Where the Practice Comes From
Between 2013 and 2016, the ReSource Project trained more than 300 adults over nine months in three modules of secular mental practice, measuring effects on the brain, the body, stress, well-being, and social behavior. One of its innovations was the contemplative dyad: a short, daily, partner-based exercise in which participants take turns speaking and listening.
The Humanize Dyad follows that format. Each partner shares one difficult emotion and one moment of gratitude from the past day, staying connected to the body while speaking, while the other listens without judgment, advice, or interruption.
The project and its published findings are documented at the ReSource Project and at the Social Neuroscience Lab of the Max Planck Society , which Dr. Singer leads.
Humanize and Compassion 2.0 are independent initiatives and are not affiliated with Dr. Singer, the Max Planck Society, or the ReSource Project.
Key Findings Informing This Practice
Dyadic Practices Increase Social Connectedness
Participants engaging in contemplative dyads experienced significant increases in social closeness, emotional well-being, and resilience.
Kok, B.E., & Singer, T. (2017). Effects of contemplative dyads on engagement and perceived social connectedness over 9 months of mental training: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA Psychiatry, 74(2), 126–134.
Being Heard Without Judgment Improves Mental Health
Structured, partner-based practices in which one person speaks and the other listens without comment have been shown to:
- enhance emotional regulation
- reduce loneliness
- increase the sense of being seen and valued
Godara, M., et al. (2024). Reducing loneliness through the power of practicing together: A randomized controlled trial of online dyadic socio-emotional vs. mindfulness-based training. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 21(5), 570.
Mental Training Can Reshape the Brain
Socio-affective training was associated with structural brain changes in regions related to empathy, compassion, and emotional regulation.
Valk, S.L., et al. (2017). Structural plasticity of the social brain: Differential change after socio-affective and cognitive mental training. Science Advances, 3(10): e1700489.
Connection Builds Everyday Resilience
Ordinary people — not only clinical populations — can cultivate resilience through structured relational practice. App-delivered dyad training has since been tested in randomized trials with healthy adults.
Silveira, S., Godara, M., & Singer, T. (2023). Boosting empathy and compassion through mindfulness-based and socioemotional dyadic practice: Randomized controlled trial with app-delivered trainings. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 25, e45027.
Findings 02 and 04 draw on later randomized trials from the same lab that tested app-delivered dyad practice with healthy adults; they are cited here as supporting evidence for the mechanism rather than as ReSource Project results.
Recognizing Dr. Tania Singer
Humanize recognizes the work of Dr. Tania Singer for the development and scientific research of this practice. The contemplative dyad, the study that validated it, and the body of published evidence behind it are hers and her collaborators'.
Humanize and Compassion 2.0 are not affiliated with Dr. Singer, the Max Planck Society, or the ReSource Project, and nothing on this site should be read as their endorsement.