural responses to suffering. In healthy adults, we found that compassion training increased altruistic redistribution ...[more]
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