Compassion Week 2022 — The Arithmetic of Compassion

Researchers from around the world met in Eugene, Oregon, to discuss the psychology underlying the biases that prevent us from being more compassionate

In August 2022, a group of international scholars met in Eugene to present and discuss research on topics central to the arithmetic of compassion. The group has met annually since 2012 and has a long-standing history of collaborative research. It formed in order to better understand when and why people help, or fail to help, others in need and the role that affect and emotions play in large- and small-scale prosocial decisions. The original participants of Compassion Week were all connected to Decision Research in some way, as members, visiting researchers, or PhD students. It was Paul Slovic’s idea to synthesize and formalize our efforts to use psychological research methodologies to better understand the pressing humanitarian problems we face today. Since then, Compassion Week has grown into a major research workshop, which regularly attracts approximately 30 international researchers..

**The beginnings in DR’s meeting room . . . First Compassion Week in 2012**

One of the central missions of Compassion Week is to present research that scientifically examines and empirically answers pressing questions such as why people (fail to) help others, (fail to) worry about climate change and global warming, endorse violent rather than cooperative and peaceful solutions to conflicts, engage in partisan framing in times of crises, and (fail to) respond in a responsible way in the face of contemporary societal challenges (like the COVID-19 pandemic). This year’s meeting took place in the Psychology Department at the University of Oregon and saw an impressive line-up of speakers on the topics of prosociality, cooperation, psychic numbing, partisan framing, climate change, and risk perceptions related to COVID-19.

One goal for the future is to increase the real-world impact in each country represented by Compassion Week attendees. The research discussed at this meeting has been published in top scientific journals and is showcased in media outlets around the world. It thus provides opportunities to have a direct impact on people’s lives. Furthermore, these meetings spearheaded new research collaborations and provided opportunities for new, young scholars.

Here is a selection of abstracts of works presented at this year’s Compassion Week.

Due to the logistical and funding challenges of allowing this to become a larger meeting, Compassion Week has remained a small event, although participating speakers change from year to year. We encourage interested scholars to contact the organizers to find out if there is room for new participants in the future or to gather information about organizing a similar event at their own institutions.