Compassion - Bridging Practice and Science - page 332

emotions direct attention towards maintenance of the “social self”, thereby reducing available
energy and interest in the plight of others. While both compassion and shame/embarrassment
involve an awareness of the other, they differ fundamentally in that shame and embarrassment are
focused on how others view the self, whereas compassion is a prosocial response that is focused
on the plight of the other. We also argue that a “positive” evaluative focus on the self, as in pride,
would reduce the experience of compassion because, again, the focus of this social emotion is on
the maintenance of the self in the eyes of others rather than on the plight of the other.
The fact that threat-based emotion systems and the compassion drive have distinctive
psychobiological correlates supports their potentially antithetical nature. For example, the fight or
flight response is characterized by an activation of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems in
order to prepare the organism to address a threat [19],[20].This response is associated with an
activation of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS), resulting in the release of hormones such as
norepinephrine, which directly act on the heart to increase heart rate, blood pressure and other
cardiovascular functions[19]. There is a smaller but rapidly expanding body of literature
demonstrating that the biology of “other-oriented” prosocial responses is quite distinct from the
biology of the fight or flight response. In particular, the prosocial response appears to be more
consistently associated with activation of the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS), which is
mediated by the vagus nerve and acts in opposition to the SNS. Notably, activation of the SNS
involves a deceleration of heart rate and occurs in conjunction with orienting and outward
attention[21],[22],[23].
In line with this, Stephen Porges and colleagues argue that when the “social engagement” system
is engaged, there is an activation of the PNS that is in turn associated with a calming response and
a reduction in activation of the stress systems, including the SNS[24]. For example, familiar faces
and “safe” contexts can reduce fight or flight activity and increase this restorative system as
manifested by increased respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), an index of the PNS (higher RSA
reflects greater parasympathetic activity) [24]. Keltner and others argue that these changes prepare
the body to approach and soothe. This system supports enhanced social behavior and social
cohesion at a larger level, while the physiology associated with fight or flight would interfere with
this more approach-oriented psychobiological response.
It is well known that the vagus nerve plays a significant role, or acts as a brake, on heart rate, in
contrast to threat-based emotions, which are generally associated with increases in heart rate[24]
[see also chapter 17]. The extensive psychobiological literature supports the important premise
that prosocial responses can reduce one’s fight or flight responding. In other words, directing
prosocial responses such as compassion towards others may reduce one’s own fight or flight
activity. For example, Nancy Eisenberg and colleagues have shown that children and adults
exposed to sympathy-inducing films showed reductions in heart rate when compared to responses
to more fear-inducing films [25].Moreover, a growing body of research suggests that engaging in
prosocial behaviors reduces stress and improves well-being[26],[27],[28],[29]. A very interesting
question is whether prosocial behavior may be a more powerful method for damping down
extended or overactive SNS responding than traditional mechanisms of relaxation, for example.
Facilitative Effects of Emotional Balance
We argued above that specific emotions that orient attention towards the self, and particularly
threat-related and blame-focused emotions such as anger and shame, can be directly detrimental
to the cultivation of compassion. We also propose that emotional intensity more generally,
regardless of emotion type and valence, can serve to impede compassion. Several lines of
research suggest an association between compassion and cognitive control, or the ability to take
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