Thriving in Openness, Care, and Compassion: How Virtue and Compassion for Self and Others Relate to Flourishing

Paul Verhaeghen ()
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Paul Verhaeghen: Georgia Institute of Technology

Journal of Happiness Studies, 2024, vol. 25, issue 1, No 13, 24 pages

Abstract: Abstract This study aimed at investigating the connection between virtue, compassion for self and others, and flourishing. 11,395 individuals provided data on the virtues of Caring, Inquisitiveness, and Self-Control, compassion for self (i.e., Self-Compassion and self-Criticism) and for others (i.e., Empathy, Common Humanity, Recognizing Suffering, and Willingness to Act), and flourishing. Regression analysis showed that: (a) Caring and Inquisitiveness were associated with an individual's sense of compassion, both for self and others; and that (b) the virtues and this kind attitude towards self and others were associated with an individual’s level of flourishing, explaining 50% of the between-person variance. Women scored higher than men on all variables except Self-Control. Self-Compassion increased with age; Empathy, Common Humanity, and Recognizing Suffering showed inverted-U trends with peaks around age 40–50; Willingness to Act and Self-Criticism showed downward trends. The results suggest that being caring, open, and kind may be major determinants of fulfillment.

Keywords: Compassion; Well-being; Virtues; Self-compassion; Caring; Inquisitiveness; Self-control (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1007/s10902-024-00725-y

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