Compassion: From Its Evolution to a Psychotherapy

Paul Gilbert, Paul Gilbert

Abstract

The concept, benefits and recommendations for the cultivation of compassion have been recognized in the contemplative traditions for thousands of years. In the last 30 years or so, the study of compassion has revealed it to have major physiological and psychological effects influencing well-being, addressing mental health difficulties, and promoting prosocial behavior. This paper outlines an evolution informed biopsychosocial, multicomponent model to caring behavior and its derivative "compassion" that underpins newer approaches to psychotherapy. The paper explores the origins of caring motives and the nature and biopsychosocial functions of caring-attachment behavior. These include providing a secure base (sources of protection, validation, encouragement and guidance) and safe haven (source of soothing and comfort) for offspring along with physiological regulating functions, which are also central for compassion focused therapy. Second, it suggests that it is the way recent human cognitive competencies give rise to different types of "mind awareness" and "knowing intentionality" that transform basic caring motives into potentials for compassion. While we can care for our gardens and treasured objects, the concept of compassion is only used for sentient beings who can "suffer." As psychotherapy addresses mental suffering, cultivating the motives and competencies of compassion to self and others can be a central focus for psychotherapy.

Keywords: biopsychosocial; caring; compassion; evolution; psychotherapy.

Conflict of interest statement

The author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Copyright © 2020 Gilbert.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Safety and threat processing © Paul Gilbert.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Safeness and threat processing © Paul Gilbert.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Mapping the mind. Adapted from Gilbert (2019).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Multiple responses to life traumas and tragedies © Paul Gilbert.
Figure 5
Figure 5
From caring to compassion. Adapted from Gilbert (2018).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Domains for therapeutic engagement. Adapted from Gilbert (2009a) Compassionate Mind with permission from Little Brown.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Outline of the competitive vs. caring social mentality as a therapy focus © Paul Gilbert.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Fears of compassion and attachment history. Adapted from Gilbert (2009b).
Figure 9
Figure 9
Overview of core processes in CFT © Paul Gilbert.

References

    1. Akmal K. M., Foong A. L. S. (2018). Attachment styles: fear of compassion and callous-unemotional traits among juvenile delinquents. J. Child Adolesc. Behav. 6:371. 10.4172/2375-4494.1000371
    1. Amodio P. (2019). Octopus intelligence: the importance of being agnostic. Anim. Sentience 4:20.
    1. Armstrong B. F., Nitschke J. P., Bilash U., Zuroff D. C. (2020). An affect in its own right: investigating the relationship of social safeness with positive and negative affect. Pers. Individ. Differ. 168:109670. 10.1016/j.paid.2019.109670
    1. Ashbach C., Fraley K., Koehler P., Pollton J. (2020). Suffering and sacrifice in the clinical encounter. Bicester, UK: Phoenix Publishing.
    1. Bakan J. (2012). The corporation: The pathological pursuit of profit and power. UK: Hachette.
    1. Baron-Cohen S. (2011). Zero degrees of empathy: A new theory of human cruelty. UK: Penguin.
    1. Barrett L. F. (2017). How emotions are made: The secret life of the brain. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
    1. Basran J., Pires C., Matos M., McEwan K., Gilbert P. (2019). Styles of leadership, fears of compassion, and competing to avoid inferiority. Front. Psychol. 9:2460. 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02460, PMID:
    1. Baumeister R. F., Bratslavsky E., Finkenauer C., Vohs K. D. (2001). Bad is stronger than good. Rev. Gen. Psychol. 5, 323–370. 10.1037/1089-2680.5.4.323
    1. Bell T., Montague J., Elander J., Gilbert P. (2020a). “A definite feel-it moment”: embodiment, externalisation and emotion during chair-work in compassion-focused therapy. Couns. Psychother. Res. 20, 143–153. 10.1002/capr.12248
    1. Bell T., Montague J., Elander J., Gilbert P. (2020b). “Suddenly we are King Solomon”: multiplicity, transformation and integration in compassion focused therapy chairwork. J. Psychother. Integr. 1–20. 10.1037/int0000240
    1. Bloom P. (2017a). Against empathy: The case for rational compassion. UK: Random House.
    1. Bloom P. (2017b). Empathy and its discontents. Trends Cogn. Sci. 21, 24–31. 10.1016/j.tics.2016.11.004, PMID:
    1. Boehm C. (1999). Hierarchy in the forest: The evolution of egalitarian behavior. Harvard: Harvard University Press.
    1. Bohlmeijer E., Prenger R., Taal E., Cuijpers P. (2010). The effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction therapy on mental health of adults with a chronic medical disease: a meta-analysis. J. Psychosom. Res. 68, 539–544. 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2009.10.005, PMID:
    1. Bowlby J. (1969). Attachment and loss. Vol. 1 London: Random House.
    1. Bowlby J. (1973). Attachment and loss: Separation, anxiety and anger. Vol. 2 London: The Hogarth Press and the Institute of Psycho-analysis, 1–429.
    1. Bowlby J. (1980). Attachment and loss. Vol. 3 London: Hogarth Press and The Institute of Psycho-Analysis.
    1. Brasini M., Tanzilli A., Pistella J., Gentile D., Di Marco I., Mancini F., et al. (2020). The social mentalities scale: a new measure for assessing the interpersonal motivations underlying social relationships. Pers. Individ. Differ. 167:110236. 10.1016/j.paid.2020.110236
    1. Bratt A., Gralberg I. M., Svensson I., Rusner M. (2020). Gaining the courage to see and accept oneself: group-based compassion-focussed therapy as experienced by adolescent girls. Clin. Child Psychol. Psychiatry 25, 909–921. 10.1177/1359104520931583, PMID:
    1. Brown S. L., Brown R. M. (2015). Connecting prosocial behavior to improved physical health: contributions from the neurobiology of parenting. Neurosci. Biobehav. Rev. 55, 1–17. 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2015.04.004, PMID:
    1. Brown S. L., Brown R. M. (2017). “Compassionate neurobiology and health” in The Oxford handbook of compassion science. eds. Seppälä E. M., Simon-Thomas E., Brown S. L., Worline M. C., Cameron L., Doty J. R. (New York: Oxford University Press; ), 159–172.
    1. Buss D. M. (2015). Evolutionary psychology: The new science of the mind. 5th Edn. UK: London Psychology Press.
    1. Byrne R. (1995). The thinking ape: Evolutionary origins of intelligence. UK: Oxford University Press.
    1. Carter S., Bartal I. B., Porges E. (2017). “The roots of compassion: an evolutionary and neurobiological perspective” in The Oxford handbook of compassion science. eds. Seppälä E. M., Simon-Thomas E., Brown S. L., Worline M. C. (New York: Oxford; ), 178–188.
    1. Carter C. S., Harris J., Porges S. W. (2009). “Neural and evolutionary perspectives on empathy” in The social neuroscience of empathy. eds. Decety J. E., Ickes W. E. (Massachusetts: MIT Press; ), 169–182.
    1. Carver C. S. (2004). Negative affects deriving from the behavioral approach system. Emotion 4, 3–22. 10.1037/1528-3542.4.1.3, PMID:
    1. Cassidy J., Shaver P. R. (2016). Handbook of attachment: Theory, research and clinical applications. 3rd Edn. New York: Guilford.
    1. Castilho P., Pinto-Gouveia J., Duarte J. (2017). Two forms of self-criticism mediate differently the shame-psychopathological symptoms link. Psychol. Psychother. 90, 44–54. 10.1111/papt.12094, PMID:
    1. Chance M. (1988). Social fabrics of the mind. London: Lawrence Erlbaum.
    1. Colqhoun L., Workman L., Fowler J. (2020). “The problem of altruism and future directions” in Cambridge handbook of evolutionary perspectives on human behavior. eds. Workman L., Reader W., Barkow J. H. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; ), 125–138.
    1. Condon P., Makransky J. (2020). Sustainable compassion training: integrating meditation theory with psychological science. Front. Psychol. 11:2249. 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.02249, PMID:
    1. Cordaro D. T., Brackett M., Glass L., Anderson C. L. (2016). Contentment: perceived completeness across cultures and traditions. Rev. Gen. Psychol. 20, 221–235. 10.1037/gpr0000082
    1. Cowan C. S. M., Callaghan B. L., Kan J. M., Richardson R. (2016). The lasting impact of early-life adversity on individuals and their descendants: potential mechanisms and hope for intervention. Genes Brain Behav. 15, 155–168. 10.1111/gbb.12263, PMID:
    1. Cozolino L. (2014). The neuroscience of human relationships: Attachment and the developing social brain, Norton series on interpersonal neurobiology 2nd Edn. New York: WW Norton & Company.
    1. Cozolino L. (2017). The neuroscience of psychotherapy: Healing the social brain, Norton series on interpersonal neurobiology 2nd Edn. New York: WW Norton & Company.
    1. Craig C., Hiskey S., Spector A. (2020). Compassion focused therapy: a systematic review of its effectiveness and acceptability in clinical populations. Expert. Rev. Neurother. 20, 385–400. 10.1080/14737175.2020.1746184, PMID:
    1. Curran T., Hill A. P. (2019). Perfectionism is increasing over time: a meta-analysis of birth cohort differences from 1989 to 2016. Psychol. Bull. 145, 410–429. 10.1037/bul0000138, PMID:
    1. da Silva D. R., Rijo D., Salekin R. T., Paulo M., Miguel R., Gilbert P. (2020). Clinical change in psychopathic traits after the PSYCHOPATHY.COMP program: preliminary findings of a controlled trial with male detained youth. J. Exp. Criminol. 1–25. 10.1007/s11292-020-09418-x
    1. Decety J. E., Ickes W. E. (2009). The social neuroscience of empathy. Massachusetts: MIT Press.
    1. Del Giudice M. (2016). The life history model of psychopathology explains the structure of psychiatric disorders and the emergence of the p factor: a simulation study. Clin. Psychol. Sci. 4, 299–311. 10.1177/2167702615583628
    1. Depue R. A., Morrone-Strupinsky J. V. (2005). A neurobehavioral model of affiliative bonding: implications for conceptualizing a human trait of affiliation. Behav. Brain Sci. 28, 313–395. 10.1017/S0140525X05000063, PMID:
    1. Di Bello M., Carnevali L., Petrocchi N., Thayer J. F., Gilbert P., Ottaviani C. (2020). The compassionate vagus: a meta-analysis on the connection between compassion and heart rate variability. Neurosci. Biobehav. Rev. 116, 21–30. 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.06.016, PMID:
    1. Dunbar R. I. (2009). The social brain hypothesis and its implications for social evolution. Ann. Hum. Biol. 36, 562–572. 10.1080/03014460902960289, PMID:
    1. Dunbar R. (2014). Human evolution: A pelican introduction. UK: Penguin.
    1. Ebert A., Edel M.-A., Gilbert P., Brüne M. (2018). Endogenous oxytocin is associated with the experience of compassion and recalled upbringing in borderline personality disorder. Depress. Anxiety 35, 50–57. 10.1002/da.22683, PMID:
    1. Eisenberg N., VanSchyndel S. K., Hofer C. (2015). The association of maternal socialization in childhood and adolescence with adult offsprings’ sympathy/caring. Dev. Psychol. 51, 7–16. 10.1037/a0038137, PMID:
    1. Enright R. D., Fitzgibbons R. P. (2015). Forgiveness therapy: An empirical guide for resolving anger and restoring hope. New York: American Psychological Association.
    1. Eyal T., Steffel M., Epley N. (2018). Perspective mistaking: accurately understanding the mind of another requires getting perspective, not taking perspective. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 114, 547–571. 10.1037/pspa0000115, PMID:
    1. Fiskum C. (2019). Psychotherapy beyond all the words: dyadic expansion, vagal regulation, and biofeedback in psychotherapy. J. Psychother. Integr. 29, 412–425. 10.1037/int0000174
    1. Fonagy P., Adshead G. (2012). How mentalisation changes the mind. Adv. Psychiatr. Treat. 18, 353–362. 10.1192/apt.bp.108.005876
    1. Fonagy P., Campbell C., Bateman A. (2017). Mentalizing, attachment, and epistemic trust in group therapy. Int. J. Group Psychother. 67, 176–201. 10.1080/00207284.2016.1263156
    1. Fox J., Cattani K., Burlingame G. M. (2020). Compassion focused therapy in a university counselling and psychological services center: a feasibility trial of a new standardized group manual. Psychother. Res. 1–13. 10.1080/10503307.2020.1783708, PMID: [Epub ahead of print]
    1. Frank E. T., Wehrhahn M., Linsenmair K. E. (2018). Wound treatment and selective help in a termite-hunting ant. Proc. Biol. Sci. 285:20172457. 10.1098/rspb.2017.2457, PMID:
    1. Fredrickson B., Mancuso R., Branigan C., Tugade M. (2000). The undoing effects of positive emotion. Motiv. Emot. 24, 237–258. 10.1023/a:1010796329158, PMID:
    1. Geary D. C. (2000). Evolution and proximate expression of human parental investment. Psychol. Bull. 126, 55–77. 10.1037/0033-2909.126.1.55, PMID:
    1. Germer C. K., Siegel R. D. (2012). Wisdom and compassion in psychotherapy: Deepening mindfulness in clinical practice. New York: Guilford Press.
    1. Gilbert P. (1984). Depression: From psychology to brain state. London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
    1. Gilbert P. (1989/2016). Human nature and suffering. London: Routledge.
    1. Gilbert P. (1992a). Depression: The evolution of powerlessness. London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
    1. Gilbert P. (1992b). Defence, safe(ty) and biosocial goals in relation to the agonic and hedonic social modes. World Futures 35, 31–70. 10.1080/02604027.1992.9972316
    1. Gilbert P. (1993). Defence and safety: their function in social behaviour and psychopathology. Br. J. Clin. Psychol. 32, 131–153. 10.1111/j.2044-8260.1993.tb01039.x, PMID:
    1. Gilbert P. (1995). Biopsychosocial approaches and evolutionary theory as aids to integration in clinical psychology and psychotherapy. Clin. Psychol. Psychother. 2, 135–156. 10.1002/cpp.5640020302
    1. Gilbert P. (2000). “Social mentalities: internal ‘social’ conflicts and the role of inner warmth and compassion in cognitive therapy” in Genes on the couch: Explorations in evolutionary psychotherapy. eds. Gilbert P., Bailey K. G. (Hove: Psychology Press; ), 118–150.
    1. Gilbert P. (2005a). “Compassion and cruelty. A biopsychosocial approach” in Compassion: Conceptualizations, research and use in psychotherapy. ed. Gilbert P. (London: Routledge; ), 11–74.
    1. Gilbert P. (2005b). “Social mentalities: a biopsychosocial and evolutionary reflection on social relationships” in Interpersonal cognition. ed. Baldwin M. (New York: Guilford; ), 299–333.
    1. Gilbert P. (2007a). Psychotherapy and counselling for depression. 3rd Edn. London: Sage.
    1. Gilbert P. (2007b). “Evolved minds and compassion in the therapeutic relationship” in The therapeutic relationship in the cognitive behavioural psychotherapies. eds. Gilbert P., Leahy R. (London: Routledge; ), 106–142.
    1. Gilbert P. (2009a). The compassionate mind: A new approach to the challenge of life. London: Constable & Robinson.
    1. Gilbert P. (2009b). “Developing a compassion focused approach in cognitive behavioural therapy” in Cognitive behaviour therapy, a guide to the practicing clinician. Vol. 2. ed. Simos G. (London: Routledge; ).
    1. Gilbert P. (2010). Compassion focused therapy: The CBT distinctive features series. London: Routledge.
    1. Gilbert P. (2014). The origins and nature of compassion focused therapy. Br. J. Clin. Psychol. 53, 6–41. 10.1111/bjc.12043, PMID:
    1. Gilbert P. (ed.) (2017a). Compassion: Concepts, research and applications London: Routledge.
    1. Gilbert P. (ed.) (2017b). “Compassion: definitions and controversies” in Compassion: Concepts, research and applications. (London: Routledge; ), 3–15.
    1. Gilbert P. (ed.) (2017c). “Compassion as a social mentality: an evolutionary approach” in Compassion: Concepts, research and applications (London: Routledge; ), 31–68.
    1. Gilbert P. (2018). Living like crazy. York: Annwyn House.
    1. Gilbert P. (2019). Psychotherapy for the 21st century: an integrative, evolutionary, contextual, biopsychosocial approach. Psychol. Psychother. 92, 164–189. 10.1111/papt.12226, PMID:
    1. Gilbert P. (2020a). “The evolution of prosocial behavior: from caring to compassion” in Cambridge handbook of evolutionary perspectives on human behavior. eds. Workman L., Reader W., Barkow J. H. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; ), 419–435.
    1. Gilbert P. (2020b). “Evolutionary functional analysis: the study of social mentalities, social rank and caring-compassion” in Making an impact on mental health. eds. Kirby J. N., Gilbert P. (London: Routledge; ), 4–42.
    1. Gilbert P. (in press). Creating a compassionate world: addressing the conflicts between sharing and caring versus controlling and holding evolved strategies. Frontiers
    1. Gilbert P., Basran J. (2018). Imagining one’s compassionate self and coping with life difficulties. EC Psychol. Psychiatry 7, 971–978.
    1. Gilbert P., Basran J. (2019). The evolution of prosocial and antisocial competitive behavior and the emergence of prosocial and antisocial leadership styles. Front. Psychol. 10:610. 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00610, PMID:
    1. Gilbert P., Basran J., MacArthur M., Kirby J. N. (2019). Differences in the semantics of prosocial words: an exploration of compassion and kindness. Mindfulness 10, 2259–2271. 10.1007/s12671-019-01191-x
    1. Gilbert P., Broomhead C., Irons C., McEwan K., Bellew R., Mills A., et al. (2007). Development of a striving to avoid inferiority scale. Br. J. Soc. Psychol. 46, 633–648. 10.1348/014466606X157789
    1. Gilbert P., Catarino F., Duarte C., Matos M., Kolts R., Stubbs J., et al. (2017). The development of compassionate engagement and action scales for self and others. J. Compassionate Health Care 4, 1–24. 10.1186/s40639-017-0033-3
    1. Gilbert P., Choden (2013). Mindful compassion. London: Constable Robinson.
    1. Gilbert P., Irons C. (2005). “Focused therapies and compassionate mind training for shame and self-attacking” in Compassion: Conceptualisations, research and use in psychotherapy. ed. Gilbert P. (London: Routledge; ), 263–325.
    1. Gilbert P., Mascaro J. (2017). “Compassion: fears, blocks, and resistances: an evolutionary investigation” in The oxford handbook of compassion science. eds. Seppälä E. M., Simon-Thomas E., Brown S. L., Worline M. C., Cameron L., Doty J. R. (New York: Oxford University Press; ), 399–420.
    1. Gilbert P., McEwan K., Bellew R., Mills A., Gale C. (2009). The dark side of competition: how competitive behaviour and striving to avoid inferiority are linked to depression, anxiety, stress and self-harm. Psychol. Psychother. 82, 123–136. 10.1348/147608308X379806, PMID:
    1. Gilbert P., McEwan K., Catarino F., Baião R., Palmeira L. (2014). Fears of happiness and compassion in relationship with depression, alexithymia, and attachment security in a depressed sample. Br. J. Clin. Psychol. 53, 228–244. 10.1111/bjc.12037, PMID:
    1. Gilbert P., McEwan K., Matos M., Rivis A. (2011). Fears of compassion: development of three self-report measures. Psychol. Psychother. 84, 239–255. 10.1348/147608310X526511, PMID:
    1. Gilbert P., McEwan K., Mitra R., Franks L., Richter A., Rockliff H. (2008). Feeling safe and content: a specific affect regulation system? Relationship to depression, anxiety, stress, and self-criticism. J. Posit. Psychol. 3, 182–191. 10.1080/17439760801999461
    1. Gilbert P., Miles J. N. (2000). Sensitivity to social put-down: it’s relationship to perceptions of social rank, shame, social anxiety, depression, anger and self-other blame. Pers. Individ. Differ. 29, 757–774. 10.1016/s0191-8869(99)00230-5
    1. Gilbert P., Procter S. (2006). Compassionate mind training for people with high shame and self-criticism: a pilot study of a group therapy approach. Clin. Psychol. Psychother. 13, 353–379. 10.1002/cpp.507
    1. Gilbert P., Simos G. (in press). Compassion focused therapy: Clinical practice and applications. London: Routledge.
    1. Gillath O., Karantzas G. (2019). Attachment security priming: a systematic review. Curr. Opin. Psychol. 25, 86–95. 10.1016/j.copsyc.2018.03.001, PMID:
    1. Goetz J. E., Keltner D., Simon-Thomas E. (2010). Compassion: an evolutionary analysis and empirical review. Psychol. Bull. 136, 351–374. 10.1037/a0018807, PMID:
    1. Goleman D., Davidson R. J. (2017). Altered traits: Science reveals how meditation changes your mind, brain, and body. New York: Penguin.
    1. Goodall J. (1990). Through a window: My thirty years with the chimpanzees of Gombe. London: Penguin.
    1. Gray J. A. (1987). The psychology of fear and stress. 2nd Edn. Cambridge: University Press.
    1. Green M., Kirby J. N., Nielsen M. (2018). The cost of helping: an exploration of compassionate responding in children. Br. J. Dev. Psychol. 36, 673–678. 10.1111/bjdp.12252, PMID:
    1. Greenberg L. (2003). Evolutionary perspectives on emotion: making sense of what we feel. J. Cogn. Psychother. 16, 331–348. 10.1891/jcop.16.3.331.52517
    1. Gu J., Strauss C., Bond R., Cavanagh K. (2015). How do mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and mindfulness-based stress reduction improve mental health and wellbeing? A systematic review and meta-analysis of mediation studies. Clin. Psychol. Rev. 37, 1–12. 10.1016/j.cpr.2015.01.006, PMID:
    1. Hanson R. (2020). Neurodharma: New science, ancient wisdom, and seven practices of the highest happiness. New York: Harmony.
    1. Harlow H. F., Mears C. (1979). The human model: Primate perspectives. Washington, DC: V.H. Winston.
    1. Hein G., Silani G., Preuschoff K., Batson C. D., Singer T. (2010). Neural responses to ingroup and outgroup members’ suffering predict individual differences in costly helping. Neuron 68, 149–160. 10.1016/j.neuron.2010.09.003, PMID:
    1. Heinrichs M., Baumgartner T., Kirschbaum C., Ehlert U. (2003). Social support and oxytocin interact to suppress cortisol and subjective response to psychosocial stress. Biol. Psychiatry 54, 1389–1398. 10.1016/s0006-3223(03)00465-7, PMID:
    1. Henrich J. (2020). The weirdest people in the world: How the west became psychologically peculiar and particularly prosperous. London: Penguin.
    1. Hermanto N., Zuroff D. C. (2016). The social mentality theory of self-compassion and self-reassurance: the interactive effect of care-seeking and caregiving. J. Soc. Psychol. 156, 523–535. 10.1080/00224545.2015.1135779, PMID:
    1. Hermanto N., Zuroff D. C., Kelly A. C., Leybman M. J. (2017). Receiving support, giving support, and self-reassurance: a daily diary test of social mentality theory. Pers. Individ. Differ. 107, 37–42. 10.1016/j.paid.2016.11.013
    1. Hofer M. A. (1984). Relationships as regulators: a psychobiologic perspective on bereavement. Psychosom. Med. 46, 183–197. 10.1097/00006842-198405000-00001, PMID:
    1. Hofer M. A. (1994). Early relationships as regulators of infant physiology and behavior. Acta Paediatr. 83, 9–18. 10.1111/j.1651-2227.1994.tb13260.x, PMID:
    1. Holmes J. (2001). The search for the secure base: Attachment theory and psychotherapy. UK: Routledge.
    1. Holmes J., Slade A. (2017). Attachment in therapeutic practice. London: Sage.
    1. Hornstein E. A., Eisenberger N. I. (2018). A social safety net: developing a model of social-support figures as prepared safety stimuli. Curr. Dir. Psychol. Sci. 27, 25–31. 10.1177/0963721417729036
    1. Hrdy S. B. (2009). Mothers and others: The evolutionary origins of mutual understanding. Cambridge, MA: Belknap/Harvard.
    1. Jazaieri H., Jinpa G. T., McGonigal K., Rosenberg E., Finkelstein J., Simon-Thomas E., et al. (2013). Enhancing compassion: a randomized controlled trial of a compassion cultivation training program. J. Happiness Stud. 14, 1113–1126. 10.1007/s10902-012-9373-z
    1. Kelly A. C., Dupasquier J. (2016). Social safeness mediates the relationship between recalled parental warmth and the capacity for self-compassion and receiving compassion. Pers. Individ. Differ. 89, 157–161. 10.1016/j.paid.2015.10.017
    1. Kelly A. C., Zuroff D. C., Leybman M. J., Gilbert P. (2012). Social safeness, received social support, and maladjustment: testing a tripartite model of affect regulation. Cogn. Ther. Res. 36, 815–826. 10.1007/s10608-011-9432-5
    1. Keltner D., Kogan A., Piff P. K., Saturn S. R. (2014). The sociocultural appraisals, values, and emotions (SAVE) framework of prosociality: core processes from gene to meme. Annu. Rev. Psychol. 65, 425–460. 10.1146/annurev-psych-010213-115054
    1. Keltner D., Oatley K., Jenkins J. M. (2018). Understanding emotions. 4th Edn. London: Wiley Global Education.
    1. Kessler S. E. (2020). Why care: complex evolutionary history of human healthcare networks. Front. Psychol. 11:199. 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00199, PMID:
    1. Kim J. J., Kent K. M., Cunnington R., Gilbert P., Kirby J. N. (2020a). Attachment styles modulate neural markers of threat and imagery when engaging in self-criticism. Sci. Rep. 10:13776. 10.1038/s41598-020-70772-x, PMID:
    1. Kim J. J., Parker S., Doty J., Cunnington R., Gilbert P., Kirby J. (2020b). Neurophysiological and behavioural markers of compassion. Sci. Rep. 10:6789. 10.1038/s41598-020-63846-3, PMID:
    1. Kim J. J., Parker S. L., Henderson T., Kirby J. N. (2020c). Physiological fractals: visual and statistical evidence across timescales and experimental states. J. R. Soc. Interface 17:20200334. 10.1098/rsif.2020.0334, PMID:
    1. Kirby J. N., Day J., Sagar V. (2019). The ‘Flow’of compassion: a meta-analysis of the fears of compassion scales and psychological functioning. Clin. Psychol. Rev. 70, 26–39. 10.1016/j.cpr.2019.03.001, PMID:
    1. Kirby J., Gilbert P. (2017). “The emergence of the compassion focused therapies” in Compassion: Concepts, research and applications. ed. Gilbert P. (London: Routledge; ), 258–285.
    1. Kumashiro M., Sedikides C. (2005). Taking on board liability-focused information: close positive relationship as a self-bolstering resource. Psychol. Sci. 16, 732–739. 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2005.01603.x, PMID:
    1. Kumsta R. (2019). The role of epigenetics for understanding mental health difficulties and its implications for psychotherapy research. Psychol. Psychother. 92, 190–207. 10.1111/papt.12227, PMID:
    1. Lama Dalai. (1995). The power of compassion. India: Harper Collins.
    1. Lampert K. (2005). Traditions of compassion: From religious duty to social activism. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
    1. Lawrence V. A., Lee D. (2014). An exploration of people’s experiences of compassion-focused therapy for trauma, using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Clin. Psychol. Psychother. 21, 495–507. 10.1002/cpp.1854, PMID:
    1. Lee D. (2005). “The perfect nurture a model to develop a compassionate mind within the context of cognitive therapy” in Compassion: Conceptualisations, research and use in psychotherapy. ed. Gilbert P. (London: Routledge; ), 326–351.
    1. Lewis C. S. (1961). A grief observed. London: Faber & Faber.
    1. Lippard E. T., Nemeroff C. B. (2020). The devastating clinical consequences of child abuse and neglect: increased disease vulnerability and poor treatment response in mood disorders. Am. J. Psychiatry 177, 20–36. 10.1176/appi.ajp.2019.19010020, PMID:
    1. Lockwood P. L., Apps M. A., Chang S. W. (2020). Is there a ‘social’brain? Implementations and algorithms. Trends Cogn. Sci. 24, 802–813. 10.1016/j.tics.2020.06.011, PMID:
    1. Loewenstein G., Small D. A. (2007). The scarecrow and the tin man: the vicissitudes of human sympathy and caring. Rev. Gen. Psychol. 11, 112–126. 10.1037/1089-2680.11.2.112
    1. Lunkenheimer E., Tiberio S. S., Skoranski A. M., Buss K. A., Cole P. M. (2018). Parent‐child coregulation of parasympathetic processes varies by social context and risk for psychopathology. Psychophysiology 55:e12985. 10.1111/psyp.12985, PMID:
    1. Luyten P., Campbell C., Allison E., Fonagy P. (2020). The mentalizing approach to psychopathology: state of the art and future directions. Annu. Rev. Clin. Psychol. 16, 297–325. 10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-071919-015355, PMID:
    1. Margana L., Bhogal M. S., Bartlett J. E., Farrelly D. (2019). The roles of altruism, heroism, and physical attractiveness in female mate choice. Pers. Individ. Differ. 137, 126–130. 10.1016/j.paid.2018.08.018
    1. Marino L. (2017). Thinking chickens: a review of cognition, emotion, and behavior in the domestic chicken. Anim. Cogn. 20, 127–147. 10.1007/s10071-016-1064-4, PMID:
    1. Marsh A. A. (2019). The caring continuum: evolved hormonal and proximal mechanisms explain prosocial and antisocial extremes. Annu. Rev. Psychol. 70, 347–371. 10.1146/annurev-psych-010418-103010, PMID:
    1. Mascaro J. S., Florian M. P., Ash M. J., Palmer P. K., Frazier T., Condon P., et al. . (2020). Ways of knowing compassion: how do we come to know, understand, and measure compassion when we see it? Front. Psychol. 11:547241. 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.547241, PMID:
    1. Mascaro J., Negi L. T., Raison C. (2017). “Cognitively based compassion training. Gleaning generalities from specific biological effects” in The Oxford handbook of compassion science. eds. Seppälä E. M., Simon-Thomas E., Brown S. L., Worline M. C., Cameron L., Doty J. R. (New York: Oxford University Press; ), 247–257.
    1. Matos M., Duarte J., Duarte C., Gilbert P., Pinto-Gouveia J. (2018). How one experiences and embodies compassionate mind training influences its effectiveness. Mindfulness 9, 1224–1235. 10.1007/s12671-017-0864-1
    1. Matos M., Duarte C., Duarte J., Pinto-Gouveia J., Petrocchi N., Basran J., et al. (2017). Psychological and physiological effects of compassionate mind training: a pilot randomised controlled study. Mindfulness 8, 1699–1712. 10.1007/s12671-017-0745-7
    1. Mayseless O. (2016). The caring motivation: An integrated theory. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    1. McGhee K. E., Bell A. M. (2014). Paternal care in a fish: epigenetics and fitness enhancing effects on offspring anxiety. Proc. Biol. Sci. 281:20141146. 10.1098/rspb.2014.1146, PMID:
    1. McGilchrist I. (2018). Ways of attending: How our divided brain constructs the world. Oxon, UK: Routledge.
    1. Melis A. P. (2018). The evolutionary roots of prosociality: the case of instrumental helping. Curr. Opin. Psychol. 20, 82–86. 10.1016/j.copsyc.2017.08.019, PMID:
    1. Mikulincer M., Shaver P. R. (2016). Attachment in adulthood: Structure, dynamics, and change. 2nd Edn. New York: Guilford Press.
    1. Miller J. G., Kahle S., Troxel N. R., Hastings P. D. (2020). The development of generosity from 4 to 6 years: examining stability and the biopsychosocial contributions of children’s vagal flexibility and mothers’ compassion. Front. Psychol. 11:2988. 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.590384
    1. Mobbs D., Marchant J. L., Hassabis D., Seymour B., Tan G., Gray M., et al. . (2009). From threat to fear: the neural organization of defensive fear systems in humans. J. Neurosci. 29, 12236–12243. 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2378-09.2009, PMID:
    1. Mullen G., O’Reilly G. (2018). How can social mentality theory help us understand eating disorder presentations? A scoping review. J. Relat. Res. 9:e18. 10.1017/jrr.2018.17
    1. Muris P., Otgaar H. (2020). The process of science: a critical evaluation of more than 15 years of research on self-compassion with the self-compassion scale. Mindfulness 11, 1469–1482. 10.1007/s12671-020-01363-0
    1. Music G. (2017). Nurturing natures attachment and children’s emotional social cultural and brain development. 2nd Edn. Oxon, UK: Routledge.
    1. Music G. (2019). Nurturing children: From trauma to growth using attachment theory, psychoanalysis and neurobiology. London: Routledge.
    1. Narvaez D. (2017). “Evolution, child raising and compassionate morality” in Compassion: Concepts, research and applications. ed. Gilbert P. (London: Routledge; ), 31–68.
    1. Narvaez D. (2020). Ecocentrism: resetting baselines for virtue development. Ethical Theory Moral Pract. 23, 1–16. 10.1007/s10677-020-10091-2
    1. Neel R., Kenrick D. T., White A. E., Neuberg S. L. (2016). Individual differences in fundamental social motives. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 110, 887–907. 10.1037/pspp0000068, PMID:
    1. Neff K. D. (2020). Commentary on Muris and Otgaar (2020): let the empirical evidence speak on the self-compassion scale. Mindfulness 11, 1900–1909. 10.1007/s12671-020-01411-9
    1. Neff K., Germer C. (2017). “Self-compassion and psychological well-being” in The Oxford handbook of compassion science. eds. Seppälä E. M., Simon-Thomas E., Brown S. L., Worline M. C., Cameron L., Doty J. R. (New York: Oxford University Press; ), 371–386.
    1. Nesse R. M. (2019). Good reasons for bad feelings: Insights from the frontier of evolutionary psychiatry. New York: Dutton.
    1. Nguyen T., Schleihauf H., Kayhan E., Matthes D., Vrtička P., Hoehl S. (2020). The effects of interaction quality on neural synchrony during mother-child problem solving. Cortex 124, 235–249. 10.1016/j.cortex.2019.11.020, PMID:
    1. Norman L., Lawrence N., Iles A., Benattayallah A., Karl A. (2015). Attachment-security priming attenuates amygdala activation to social and linguistic threat. Soc. Cogn. Affect. Neurosci. 10, 832–839. 10.1093/scan/nsu127, PMID:
    1. Overmier J. B. (2002). On learned helplessness. Integr. Physiol. Behav. Sci. 37, 4–8. 10.1007/BF02688801, PMID:
    1. Pace T. W., Negi L. T., Adame D. D., Cole S. P., Sivilli T. I., Brown T. D., et al. . (2009). Effect of compassion meditation on neuroendocrine, innate immune and behavioral responses to psychosocial stress. Psychoneuroendocrinology 34, 87–98. 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2008.08.011, PMID:
    1. Panksepp J. (1998). Affective neuroscience. New York: Oxford University Press.
    1. Pauley G., McPherson S. (2010). The experience and meaning of compassion and self-compassion for individuals with depression or anxiety. Psychol. Psychother. 83, 129–143. 10.1348/147608309X471000, PMID:
    1. Perry R., Sibley G., Duckitt J. (2013). Dangerous and competitive worldviews: a meta-analysis of their associations with social dominance orientation and right-wing authoritarianism. J. Res. Pers. 47, 116–127. 10.1016/j.jrp.2012.10.004
    1. Petrocchi N., Cheli S. (2019). The social brain and heart rate variability: implications for psychotherapy. Psychol. Psychother. 92, 208–223. 10.1111/papt.12224
    1. Piff P. K., Kraus M. W., Keltner D. (2018). Unpacking the inequality paradox: the psychological roots of inequality and social class. Adv. Exp. Soc. Psychol. 57, 53–124. 10.1016/bs.aesp.2017.10.002
    1. Porges S. W. (2007). The polyvagal perspective. Biol. Psychol. 74, 116–143. 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2006.06.009, PMID:
    1. Porges S. W. (2017). “Vagal pathways: portals to compassion” in The Oxford handbook of compassion science. eds. Seppälä E. M., Simon-Thomas E., Brown S. L., Worline M. C. (New York: Oxford University Press; ).
    1. Porges S. W., Furman S. A. (2011). The early development of the autonomic nervous system provides a neural platform for social behaviour: a polyvagal perspective. Infant Child Dev. 20, 106–118. 10.1002/icd.688, PMID:
    1. Poulin M. J. (2017). “To help or not to help: goal commitment and the goodness of compassion” in The Oxford handbook of compassion science. eds. Seppälä E. M., Simon-Thomas E., Brown S. L., Worline M. C., Cameron L., Doty J. R. (New York: Oxford University Press; ), 355–367.
    1. Preston S. D. (2013). The origins of altruism in offspring care. Psychol. Bull. 139, 1305–1341. 10.1037/a0031755, PMID:
    1. Rachman S. J. (1990). Fear and courage. New York: WH Freeman/Times Books/Henry Holt & Co.
    1. Ricard M. (2015). Altruism: The power of compassion to change itself and the world. Great Britain: Atlantic Books.
    1. Richins M. T., Barreto M., Karl A., Lawrence N. (2019). Empathic responses are reduced to competitive but not non-competitive outgroups. Soc. Neurosci. 14, 345–358. 10.1080/17470919.2018.1463927, PMID:
    1. Riskind J. H., Rector N. A., Taylor S. (2012). Looming cognitive vulnerability to anxiety and its reduction in psychotherapy. J. Psychother. Integr. 22, 137–162. 10.1037/a0028011
    1. Rothschild B. (2000). The body remembers: The psychophysiology of trauma & trauma treatment. New York: WW Norton & Company.
    1. Ryan C. (2019). Civilized to death: The price of progress. New York: Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster.
    1. Sachs J. D. (2012). The price of civilization: Reawakening American virtue and prosperity. London: Random House.
    1. Sapolsky M. R. (2017). Behave: The biology of humans at our best and worst. London: Vintage.
    1. Sapolsky R. M., Share L. J. (2004). A pacific culture among wild baboons: its emergence and transmission. PLoS Biol. 2:E106. 10.1371/journal.pbio.0020106, PMID:
    1. Schore A. N. (2019). Right brain psychotherapy. New York: Norton.
    1. Seppälä E. M., Simon-Thomas E., Brown S. L., Worline M. C., Cameron C. D., Doty J. R. (eds.) (2017). The Oxford handbook of compassion science. New York: Oxford University Press.
    1. Shirtcliff E. A., Vitacco M. J., Graf A. R., Gostisha A. J., Merz J. L., Zahn-Waxler C. (2009). Neurobiology of empathy and callousness: implications for the development of antisocial behavior. Behav. Sci. Law 27, 137–171. 10.1002/bsl.862, PMID:
    1. Siegel D. J. (2010). The mindful therapist: A clinician’s guide to mindsight and neural integration. New York: WW Norton.
    1. Siegel D. J. (2012). The developing mind: How relationships and the brain interact to shape who we are. New York: Guilford Press.
    1. Siegel D. J. (2019). The mind in psychotherapy: an interpersonal neurobiology framework for understanding and cultivating mental health. Psychol. Psychother. 92, 224–237. 10.1111/papt.12228, PMID:
    1. Singer T., Engert V. (2019). It matters what you practice: differential training effects on subjective experience, behavior, brain and body in the ReSource project. Curr. Opin. Psychol. 28, 151–158. 10.1016/j.copsyc.2018.12.005, PMID:
    1. Slavich G. M. (2020). Social safety theory: a biologically based evolutionary perspective on life stress, health, and behavior. Annu. Rev. Clin. Psychol. 16, 265–295. 10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-032816-045159, PMID:
    1. Spikins P. (2015). How compassion made us human: The evolutionary origins of tenderness trust and morality. Barnsley: Spear and Sword Books.
    1. Spikins P. (2017). “Prehistoric origins the compassion of far distant strangers” in Compassion: Concepts, research and applications. ed. Gilbert P. (London: Routledge; ), 16–30.
    1. Steffen P. R., Foxx J., Cattani K., Alldredge C., Austin T., Burlingame G. M. (2020). Impact of a 12-week group-based compassion focused therapy intervention on heart rate variability. Appl. Psychophysiol. Biofeedback. 10.1007/s10484-020-09487-8, PMID: [Epub ahead of print]
    1. Stellar J. E., Keltner D. (2017). “Compassion in the autonomic nervous system: the role of the vagus nerve” in Compassion: Concepts, research and applications. ed. Gilbert P. (London: Routledge; ), 120–134.
    1. Stevens J., Woodruff C. C. (2018). The neuroscience of empathy, compassion and self-compassion. London: Academic Press.
    1. Strauss C., Taylor B. L., Gu J., Kuyken W., Baer R., Jones F., et al. . (2016). What is compassion and how can we measure it? A review of definitions and measures. Clin. Psychol. Rev. 47, 15–27. 10.1016/j.cpr.2016.05.004, PMID:
    1. Suddendorf T. (2018). “Two key features created the human mind: inside our heads” in Scientific American. Vol. 319 42–47.
    1. Suddendorf T., Whitten A. (2001). Mental evolutions and development: evidence for secondary representation in children, great apes, and other animals. Psychol. Bull. 127, 629–650. 10.1037/0033-2909.127.5.629, PMID:
    1. Taylor C. (1989). Sources of the self: The making of the modern identity. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
    1. Thayer J. F., Åhs F., Fredrikson M., Sollers J. J., III, Wager T. D. (2012). A meta-analysis of heart rate variability and neuroimaging studies: implications for heart rate variability as a marker of stress and health. Neurosci. Biobehav. Rev. 36, 747–756. 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2011.11.009, PMID:
    1. Tost H., Kolachana B., Hakimi S., Lemaitre H., Verchinski B. A., Mattay V. S., et al. . (2010). A common allele in the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) impacts prosocial temperament and human hypothalamic-limbic structure and function. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 107, 13936–13941. 10.1073/pnas.1003296107, PMID:
    1. Twenge J. M., Miller J. D., Campbell W. K. (2014). The narcissism epidemic: commentary on modernity and narcissistic personality disorder. Pers. Disord. 5, 227–229. 10.1037/per0000008, PMID:
    1. Uomini N., Fairlie J., Gray R. D., Griesser M. (2020). Extended parenting and the evolution of cognition. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B Biol. Sci. 375:20190495. 10.1098/rstb.2019.0495, PMID:
    1. Van der Kolk B. A. (2015). The body keeps the score: Brain, mind, and body in the healing of trauma. UK: Penguin Books.
    1. Wang S. (2005). “A conceptual framework for integrating research relatedto the physiology of compassion and the wisdom of Buddhist teachings” in Compassion: Conceptualizations, research and use in psychotherapy. ed. Gilbert P. (London: Routledge; ), 75–120.
    1. Weiss E., Zaki J. (2017). “Empathy building interventions: a review of existing work and suggestions for future directions” in The Oxford handbook of compassion science. eds. Seppälä E. M., Simon-Thomas E., Brown S. L., Worline M. C., Cameron L., Doty J. R. (New York: Oxford University Press; ), 399–420.
    1. Weng H. Y., Fox A. S., Shackman A. J., Stodola D. E., Caldwell J. Z., Olson M. C., et al. . (2013). Compassion training alters altruism and neural responses to suffering. Psychol. Sci. 24, 1171–1180. 10.1177/0956797612469537, PMID:
    1. Weng H. Y., Lapate R. C., Stodola D. E., Rogers G. M., Davidson R. J. (2018). Visual attention to suffering after compassion training is associated with decreased amygdala responses. Front. Psychol. 9:771. 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00771, PMID:
    1. Wetherall K., Robb K. A., O’Connor R. C. (2019). Social rank theory of depression: a systematic review of self-perceptions of social rank and their relationship with depressive symptoms and suicide risk. J. Affect. Disord. 246, 30–39. 10.1016/j.jad.2018.12.045, PMID:
    1. Workman L., Reader W., Barkow J. H. (2020). The Cambridge handbook of evolutionary perspectives on human behavior. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    1. Wright N., Hill J., Sharp H., Pickles A. (2018). Maternal sensitivity to distress, attachment and the development of callous-unemotional traits in young children. J. Child Psychol. Psychiatry 59, 790–800. 10.1111/jcpp.12867, PMID:
    1. Zuroff D. C., Clegg K. A., Levine S. L., Hermanto N., Armstrong B. F., Haward B., et al. (in press). Beyond trait models of self-criticism and self-compassion: variability over domains and the search for signatures.

Source: PubMed

Patrocinadores e Colaboradores

Condições médicas

Intervenções de drogas

3
Se inscrever