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Walter Piper, Jillian Garrison, and Sarina R. Saturn's, research poster, presented at CCARE's conference, The Science of Compassion: Origins, Measures and Interventions.
Citation preview
Figure 2. Increase in respiratory sinus arrhythmia
(RSA) from baseline to levels during induction of
elevation or amusement.
Figure 1. Screenshots from the experimental condition’s elevation videos
(left) and the control condition’s amusement videos (right).
Materials and Methods • College undergraduates were recruited through the Oregon State University Psychology
Department’s online experiment management system in exchange for extra credit.
• Personality trait self-report measures were administered online through Qualtrics
(Qualtrics Labs Inc., Provo, UT). Items of each measure were presented on a five-point
scale, with responses ranging from ‘Strongly Disagree’ to ‘Strongly Agree.’ The names
and origins of all scales are listed below in Table 1.
• In a later in-lab assessment period, a five-minute emotionally neutral video was shown to
each participant, followed by either an elevating video or an amusing video. Screenshots
from each emotion-inducing video are shown in Figure 1. Baseline RSA was calculated
from the last two minutes of the neutral video, while emotion-induction RSA was
calculated from the second to ninth minutes of the elevating or amusing video.
Electrocardiography (ECG) signals were obtained using the BIOPAC MP150 hardware
system (Biopac Systems Inc., Santa Barbara, CA). ECG signal was refined and RSA
was calculated using CardioEdit and CardioBatch (Porges Lab, Brain-Body Center,
University of Illinois-Chicago, Chicago, IL).
• Following the videos, a series of Likert-type manipulation-check items that asked
participants about how they felt during the video were administered (Table 2). Videos
and manipulation check items were presented with E-Prime 2.0 (Psychology Software
Tools, Inc., Sharpsburg, PA).
• After the ECG was removed and immediately before debriefing, the experimenter spilled
a plastic cup containing 20 pencils and pens in a manner that appeared unintentional, and
then waited five seconds for the participant to respond before picking up the spilled
items. If the participant assisted the experimenter, the number of items that the
participant picked up was recorded as a helping task measure.
Introduction Moral elevation is a prosocial emotional state that is triggered by witnessing or
learning of the altruistic behavior of other people (Haidt, 2003; Algoe & Haidt,
2009). It has been considered as part of the awe-family of feeling states (Keltner &
Haidt, 2003), and as an ‘other-praising’ emotion (Haidt, 2003). Although he did
not use the term ‘Elevation,’ Thomas Jefferson provided a succinct description of
this emotion:
“When any ... act of charity or of gratitude, for instance, is presented either to
our sight or imagination, we are deeply impressed with its beauty and feel a
strong desire in ourselves of doing charitable and grateful acts also.” (Jefferson,
1771/1975, p.350)
Elevation can promote altruism. A study conducted by Schnall, Roper, and
Fessler (2010) found women who watched an elevation-inducing film clip were
more willing to help in an additional, unpaid study than those who watched a
nature film or a comedy clip.
Multiple studies associated specific feelings and cognitions with elevation,
including being moved, uplifted, being optimistic about humanity, having warm
feelings in the chest, wanting to help others, and wanting to be a better person
(Algoe & Haidt, 2009; Schnall et al., 2010; Silver & Haidt, 2008).
The emotional experience of elevation also has physiological correlates. Silvers
and Haidt (2008) presented videos to induce either elevation or amusement to
nursing mothers, and the mothers in the elevation condition secreted significantly
more milk and reported more tears/crying and chills on skin. The underlying
mechanisms underlying these physiological responses were not clear, but one
likely candidate is oxytocin.
Nursing can result from oxytocin’s action as a hormone, while social
engagement is mediated by oxytocinergic neural pathways (Porges, 2007). One of
these key pathways includes the oxytocin receptors at the medullary nucleus
ambiguus, which stimulate the vagus nerve and thereby link the central and
parasympathetic nervous systems. Activity of the vagus nerve can be indexed
through respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), a pattern of heart rate variability.
Landis et al. (2009) assessed elevation as a personality trait, allowing it to be
placed in context of the Big Five traits (Extraversion, Agreeableness,
Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Openness), spiritual transcendence, and
altruism. The elevation scale presented with two factors, labeled Elevation I and
Elevation II, which were correlated with each other. Elevation I correlated
positively with Extraversion, Openness, Agreeableness, spiritual transcendence,
and altruism, while Elevation II correlated only with spiritual transcendence.
Hypotheses:
Participants experiencing elevation will show a greater increase in RSA and
exhibit helping behavior more so than those experiencing amusement.
Elevation measured as a personality trait will be predictive of prosocial profiles
and helping behavior.
Results Wilcoxon’s rank-sum tests were performed on Likert-type manipulation check items to compare differences between elevation
and amusement conditions, with a significance level of .05. The normal approximation Z-statistic and p-values are reported in Table
2 for each item.
Paired t-tests revealed that, in the elevation condition, RSA during the emotion-induction (M = 6.64, SD = 0.97) was significantly
higher than during baseline (M = 6.38, SD = 0.97), t(33) = 3.07, p = .004. In the amusement condition, there was no significant
increase from baseline (M = 6.75, SD = 1.25) to emotion-induction (M = 6.82, SD = 1.16), t(29) = 1.24, p = .223. An independent-
samples t-test showed the RSA increase during the elevation induction (M = 0.263, SD = 0.500) to be marginally larger than RSA
increase in amusement induction (M = 0.071, SD = 0.314), t(56.281) = 1.86, p = .069. Means and 95% confidence intervals of RSA
increase are illustrated in Figure 2. Helping behavior was not significantly different between conditions t(59) < 1.
Spearman coefficients and significance levels of bivariate correlations between trait elevation factors and prosocial personality
traits are indicated in Table 3.
Table 1.
Names of self-report scales used in the current study, along with the common
name of the construct measured and citation of article validating the scale.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Mean 5.80 2.67 4.14 3.34 3.70 3.52 3.21 4.02 3.41 3.65
Std. Dev. 7.59 0.66 0.61 0.58 0.55 0.55 0.70 0.58 0.78 0.54
N 61 100 98 106 107 97 108 108 60 58
1. Elevation I .19
(25)
-.49***
(54)
.19
(51)
.27*
(56)
.44***
(55)
.32
(49)
.43***
(57)
.51***
(57)
.49***
(58)
-
2. Elevation II .47*
(25)
-.27*
(56)
.30*
(53)
-.17
(58)
.51***
(57)
.34
(51)
.13
(59)
.58***
(59)
-
3. Compassion .10
(57)
-.26**
(99)
.33**
(97)
.24*
(105)
.51***
(106)
.28**
(96)
.35***
(108)
-
4. Love .24
(57)
-.44***
(99)
.22*
(97)
.69***
(105)
.44***
(106)
.21*
(96)
-
5. Awe .25
(53)
-.21*
(93)
.34***
(96)
.22*
(95)
.43***
(95)
-
6. Altruism .33*
(57)
-.55***
(98)
.39***
(96)
.38***
(105)
-
7. Trust .12
(56)
-.51***
(98)
.13
(96)
-
8. Gratitude .11
(54)
-.31**
(95)
-
9. Aggression -.04
(55)
-
10. Helping task -
Table 3.
Spearman correlation coefficients for bivariate comparisons of
dispositional scales. Correlation sample sizes are in parentheses.
Significant correlates unique to only one factor of elevation are bolded. *p<.05, **p<.01, ***p<.001.
Table 2
Manipulation check measures and significant differences between
conditions, determined by a Wilcoxon's rank-sum test.
Self-report item
Higher mean
in elevation
(N = 32)
Higher mean
in amusement
(N = 26) Z p
How much did this video affect you physically? x -1.09 .276
How much did this video affect you emotionally? x -3.31 < .001*
How interesting did you find this video? x -1.15 .251
Self-report item
Higher mean
in elevation
(N = 32)
Higher mean
in amusement
(N = 26) Z p
Happiness/joy x -0.35 .723
Warmth x -1.70 .089
Inspiration x -4.14 < .001*
Admiration x -4.19 < .001*
Hope x -4.02 < .001*
Tenderness x -2.94 .003*
Uplifted x -2.68 .007*
Awe x -1.81 .070
Amused x 3.08 .002*
Sympathy/compassion x -3.93 < .001*
Optimistic about humanity x -3.07 .002*
Wanted to help others x -4.45 < .001*
More open and loving towards people in general x -4.25 < .001*
More curious about the world x 0.00 1.00
Self-report item
Higher mean
in elevation
(N = 32)
Higher mean
in amusement
(N = 26) Z p
Eyes watering/tearing up x -5.02 < .001*
Lump in throat/choked up x -4.53 < .001*
Warm or expansive feelings in chest x -2.76 .006*
Nausea x -1.14 .252
Heart beating faster x -1.75 .081
Change in breathing x -1.44 .149
Chills, goose bumps, or tingling on skin x -3.45 < .001*
Laughter x 3.58 < .001*
Conclusions
These findings suggest that the elevation may be mediated in part by oxytocinergic stimulation
of the nucleus ambiguus and activation of the myelinated vagus nerve, as evidenced by RSA
increases during elevation induction. The experimental induction of elevation did not increase
helping behavior, although unlike previous studies, such as Schnall et al. (2010), the experimenter
did not directly request assistance. Elevation Factor II of the trait measure did have a moderately-
strong correlation with helping. Trait elevation seems to be associated with prosocial profiles,
though the two factors may relate to differing tendencies. In this study, the unique correlates of
Elevation II were gratitude and helping behavior, while Elevation I was uniquely correlated with
trust and love. Future studies will include measures of oxytocin and cortisol release and additional
measures of neural function to further explore moral elevation’s involvement with the body’s social
engagement and stress-response systems.
Name of scale Construct measured Source
Trait Elevation Scale Elevation I & Elevation II (Landis et al., 2009)
Dispositional Positive Emotion
Scale
Compassion, Love, &
Awe
(Shiota, Keltner, & John,
2006)
NEO PI-R Agreeableness facet Altruism (Costa & McCrae, 1992)
General Trust Index Trust (Yamagishi, T. &
Yamagishi, M., 1994)
Gratitude Questionnaire-6 Gratitude (McCullough, Emmons, &
Tsang, 2002)
Buss-Perry Scale subscales Physical and verbal
Aggression
(Buss & Perry, 1992)
Acknowledgements NSF CAREER Grant BCS-1151905
Fetzer Institute
Oregon State University start-up and Provost funds
Undergraduate research assistants of the Saturn Lab, for their
dedication and commitment to quality research.
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