Cruel to be kind? Hormones that trigger feelings of compassion can also lead to aggressive behaviour, study claims

Home »Cruel to be kind? Hormones that trigger feelings of compassion can also lead to aggressive behaviour, study claims

Cruel to be kind? Hormones that trigger feelings of compassion can also lead to aggressive behaviour, study claims

Posted by sciencetech-blog on Thursday, November 6, 2014 Label:

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The ability to love and empathise are among humanity's defining characteristics.

But while understanding another person's plight can inspire gentle emotions, under certain circumstances, feelings of tenderness and sympathy can in fact lead to aggressive behaviour, researchers claim.

Experts believe the phenomenon exists because certain hormones produced by nerve cells interact that lead to aggression to help those in need, which may explain why humans are prepared to harm others to protect their loved ones.

Showing compassion (illustrated by a stock image) and understanding another person's plight can inspire gentle emotions, but under certain circumstances, feelings of tenderness and sympathy can predict aggressive behaviours, researchers claim

'It's not about anger or feeling personally threatened,' said Michael Poulin, associate Professor at University at Buffalo, the state university of New York.

He believes that two neurohormones appear to be among the mechanisms contributing to the counterintuitive response.

Neurohormones are chemicals produced by nerve cells that act as both hormones in the blood stream and neurotransmitters in the brain.

'Both oxytocin and vasopressin seem to serve a function leading to increased 'approach behaviours, he said, explaining that people are motivated by getting closer to others.

People approach one another for many reasons, including aggression.

Certain hormones produced by nerve cells interact to predict aggression (illustrated with a stock image) on behalf of those in need, according to a new study. 'It's not about anger or feeling personally threatened,' but acting out of love or compassion, its lead researcher explained

RELIGIOUS PEOPLE ARE LESS LIKELY TO SHOW COMPASSION TO STRANGERS THAN ATHEISTS, CLAIM SCIENTISTS

A study in 2012 found that less religious people, atheists and agnostics are more driven by compassion to be generous than people who define themselves as strongly religious.

University of California researchers held three experiments into compassion and concluded non-religious people would decide how to act based on emotion, rather than doctrine.

In the first experiment, researchers analysed data from a 2004 national survey of more than 1,300 American adults, using statements such as 'when I see someone being taken advantage of, I feel kind of protective towards them', to see if there was a connection between religion and compassion.

Results showed those who agreed with the statements were also more inclined to show generosity in random acts of kindness, such as lending their possessions and offering a seat on a crowded bus or train.

When they looked into how much compassion motivated participants to be charitable in ways like giving money or food to a homeless person, non-believers and those who rated low in religious belief had better results than religious people.

The authors said: 'These findings indicate that although compassion is associated with pro-sociality among both less religious and more religious individuals, this relationship is particularly robust for less religious individuals.'

So it stands to reason that if compassion is linked to the action of these hormones, then they are linked to social approach behaviours that they might help account for the link between compassion and aggression, Professor Poulin explained.

He and his team conducted a two-part study consisting of a survey and an experiment.

'The results of both indicate that the feelings we broadly call empathic concern, or compassion, can predict aggression on behalf of those in need,' he said.

The survey asked people to report on someone close to them and explain how that person was threatened by a third-party.

Then, participants described their emotions and reaction to the situation.

While previous studies have looked at aggression on behalf of others, Professor Poulin said: 'the idea that empathy can drive aggression absent of provocation or injustice is quite novel'.

In the experiment, participants provided a saliva sample in order to measure their neurohormone levels.

They then heard a compassion-evoking story about a stranger who was supposedly set to take part in a study measuring the effects of physical pain by eating hot sauce.

The 'real' participant under observation for this study had a choice of how much pain would be dished out to a third party, who was competing with the person they felt sorry for in the study.

'The results of both the survey and the experiment indicate that the feelings we have when other people are in need, what we broadly call empathic concern or compassion, can predict aggression on behalf of those in need,' Professor Poulin said.

The study appears to shed light on soldiers who think more about protecting a comrade than fighting against a broader threat, or parents who are prepared to sabotage a child's competition attempt so their own child can win, according to the scienstists

'In situations where we care about someone very much, as humans, we were motivated to benefit them, but if there is someone else in the way, we may do things to harm that third party.'

That reaction is not because the third party has done anything wrong, but because of love or compassion for those we care about, he explained.

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