To address issues of racial disparities in the US and effect lasting social changes, it is essential for members of privileged groups to learn about the experiences of marginalized individuals and groups. However, this kind of empathic engagement around social justice issues is often avoided by privileged group members due to the potentially high emotional costs associated with engaging with these issues. This multi-method, randomized controlled trial examined a two-week, online-based, self-administered compassion meditation training (vs. reappraisal training) as a method to counter empathy avoidance among White adults with regard to social justice contexts. Specifically, we investigated (1) whether the compassion training increased White adults' empathic engagement (i.e., outgroup empathy, approach/avoidance physiology, and willingness to engage in social justice dialogue) in a situation where race-related social injustice is highlighted; and (2) whether such effects occur due to an expansion of social resources following training (i.e., perceived connection with close and distant others). Results showed that compassion training (vs. reappraisal training) did not significantly increase White adults' empathic engagement in racial disparity contexts. Specifically, there was no significant group differences in changes in outgroup empathy from pre- to post-intervention. Similarly, there was no significant group difference in willingness to engage in social justice dialogue at post-intervention. In addition, approach/avoidance physiological patterns during laboratory empathy task did not significantly differ between training groups. However, the non-significant group difference in physiological patterns at post-intervention indicated a moderate to large effect, such that the compassion group showed physiological response patterns partially consistent with approach orientation (increased cardiac activity coupled with vasodilation) whereas the reappraisal group showed patterns more consistent with avoidance orientation (i.e., increased cardiac activity in the absence of vasodilation). Finally, there was a marginally significant group difference in social resources changes from pre- to post-intervention. Perceived connection with close others increased significantly in the compassion group but increased only marginally significantly in the reappraisal group. Perceived connection with distant others increased significantly in the compassion group but did not change in the reappraisal group. The lack of hypothesized effect and related considerations pertaining to practice compliance, outcome measurement, and training model and content are discussed. Additionally, preliminary findings and limitations of the present study are discussed with an aim to inform future studies. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]