Pasadena Now spotlighted the work of Michael Spezio, associate professor of psychology, neuroscience, and data science, in an article on his recently completed three-year study on compassion. Made possible by a $1.3 million grant from the John Templeton Foundation, the study sought to understand the nature of exceptionally compassionate individuals and communities.
In collaboration with principal investigators from Fuller Theological Seminary’s Graduate School of Psychology, University of California, Irvine, and Caltech, Spezio examined caregiver assistants at L’Arche communities, an ecumenical network of homes for the intellectually disabled. L’Arche caregivers are renowned humanitarian exemplars and view disabled persons as inspiring teachers of compassion, love, and virtue.
Spezio and his fellow researchers used a combination of self-identity review, questionnaires, brain activity patterns, linguistic analyses, and other methods to study the caregivers. Outcomes have been submitted to a scientific journal, with additional manuscripts in development.