A psychologist explains the limits of human compassion (Vox, 5 September 2017)

Summary

When people don't feel their actions will make a difference because of the vast scale of a problem, they are less likely to act, and this has implications for attempts to improve patient safety and reduce avoidable harm. In this article, Brian Resnick, science and health editor at Vox, interviews psychologist Paul Slovic, who has been researching human responses to risk and compassion since the 1970s. They discuss the psychological impact of large numbers of people on our ability and willingness to respond compassionately and to act on that compassion. They look at Slovic's research into the concepts of psychic numbing and the prominence effect, focusing on the global refugee crisis and why individuals and governments fail to act in the face of immense suffering.