Psychological network analysis reveals how inner self-compassion connects to outward social attitudes

A recent study published in the journal Mindfulness suggests that the way people treat themselves during difficult times is linked to their views on social equality. The research provides evidence that empathy serves as a bridge connecting self-compassion to a reduced preference for dominance over other social groups. These findings open up the possibility that fostering a kinder relationship with oneself might eventually promote broader social harmony.

Self-compassion involves treating oneself with kindness and understanding rather than harsh judgment. While previous studies show that self-compassion benefits individual mental health, its impact on wider societal attitudes has remained somewhat of a mystery. Scientists wanted to explore how an individual’s internal relationship with themselves might extend outward to shape their feelings about different social groups.

Specifically, the researchers examined a concept known as social dominance orientation. This psychological term refers to a person’s preference for inequality among social groups, where some demographics naturally dominate others. The scientists proposed that high self-compassion might relate to higher empathy, which in turn might connect to lower levels of this dominance orientation.

“The rise of authoritarianism has challenged researchers to understand the root causes of these social tensions. While psychologists routinely study personality variables, current efforts seek to bridge personality factors with larger social movements. This study attempts to connect those variables using a highly sophisticated network analysis that bridges the intrapersonal to the interpersonal, and finally broader social orientation,” explained study author Michael Juberg, a doctoral student at the University of Auckland.

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic provided a unique environment to test these connections. The global crisis caused major disruptions to daily life, increased stress, and intensified intergroup tensions and biases. By collecting data before and during this pandemic, the researchers could observe whether the psychological links between self-compassion, empathy, and social attitudes remained stable under heightened social threat.

To investigate these dynamics, the scientists recruited undergraduate students from a large public university in the United States. Participation was voluntary, and the students completed online questionnaires in exchange for course credit. The total initial sample included 1034 students, with data collected in two distinct waves to capture different social climates.

The first wave gathered responses from 578 students during the spring and fall semesters of 2019, well before the pandemic began. The second wave collected responses from 456 students during the fall semester of 2020. After removing incomplete or unusual responses, the researchers analyzed a final sample of 979 participants, consisting of 543 pre-pandemic and 436 pandemic-era students.

The researchers used three main surveys to measure the psychological traits of the participants. They used a 26-item scale to assess self-compassion, which looks at how often people balance positive and negative internal reactions. This scale measures tendencies like self-kindness versus self-judgment, as well as a sense of shared humanity versus feelings of isolation.

The self-compassion survey also measures the balance between mindfulness and over-identification. Mindfulness involves observing negative thoughts without getting swept away by them. In contrast, over-identification occurs when a person becomes completely absorbed in their own distress and emotional pain.

To measure empathy, the participants completed a survey that gauges two distinct empathetic traits. The first trait is perspective-taking, which involves the mental ability to imagine another person’s situation and understand their thoughts. The second trait is empathic concern, which refers to the emotional capacity to actually feel sympathy and care for others who are struggling.

Finally, the scientists used a 16-item questionnaire to measure social dominance orientation. This survey asked participants to rate their agreement with statements regarding group equality and superiority. High scores on this measure indicate a greater preference for social inequality, while low scores indicate a preference for egalitarian worldviews.

Instead of looking for simple cause-and-effect relationships, the researchers used a statistical technique called psychometric network analysis. This method maps out a web of connections among all the psychological variables at the same time. It helps researchers visualize which traits are directly linked and which traits act as bridges between other mental characteristics.

The analysis revealed that a preference for social inequality had the strongest negative connection to empathy. As a person’s preference for group dominance increased, their levels of empathy tended to decrease. Empathy was then directly connected to the various positive components of self-compassion, linking the inner self to outward social views.

Within the different types of empathy, the researchers noticed a distinct pattern. Empathic concern showed a much stronger relationship to social dominance orientation than perspective-taking did. This suggests that emotionally feeling care for another person is more strongly linked to egalitarian views than simply thinking about their point of view.

“Of the two components of empathy, emotional concern was more strongly related to one’s sense of equality,” Juberg told PsyPost. “In a sense, thinking about another person’s situation alone was not as powerful as attempting to feel their concern as their own.”

When comparing the pre-pandemic and pandemic-era groups, the researchers found that the overall web of connections remained highly similar. Despite the massive social disruptions and heightened fears brought on by the virus, the structure linking self-compassion, empathy, and social attitudes did not meaningfully change. This stability provides evidence that these psychological traits are fundamentally connected regardless of external social stress.

“This statistical model compellingly shows that these correlations persisted even during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, a time when social threat was heightened, suggesting the stability of the relationship between these patterns,” Juberg explained. “These results open up the possibility that self-compassion might in fact effect change on a broad social level. Follow up studies could demonstrate that self-compassion helps people become more empathetic, which then influences how we support equality between different social groups.”

While these findings offer helpful insights, there are limitations to keep in mind. The study relied on a specific sample of college students from a single university in the Pacific region. This focus limits the ability to apply the findings to older adults or individuals from different cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Future studies should also consider how specific demographic variables influence these psychological networks. For instance, individuals from marginalized backgrounds might develop higher empathic concern through firsthand exposure to inequality. In contrast, individuals from dominant social groups might show weaker connections between these traits if their environments reinforce hierarchical worldviews.

The research design only captured a snapshot in time, meaning it cannot prove that self-compassion directly causes a reduction in dominance attitudes. It is possible that the relationship works in the opposite direction, or that other unmeasured factors influence both traits simultaneously. The statistical models show that the traits are linked, but they do not confirm a strict sequence of developmental events.

“A follow up study where self-compassion is tested would give us more conclusive information of the direction of these influences,” Juberg said. “We hope to test whether developing self-compassion through a course would increase self-compassion, which thereby incidentally develops more capacity for empathy and egalitarian beliefs. This would help to establish this purported link more definitively. ”

“While this study was exploratory, it gives us hope that by teaching ourselves to be compassionate, there might be a way to promote more compassion for others in our communities. It might help us to address some of the social ills that our world currently faces. If this relationship if found, this would have profound implications for the socio-emotional development of individuals and could be a core component of educational curricula.”

The study, “Empathy as the Critical Link Between Self-Compassion and Social Dominance Orientation,” was authored by Michael Juberg and Polina Beloborodova.