What can Positive Psychology tell us about Compassion and Altruism?

Martin (Marty) Seligman
 1999 APA Presidential Address
 From good to great
 From psychopathology to strengths
 The Templeton Foundation

Sea Ranch meeting
 Positive Psychology Degree
 Introduce Positive Psychology course
 Connect with Researchers

Psi Chi, 2002: Bob Emmons on Gratitude
People during and after peak-experiences*
characteristically feel lucky, fortunate, graced. A
common reaction is ‘I don’t deserve this.’ A
common consequence is a feeling of gratitude,
in religious persons, to their God, in others, to
fate or to nature or to just good fortune…This
can go over into worship, giving thanks, adoring,
giving praise, oblation, and other reactions
which fit very easily into orthodox religious
frameworks” ( Religions, Values, and Peak
Experiences, 1964, 67-68)
* transcendent moments of pure joy and elation
“When the second plane hit the south tower of the World
Trade Center, I had just stepped out of an elevator onto
the 44th floor. Dust and rubble burst out of the elevator
shafts and stairways. There was a lot of panic. I clung to
the need to see and feel God’s love. The descent down the
stairwells was orderly and efficient. So many people were
actively expressing love for one another—helping them,
calming their fears, embracing and comforting them. It
sounds strange, but one of my abiding impressions was
how much there was to be grateful for, and how many
people to be grateful to…things got worse for a time,
when the towers collapsed I was a block away…I was able
to keep somewhat focused on the need to love and be
grateful”
 an affirmation of the goodness in our life
and the recognition that the sources of this
goodness lie at least partially outside the
self.
 a sense of joy and thankfulness in response
to receiving a gift.
201 students were randomly assigned to one of three
conditions

The gratitude group: wrote down up to 5 things in their
lives for which they were grateful or thankful each week

The hassles group: wrote down up to 5 hassles or
complaints each week

The neutral (events) group: wrote down up to 5 major
events and circumstances that impacted them each week
Participants kept weekly logs of their moods, life appraisals,
physical symptoms, and health behaviors for 10 weeks
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Hard to find parking
Messy kitchen no one will clean
Finances depleting quickly
Having a horrible test in health psychology
Rude customers on Sunday morning
Stupid people driving
Doing favor for friend who didn’t appreciate it
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Waking up this morning
Generosity of friends
The warmth of family
To God for giving me determination
Thankful for wonderful parents
That I have learned all that I have learned
To the Lord for just another day
Grateful to the Rolling Stones
Relative to the other two groups the Gratitude
Group:

felt better (delighted vs. terrible) about their
lives as a whole

were more optimistic about the upcoming week

reported fewer physical complaints
McCullough, Kilpatrick, Emmons and Larson
(2001)
 Gratitude motivates moral behavior
 Receiving expressions of gratitude stimulates the
beneficiaries (recipients of gratitude) to “behave
pro-socially in the future.”
 Reciprocity Norm…e.g. Christmas Cards
 Later research has documented that recipients of
gratitude are more likely to give… even to a third
party.
Relative to control groups, the group which
felt/expressed Gratitude reported :
 Greater positive moods (experiencing happiness
in the moment), although no difference in
negative moods
 Offering others more emotional support or help
with a personal problem
 Those who knew the participants well rated the
participants in the gratitude group as more
helpful than those in the other groups.
At end of first class meeting, students randomly
assigned to one of two groups
 Gratitude: think back over the last week and
write 5 things you were grateful for
 Life Events: think back over the last week and
write 5 things that happened to you
 Then asked to rate their (1) positive and negative
moods, (2) expectations for the upcoming week
and (3) feelings about their life in general and (4)
a brief Compassion Scale

 Positive & Negative Affect in the present
moment (PANAS, Watson & Clark,
1988)..e.g. interested, sad, excited, alert,
calm
 What are your expectations for the
upcoming week?
pessimistic………………………………optimistic
 How do you feel about your life as a whole?
terrible……………………………………delighted
 When I hear about someone (a stranger) going through a
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difficult time, I feel a great deal of compassion for him or
her.
I tend to feel compassion for people, even though I do not
know them
One of the activities that provide me with the most
meaning to my life is helping others in the world when
they need help
I would rather engage in activities that help others even
though they are strangers, than engage in actions that
would help me.
I often have tender feelings toward people (strangers)
when they seem to be in need.
6.12
7
5.58
6
5
4
Gratitudes
2
Life Events
1.89
3
1.2
1
0
Negative Affect
Optimism about week
ahead
Negative Affect Scores: those who wrote gratitudes
had significantly less negative affect scores
6
5
4
3
1.89
1.26
2
1
0
Gratitudes
Life Events
7
6.00
6
6.12
5.58
5.58
5
4
3.24
3.65
Gratitudes
3
Life Events
2
1
0
Positive Affect
Global Appraisals
Optimism week
ahead
Compassion Scores
5.89
7
5.70
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Gratitudes
Life Events
 Gratitude Score as check on whether
randomly assisgning students to write
gratitudes or life events for the week had
been successful in creating different levels of
gratitude?
 Gratitude composite score:
 Grateful, thankful, and appreciative
4.19
4.19
4.5
Gratitude Scores
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
Gratitudes
Life Events

Examples of “Life Events:”
 Being proposed to
 Won $50 on lottery scratcher
 Decided to leave a surprise snack for a co-worker
 Realized I aced an assignment
 My husband cuddled me unexpectedly

Perhaps taking a positive psychology course
encouraged students to focus on positive events

Use students in other classes

Include 3 groups:
 Gratitudes
 Hassles
 Life events

Have them write daily for an entire week
 “Counting your blessings”: journaling, prayer,
savoring life’s joys, disputing negative beliefs
 Expressing gratitude to others: thank you
notes, Gratitude letters (the Gratitude Visit),
changing conversations
 Expressing appreciation for others: giving
concrete examples of how they show their
strengths
 Random acts of Kindness
 Powerful exercise, designed by Seligman,
that I’ve been using for years
 Optional Assignment:
 Write a letter expressing your gratitude to
someone you have never fully expressed gratitude
 Make an appointment and read the letter to them
 Write up the experience, answering specific
questions –very emotional