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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 15, 2019

China’s Cruel Internment of the Uyghurs Must Not Go Unnoticed

Feb 15, 2019

Feb 8, 2019

The Effects of Dehumanizing Visual Portrayals of Refugees

Feb 8, 2019

Jan 18, 2019

Uprising in Sudan

Jan 18, 2019

Dec 21, 2018

Einstein and Szent-Györgyi on Nuclear Weapons

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 6, 2018

Why Are We Outraged Over Khashoggi's Murder, But Indifferent to Deaths in Yemen?

Dec 6, 2018

Nov 13, 2018

The Myth of "I Can't Make a Difference"

Nov 13, 2018

Oct 23, 2018

Autonomous Weapons

Oct 23, 2018

Oct 16, 2018

Chiune Sugihara's Courage Saved 6,000 Lives

Oct 16, 2018

Oct 10, 2018

Queen Rania of Jordan on Psychic Numbing and Compassion

Oct 10, 2018

Oct 8, 2018

The More Who Die the Less We Care

Oct 8, 2018

Sep 19, 2018

Factfulness

Sep 19, 2018

Sep 13, 2018

Ai Weiwei's Human Flow

Sep 13, 2018

Sep 11, 2018

Open Your Eyes

Sep 11, 2018

Aug 8, 2018

Compassion Week

Aug 8, 2018

Jun 12, 2018

TEDx at Kakuma Camp

Jun 12, 2018

Apr 18, 2018

Red Lines

Apr 18, 2018

Apr 13, 2018

Genocidal Violence Accelerates in Darfur

Apr 13, 2018

Mar 16, 2018

Why Do We Ignore the War in Syria?

Mar 16, 2018

Mar 14, 2018

Representing Victims of School Gun Violence

Mar 14, 2018

Mar 2, 2018

Why Do We Mourn For Parkland But Ignore Genocides?

Mar 2, 2018

Feb 21, 2018

Psychic Numbing and the Recent Atrocities in Syria

Feb 21, 2018

Jan 23, 2018

The Civil March for Aleppo

Jan 23, 2018

Jan 22, 2018

Overcoming Psychic Numbing Through Narratives: A Review of Numbers and Nerves

Jan 22, 2018

Nov 22, 2017

Does Trump Understand What It Means to “Totally Destroy North Korea”?

Nov 22, 2017

Oct 24, 2017

The Heartbreaking Humanitarian Crisis in Myanmar

Oct 24, 2017

Sep 13, 2017

Psychic Numbing and Famine

Sep 13, 2017

Jul 24, 2017

Making Compassion Count

Jul 24, 2017

Jun 29, 2017

Combating the Lord’s Resistance Army: A Humanitarian Success Story

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.