"Day Of Compassion Analysis" (Social Psychology)

Day Of Compassion






Hello my name is Candice and I would like to tell you a little about my “Day Of Compassion” Experience.
Firstly I found this assignment very relevant in my life at this present time for many reasons but I'll only concentrate on the two main reasons.
One reason is that I have been told that sometimes I can be a bit intimidating due to my straightforward personality. However, I have found this to be a little confusing at times as I think that being honest to people is always the best way to be. In essence I thought my honesty was a form of compassion. Secondly this assignment came at a time when I was approaching “The Day Of Atonement”. Being Hebrew this is a Holy Day that is very strict in it's observance, meaning we have a mandatory fast and we must atone to GOD for our sins for that prior year.


My husband and I run three charities for our Congregation, one that distributes clothing to new members that have fallen on hard times. One that provides members with free bibles and study packets ( bible dictionaries, concordances. etc). Lastly according to Numbers 15:37-39 we as Hebrews must wear “fringes” on our garments so we provide fringes and sew them on as well free of charge. So during the week of this “Day of Compassion” assignment I sent off fringe packs every day of the week to 5 different places in the world to people who needed fringes, bibles and other things. So that was some of the physical things that I participated in that week.




Now I must say that in this “Day of Compassion” I was very comfortable given the environment of the “Day Of Atonement”. I always prepare myself for the onset of people coming to me to tell me whether or not I have offended them in anyway in the past year. The action for the “Day of Atonement” is “forgiveness”. So now that I have explained that I want to delve into how it coincides with the “Day of Compassion”


According To Leviticus 23:27-32 this is how we observe the “Day of Atonement” (save the literal sacrifice)
"Also on the tenth day of this seuenth moneth, there shalbe a day of atonement, it shalbe an holy conuocation vnto you, & ye shall afflict your soules, and offer an offering made by fire vnto the Lord.
28 And ye shall doe no worke in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you, before the Lord your God.
29 For whatsoeuer soule it bee that shall not bee afflicted in that same day, hee shall bee cut off from among his people.
30 And whatsoeuer soule it bee that doeth any worke in that same day, the same soule will I destroy from among his people.
31 Ye shall doe no maner of worke: it shall be a statute for euer throughout your generations, in all your dwellings.
32 It shalbe vnto you a Sabbath of rest, and yee shall afflict your soules in the ninth day of the moneth at Euen, from Euen vnto Euen shall ye celebrate your Sabbath”. In reading the above precepts some may notice the dynamic of “Obedience to Authority” that we learned about in Week 3 of this course greatly applies in this situation because in believing that the bible is a true book I felt a responsibility to go to people and allow them to tell me all the things that I had said and or did to them that may have hurt their feelings made them feel in anyway sad or hurt by my actions.
In asking these questions to many of my friends, family and even associates I found that my ways of being straightforward were by some taken as a sign of caring whereas others were very offended by it and used words like “too harsh”, “cold”, and “non-sympathetic”.



As going a little deeper into the reactions I received from some people during my “Day of Compassion” I have to be straight about it. I sometimes felt that some of the people that I approached to ask for forgiveness or to ask them if they had anything to say to me concerning offensiveness or compassion seemed to feel that all of a sudden they had an upper hand on me. It seemed that some people were not genuinely trying to forgive or be honest. They acted as though they just wanted you to make you feel humiliated.. Now some people were very receptive and appreciative about the compassion that I sought to give them. They wanted to hug and wanted to return the compassion instantly it was a great feeling. I have come to understand so many things about compassion that I had never really understood before I think it is the focus on compassion that made me recognize these things. I really believe that in my case so many people expect so much out of me that the dynamic of the Pygmalion Effect was applied in my case. I had to do well I do believe that because I was expected to be more compassionate and caring I was able to deliver that attitude to most people. I really believe that “Conformity” also played a big role as I was also trying to be accepted by GOD. I remained in the faith that my compassion and forgiveness would get me the same compassion and forgiveness from GOD himself.



In all this was a great experience and I believe that actively practicing a compassionate lifestyle opens doors to many new ways of living our lives and influencing others.

• How did you define compassion, and who were the recipients of your efforts?
  

“Compassion is the act of caring whole- heartedly and never expecting anything in return”

• If your behavior was different than normal, which person did you like more: the "Day of Compassion you" or the "normal you"? If you preferred the "Day of Compassion you," what are the psychological factors that prevent this "you" from coming out?
  

I definitely prefer my “Day of Compassion “ self over my regular self because I am able to see myself for who I really am.

• What are the psychological costs and benefits of behaving compassionately? In your view, do the benefits outweigh the costs?
  

The benefits greatly outweigh the costs. Though a few people behaved badly and as opportunist for their own gain. I have gained much more insight into people feelings about me and more love for people as a whole. This is priceless.

• How did others respond to your compassion? Do you think they noticed a difference in your behavior? What attributions did people make for your behavior, and why?
  

While some people responded like I 'owed” them something most of the responses were genuine and heartfelt. It the kind of feeling that makes you feel warm all over.

• If you wanted to encourage others to behave as you did during the Day of Compassion, what psychological techniques would you use? How can social psychology be used to foster a more compassionate society?
  

Just go to a person with a clear head and be to them what you set out to be and that is compassionate. Don't go to them with a preconceived notion of how they might respond just let the chips fall where they may.

• If you were to predict your behavior one month from now, do you think it will be changed as a result of participating in the Day of Compassion? If so, how? If not, why not?
  

I can honestly say that after this assignment I have found that it is my desire to live each day “in compassion” . I never want to get to a place in my life where I no longer care.

Thanks for taking time to read this. I hope you enjoyed,

~Candice