Cultivating Compassion: The Surprising Neuroscience Of Generosity

THE DALAI LAMA HAS BEEN CURIOUS ABOUT ACADEMIC SUBJECTS SUCH AS NEUROSCIENCE FOR DECADES, AND AFTER SPEAKING WITH RICHARD DAVIDSON IN 1992, THE TWO BEGAN STUDYING THE BRANS OF PEOPLE WHO SPENT YEARS OF CULTIVATING WELL-BEING AND COMPASSIONATE THOUGHT PATTERN THROUGH MEDITATION PRACTICES.

After studying the brains of dozens of Buddhist Monks using an MRI machine, Davidson found the  best way to activate positive-emotion circuits in the brain was through generosity.  In fact, the scientists highlighted ‘giving’ as the basis for cultivating feelings of compassion and kindness. Their findings show that there are actually systematic changes in the brain when we are nice to others. 

Davidson and his colleagues ran a simple experiment on eight “long-term Buddhist practitioners” whose had spent an average of 34,000 hours in mental training. They asked the subjects to alternate between a meditative state and a neutral state in order to observe how the brain changed. “When we did this, we noticed something remarkable,” Davidson said. “What we see are these high-amplitude gamma-oscillations in the brain, which are indicative of plasticity”, meaning those brains are more capable of change, meaning they have more potential, and are more resilient. 

Davidson’s research suggests that we are all capable of taking responsibility for our own brains.

What does this mean for the modern brain?  It means that we are less set in our ways than we think, and that the simple act of being kind may help us explore the plasticity of our mental potential.

So what is empathy? 

"Empathy is the psychological identification with, or vicarious experiencing of, the feelings, thoughts, or attitudes of another."

In other words, it’s our ability to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes, and understand what they’re feeling or thinking. The question is, is this a human reflex that is simply stronger in some than in others? Or is it a skill that can be learned and fine-tuned?

Empathy is often thought of as being automatic, however if it’s too distressing for us to empathise, we have a tendency to shut it down, suggesting empathy is not in fact a reflex, but something that can be controlled.  This study by psychologists Karina Schumann, Jamil Zaki and Carol S. Dweck found that people who believed empathy was a skill that could be improved — as opposed to a fixed personality trait — tried harder to relate to (i.e. expressed more empathy towards) ethnically diverse cultures, and had enhanced empathetic responses towards people with conflicting views on important sociopolitical matters.  This data suggests that people’s mindsets powerfully affect whether they exert effort to empathize when it is needed most.  In other words, it appears that empathy can be enhanced simply by modifying our views about empathy itself. 

Is empathy actually important?

An experiment conducted by Michael Inzlicht, along with the researchers Jeremy Hogeveen and Sukhvinder Obhi, found that the stereotype of “un-empathetic powerful people” was actually true, even when individuals were temporarily assigned to high-power roles, they showed brain activity consistent with lower levels of empathy.

Research suggests that this behaviour results from a simple change in motivation: people with a higher sense of power exhibit less empathy because they have less incentive to interact with others, as they feel more self sufficient and independent. 

While this may have been true in the history of cranky bankers and over confident businessmen, the ‘power’ roles in the world are changing and today, the benefits of social currency often prove stronger than financial or hierarchical power. Tomorrow's leaders are the kind-hearted people, who are capable of compassion, and lead their troops to success through inspiration and understanding, rather than driving them there through fear and a sense of obligation.