The Arithmetic of Compassion
  • Blog
  • Introduction
  • Psychic Numbing
  • Pseudoinefficacy
  • Prominence
  • Environmental Humanities
  • Take Action
  • Our Team
  • Numbers and Nerves
  • Contact
  • Support
The Arithmetic of Compassion
  • Blog/
  • Introduction/
  • Psychic Numbing/
  • Pseudoinefficacy/
  • Prominence/
  • Environmental Humanities/
  • Take Action/
  • Our Team/
  • Numbers and Nerves/
  • Contact/
  • Support/
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The Arithmetic of Compassion

The more who die, the less we care. Learn why..

Blog

The Arithmetic of Compassion blog connects new research and current events to concepts discussed on Arithmetic of Compassion website, such as psychic numbing, pseudoinefficacy, and the prominence effect.

The Arithmetic of Compassion
  • Blog/
  • Introduction/
  • Psychic Numbing/
  • Pseudoinefficacy/
  • Prominence/
  • Environmental Humanities/
  • Take Action/
  • Our Team/
  • Numbers and Nerves/
  • Contact/
  • Support/

The mission of the Arithmetic of Compassion Website is to raise awareness of psychological obstacles to compassion, including psychic numbing, pseudoinefficacy, and the prominence effect. We also discuss how artists can use literature and art to overcome these obstacles to compassion in our Environmental Humanities page.

Read our Introduction to learn more.

We welcome scholars, journalists, students, and ordinary, concerned citizens to write blogs for our website that connect the concepts of the Arithmetic of Compassion to current events. Contact us at arithmeticofcompassion@gmail.com to submit a blog.

Recent Blogs

August 03, 2016

Scott Slovic Presents at the Perpignan Ecopoetics Conference

August 03, 2016/ Katie Dwyer

In this keynote address in June 2016, "Enchanting the Earth's Data with Meaning: Information and Emotion Channeled through Environmental Literature and Art," Scott Slovic shares some of the key concepts from Numbers and Nerves. 

August 03, 2016/ Katie Dwyer/
Psychic Numbing

Katie Dwyer

  • Psychic Numbing (originally posted ...
  • Blog
  • Blog/
  • Introduction/
  • Psychic Numbing/
  • Pseudoinefficacy/
  • Prominence/
  • Environmental Humanities/
  • Take Action/
  • Our Team/
  • Numbers and Nerves/
  • Contact/
  • Support/

The Arithmetic of Compassion

What psychological phenomena stop us from taking action in the face of genocide or other mass atrocities? Why do we respond to the needs of one person, but not to 'the many?' Arithmetic of Compassion addresses these issues with scientific studies, with the goal of helping journalists, educators, politicians, and the general public to better understand and combat the impact of psychic numbing and other processes that lead to lowered compassion. 

Recent Blogs

Featured
Feb 22, 2019
Cognitive Bias Prevents Us From Tackling Climate Change
Feb 22, 2019
Feb 22, 2019
Feb 15, 2019
China’s Cruel Internment of the Uyghurs Must Not Go Unnoticed
Feb 15, 2019
Feb 15, 2019
Feb 8, 2019
The Effects of Dehumanizing Visual Portrayals of Refugees
Feb 8, 2019
Feb 8, 2019
Jan 18, 2019
Uprising in Sudan
Jan 18, 2019
Jan 18, 2019
Dec 21, 2018
Einstein and Szent-Györgyi on Nuclear Weapons
Dec 21, 2018
Dec 21, 2018
Dec 7, 2018
“Don’t Tell Me, I Don’t Want to Know”: How Information Avoidance Can Keep Us Insulated From Important Social Problems
Dec 7, 2018
Dec 7, 2018
Dec 6, 2018
Why Are We Outraged Over Khashoggi's Murder, But Indifferent to Deaths in Yemen?
Dec 6, 2018
Dec 6, 2018
Nov 13, 2018
The Myth of "I Can't Make a Difference"
Nov 13, 2018
Nov 13, 2018
Oct 23, 2018
Autonomous Weapons
Oct 23, 2018
Oct 23, 2018
Oct 16, 2018
Chiune Sugihara's Courage Saved 6,000 Lives
Oct 16, 2018
Oct 16, 2018
Oct 10, 2018
Queen Rania of Jordan on Psychic Numbing and Compassion
Oct 10, 2018
Oct 10, 2018
The More Who Die the Less We Care
Oct 8, 2018
The More Who Die the Less We Care
Oct 8, 2018
Oct 8, 2018
Sep 19, 2018
Factfulness
Sep 19, 2018
Sep 19, 2018
Sep 13, 2018
Ai Weiwei's Human Flow
Sep 13, 2018
Sep 13, 2018
Sep 11, 2018
Open Your Eyes
Sep 11, 2018
Sep 11, 2018
Aug 8, 2018
Compassion Week
Aug 8, 2018
Aug 8, 2018
Jun 12, 2018
TEDx at Kakuma Camp
Jun 12, 2018
Jun 12, 2018
Apr 18, 2018
Red Lines
Apr 18, 2018
Apr 18, 2018
Apr 13, 2018
Genocidal Violence Accelerates in Darfur
Apr 13, 2018
Apr 13, 2018
Mar 16, 2018
Why Do We Ignore the War in Syria?
Mar 16, 2018
Mar 16, 2018
Mar 14, 2018
Representing Victims of School Gun Violence
Mar 14, 2018
Mar 14, 2018
Mar 2, 2018
Why Do We Mourn For Parkland But Ignore Genocides?
Mar 2, 2018
Mar 2, 2018
Feb 21, 2018
Psychic Numbing and the Recent Atrocities in Syria
Feb 21, 2018
Feb 21, 2018
Jan 23, 2018
The Civil March for Aleppo
Jan 23, 2018
Jan 23, 2018
Jan 22, 2018
Overcoming Psychic Numbing Through Narratives: A Review of Numbers and Nerves
Jan 22, 2018
Jan 22, 2018
Nov 22, 2017
Does Trump Understand What It Means to “Totally Destroy North Korea”?
Nov 22, 2017
Nov 22, 2017
Oct 24, 2017
The Heartbreaking Humanitarian Crisis in Myanmar
Oct 24, 2017
Oct 24, 2017
Sep 13, 2017
Psychic Numbing and Famine
Sep 13, 2017
Sep 13, 2017
Jul 24, 2017
Making Compassion Count
Jul 24, 2017
Jul 24, 2017
Jun 29, 2017
Combating the Lord’s Resistance Army: A Humanitarian Success Story
Jun 29, 2017
Jun 29, 2017

Website designed by Katie Dwyer www.KatieDwyer.co and maintained by Decision Research, a research institute that investigates decision making. Decision Research is a registered nonprofit with 501(c)3 designation. All original content is copyright of Decision Research.

The banner image is a photograph of the Kigali Memorial Centre by Radu Sigheti. The Kigali Memorial Centre contains a gallery of photographs depicting victims of the Rwandan genocide. The remains of 250,000 victims are interred at the center.

The material on this website is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation and Riksbankens Jubileumsfond. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation or Riksbankens Jubileumsfond.