Compassion Is Not a Benzo: Distinctive Associations of Heart Rate Variability With Its Empathic and Action Components
Open accessAbstract
Recent studies have linked compassion with higher vagally mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV), a measure of parasympathetic activity, and meta-analytic evidence confirmed significant and positive associations. Compassion, however, is not to be confused with soothing positive emotions: in order to engage in actions aimed to alleviate (self or others) suffering, the pain should resonate, and empathic sensitivity should be experienced first. The present study examined the association between vmHRV and the empathic sensitivity and action components of trait and state compassion. To do so, several dispositional questionnaires were administered and two videos inducing empathic sensitivity (video 1) and compassionate actions (video 2) were shown, while the ECG was continuously recorded, and momentary affect was assessed. Results showed that (i) scores on subscales assessing the empathic component of trait compassion were inversely related to resting vmHRV; (ii) vmHRV decreased after video 1 but significantly increased after video 2. As to momentary affect, video 1 was accompanied with an increase in sadness and a decrease in positive affect, whereas video 2 was characterized by an increase in anger, a parallel decrease in sadness, and an increase (although non-significant) in positive affect. Overall, present findings support the notion that it is simplistic to link compassion with higher vmHRV. Compassion encompasses increased sensitivity to emotional pain, which is naturally associated with lower vmHRV, and action to alleviate others’ suffering, which is ultimately associated with increased vmHRV. The importance of adopting a nuanced perspective on the complex physiological regulation that underlies compassionate responding to suffering is discussed.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Recent studies on compassion using alternate forms of measurement, for example physiological measures such as heart-rate variability, provide important additional data to this debate.
“Recent studies on compassion using alternate forms of measurement, for example physiological measures such as heart-rate variability, provide important additional data to this debate [124–129].”
From Validation of the compassionate engagement and action scales, compassion scale, and Sussex-Oxford compassion scales in a French-Canadian sample (2024) · cites this paper as [129]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Kubios HRV–heart rate variability analysis software.
Tarvainen, M. P., Niskanen, J.-P., Lipponen, J. A., Ranta-aho, P. O., & Karjalainen, P. A. (2014) · Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine · doi:10.1016/j.cmpb.2013.07.024 · Cited by 2,720 · cited 1× · see citing works
“VmHRV analysis was performed using Kubios HRV software (Tarvainen et al., 2014).”
MethodThayer, J. F., Hansen, A. L., Saus-Rose, E., & Johnsen, B. H. (2009) · Annals of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1007/s12160-009-9101-z · Cited by 1,872 · see citing works
The Relationship Between Self‐Compassion and Well‐Being: A Meta‐Analysis
Zessin, U., Dickhäuser, O., & Garbade, S. (2015) · Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being · doi:10.1111/aphw.12051 · Cited by 1,237 · see citing works
Lutz, A., Brefczynski-Lewis, J., Johnstone, T., & Davidson, R. J. (2008) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0001897 · Cited by 942 · see citing works
Pace, T. W. W., Negi, L. T., Adame, D. D., Cole, S. P., Sivilli, T. I., Brown, T. D., Issa, M. J., & Raison, C. L. (2009) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2008.08.011 · Cited by 748 · see citing works
Self-compassion interventions and psychosocial outcomes: a meta-analysis of RCTs
Ferrari, M., Hunt, C., Harrysunker, A., Abbott, M. J., Beath, A. P., & Einstein, D. A. (2019) · Mindfulness · doi:10.1007/s12671-019-01134-6 · Cited by 740 · see citing works
Oxytocin pathways and the evolution of human behavior
Carter, C. S. (2014) · Annual Review of Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev-psych-010213-115110 · Cited by 714 · see citing works
The development of compassionate engagement and action scales for self and others
Gilbert, P., Catarino, F., Duarte, C., Matos, M., Kolts, R., Stubbs, J., Ceresatto, L., Duarte, J., Pinto-Gouveia, J., & Basran, J. (2017) · Journal of Compassionate Health Care · doi:10.1186/s40639-017-0033-3 · Cited by 527 · see citing works
The Emerging Field of Human Social Genomics
Slavich, G. M., & Cole, S. W. (2013) · Clinical Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/2167702613478594 · Cited by 523 · see citing works
Compassion: From Its Evolution to a Psychotherapy
Gilbert, P. (2020) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.586161 · Cited by 365 · cited 11× · see citing works
“Thereby, the individual is able to learn that negative information does not always translate into an aversive outcome (Borkovec et al., 2004), when the compassionate motivation is active (Gilbert, 2020).”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialArch, J. J., Brown, K. W., Dean, D. J., Landy, L. N., Brown, K. D., & Laudenslager, M. L. (2014) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2013.12.018 · Cited by 290 · see citing works
Explorations into the nature and function of compassion
Gilbert, P. (2019) · Current Opinion in Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2018.12.002 · Cited by 250 · see citing works
Kirby, J. N., Day, J., & Sagar, V. (2019) · Clinical Psychology Review · doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2019.03.001 · Cited by 232 · cited 2× · see citing works
“…of compassion, that is whether the ability to pay sensitive attention to suffering and effectively engage with it is accompanied by the intention and capacity to start the response process (an appropriate action) to alleviate the suffering (Gilbert, 2017b; Kirby et al., 2019; Gilbert, 2020).”
BackgroundDi Bello, M., Carnevali, L., Petrocchi, N., Thayer, J. F., Gilbert, P., & Ottaviani, C. (2020) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.06.016 · Cited by 154 · see citing works
Self-citationSvendsen, J. L., Osnes, B., Binder, P.-E., Dundas, I., Visted, E., Nordby, H., Schanche, E., & Sørensen, L. (2016) · Mindfulness · doi:10.1007/s12671-016-0549-1 · Cited by 129 · see citing works
Luo, X., Qiao, L., & Che, X. (2018) · Mindfulness · doi:10.1007/s12671-018-0900-9 · Cited by 77 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 33
- Borkovec T. Alcaine O. Behar E. (2004). “ Avoidance theory of worry and generalized anxiety disorder,” in Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Advances in Research and Practice, eds Turk C. L. Mennin D. S. (New York, NY: Guilford Press), 77– 108.
- Cattell R. B. (1966). The scree test for the number of factors. Multivariate Behav. Res. 1 245– 276. 26828106
- Crocker J. Canevello A. (2008). Creating and undermining social support in communal relationships: the role of compassionate and self-image goals. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 95 555– 575. 10.1037/0022-3514.95.3.555 18729694 · DOI
- Gilbert P. (2017a). “ Compassion as a social mentality: an evolutionary approach,” in Compassion, Concepts, Research and Applications, ed. Gilbert P. (London: Routledge), 31– 68.
- Gilbert P. (2017b). “ Compassion. Definitions and controversies,” in Compassion: Concepts, Research and Applications, ed. Gilbert P. (London: Routledge), 3– 15.
- 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 · DOI
- Grol M. De Raedt R. (2020). The link between resting heart rate variability and affective flexibility. Cogn. Affect. Behav. Neurosci. 20 746– 756. 10.3758/s13415-020-00800-w 32462431 · DOI
- Kanovský M. Baránková M. Halamová J. Strnádelová B. Koróniová J. (2020). Analysis of facial expressions made while watching a video eliciting compassion. Percept. Mot. Skills 127 317– 346. 10.1177/0031512519897512 31902304 · DOI
- Kim J. J. Parker S. Henderson T. Kirby J. N. (2020a). Physiological fractals: visual and statistical evidence across timescales and experimental states. J. R. Soc. Interface 17: 20200334. 10.1098/rsif.2020.0334 32574539 PMC7328377 · DOI
- Kim J. J. Parker S. L. Doty J. R. Cunnington R. Gilbert P. Kirby J. N. (2020b). Neurophysiological and behavioural markers of compassion. Sci. Rep. 10: 6789. 10.1038/s41598-020-63846-3 32322008 PMC7176659 · DOI
- Kirby J. N. (2016). Compassion interventions: the programmes, the evidence, and implications for research and practice. Psychol. Psychother. 90 432– 455. 10.1111/papt.12104 27664071 · DOI · Paper page
- Kline R. B. (1998). Principles and Practice of Structural Equation Modeling. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
- Koenig J. Thayer J. F. (2016). Sex differences in healthy human heart rate variability: a meta-analysis. Neurosci. Biobehav. Rev. 64 288– 310. 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.03.007 26964804 · DOI · Paper page
- Laborde S. Mosley E. Mertgen A. (2018). Vagal tank theory: the three Rs resting, reactivity and recovery. Front. Psychol. 12: 458. 10.3389/fnins.2018.00458 30042653 PMC6048243 · DOI
- Matos M. Duarte C. Duarte J. Pinto-Gouveia J. Petrocchi N. Basran J. (2017). Psychological and physiological effects of compassionate mind training: a pilot randomised controlled study. Mindfulness 8: 1699. 10.1007/s12671-017-0745-7 · DOI
- Miller J. G. (2018). Physiological mechanisms of prosociality. Curr. Opin. Psychol. 20 50– 54. 10.1016/j.copsyc.2017.08.018 28837956 · DOI
- Miller J. G. Xia G. Hastings P. D. (2019). Resting heart rate variability is negatively associated with mirror neuron and limbic response to emotional faces. Biol. Psychol. 146: 107717. 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2019.107717 31199946 PMC6718327 · DOI
- Nederend I. Schutte N. M. Bartels M. Ten Harkel A. D. de Geus E. J. (2016). Heritability of heart rate recovery and vagal rebound after exercise. Eur. J. Appl. Physiol. 116 2167– 2176. 10.1007/s00421-016-3459-y 27614881 PMC5118411 · DOI
- Pace T. W. Negi L. T. Dodson-Lavelle B. Ozawa-de Silva B. Reddy S. D. Cole S. P. (2013). Engagement with cognitively-based compassion training is associated with reduced salivary C-reactive protein from before to after training in foster care program adolescents. Psychoneuroendocrinology 38 294– 299. 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2012.05.019 22762896 · DOI
- Park G. Van Bavel J. J. Vasey M. W. Thayer J. F. (2013). Cardiac vagal tone predicts attentional engagement to and disengagement from fearful faces. Emotion 13 645– 656. 10.1037/a0032971 23914769 · DOI
- Petrocchi N. Cheli S. (2019). The social brain and heart rate variability: implications for psychotherapy. Psychol. Psychother. 92 208– 223. 10.1111/papt.12224 30891894 · DOI
- Petrocchi N. Ottaviani C. Couyoumdjian A. (2017). Compassion at the mirror: exposure to a mirror increases the efficacy of a self-compassion manipulation in enhancing soothing positive affect and heart rate variability. J. Posit. Psychol. 12 525– 536. 10.1080/17439760.2016.1209544 · DOI
- Porges S. W. (2017). “ Vagal pathways: portals to compassion,” in The Oxford Handbook of Compassion Science, ed. Seppala E. M. (New York, NY: Oxford University Press), 189– 202.
- Seppala E. Rossomando T. Doty J. R. (2012). Social connection and compassion: important predictors of health and well-being. Soc. Res. 80 411– 430. 10.1353/sor.2013.0027 · DOI
- Sprecher S. Fehr B. (2005). Compassionate love for close others and humanity. J. Soc. Pers. Relat. 22 629– 651. 10.1177/0265407505056439 · DOI
- 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 46 61– 68. 10.1007/s10484-020-09487-8 32939617 · DOI
- Svendsen J. L. Schanche E. Osnes B. Vøllestad J. Visted E. Dundas I. (2020). Is dispositional self-compassion associated with psychophysiological flexibility beyond mindfulness? An exploratory pilot study. Front. Psychol. 11: 614. 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00614 32328014 PMC7160328 · DOI
- Tabachnick B. Fidell L. (2013). Using Multivariate Statistics, 6th Edn. Boston, MA: Pearson.
- Task Force of the European Society of Cardiology and the North American Society of Pacing and Electrophysiology (1996). Heart rate variability: standards of measurement, physiological interpretation, and clinical use. Circulation 93 1043– 1065. 10.1161/01.CIR.93.5.1043 8598068 · DOI · Paper page
- Thayer J. F. Ahs F. Fredrikson M. Sollers J. J. 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 22178086 · DOI · Paper page
- Tracy L. M. Giummarra M. J. (2017). Sex differences in empathy for pain: what is the role of autonomic regulation? Psychophysiology 54 1549– 1558. 10.1111/psyp.12895 28555773 · DOI
- Weidman A. C. Tracy J. L. (2020). Picking up good vibrations: uncovering the content of distinct positive emotion subjective experience. Emotion 20 1311– 1331. 10.1037/emo0000677 31535882 · DOI
- Yarnell L. M. Neff K. D. (2013). Self-compassion, interpersonal conflict resolutions, and well-being. Self Identity 12 146– 159. 10.1080/15298868.2011.649545 · DOI
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Brophy, K., Emery, M., MacDonald, C., Côté, C. I., & Körner, A. (2024) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0305776 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Self-Compassion: An Evolutionary, Biopsychosocial, and Social Mentality Approach
Gilbert, P. (2023) · Mindfulness in Behavioral Health · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-22348-8_4 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
- Authors
- Di Bello, M., Ottaviani, C., & Petrocchi, N.
- Affiliations
- Fondazione Santa Lucia (IT)
- John Cabot University (IT)
- Venue
- Frontiers in Neuroscience
- Publisher
- Frontiers Media SA
- Published
- 2021-03-12
- Volume
- 15
- Pages
- 617443-617443
- ISSN
- 1662-453X (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC7994334
- OpenAlex
- W3138651799
- Cited by
- 54
- References
- 16
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 3
- FWCI
- 4.69
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Frontiers in Neuroscience (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- IRIS Research product catalog (Sapienza University of Rome) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Action Observation and Synchronization
- Keywords
- compassion, heart rate variability, vagal tone, parasympathetic activity, empathic sensitivity, compassionate action, momentary affect, emotional pain
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
