Boston Marathon’s Heroes And The Science Behind Compassion

Nature World News:

The acts of heroism seen even within seconds of the detonation of the bombs at Boston Marathon included people who seemed to utterly forget fear for their own wellbeing in order to protect that of others. However, Tuesday’s events were not first time the world’s seen such selflessness before: firefighters and policemen and women during the 9-11 attacks, for example, come to mind for many.

Emma Seppala, the associate director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) at Stanford University, is just one of several pioneers in this relatively new field of study. And the way she sees it, the interpersonal connection that occurs during times of crises may one reason why humans have survived thus far.

Researchers Markus Heinrichs and Bernadette von Dawans of the University of Freiberg, Germany, conducted a study in which male participants were assigned to two groups, one that evoked stress and another that did not.

Read the whole story: Nature World News