When people do overcome the temptation of self-interest and instead help and cooperate with others, they become more respected in their group, and then upon receiving that respect, they then help others even more. –Robb Willer, Ph.D., M.A., B.A. Associate Professor of Sociology at Stanford University. 3 Benefits of Being Sympathetic We [psychologists] have become interested in concepts like compassion and gratitude. Only 8 or 9 years ago, there was one study of gratitude in scientific literature. 1,000s of studies of anger, and one study of gratitude. There is this long standing assumption that in terms of evolution, it is survival of the fittest, and it is important to know, that wasn’t Darwin who said that, but somebody who came after Darwin named Herbert Spencer. What Darwin said in Descent of Man is, ‘Sympathy is our strongest instinct.’ Sympathetic people do better in the game of reproduction. It turns out they are more attractive as mates. Sympathetic parents have kids who are more resilient, and who thrive more. Sympathetic people do better in competitive situations with strangers. Data shows kind people fair pretty well and evoke a lot of trust in others. –Dacher Keltner, a UC Berkeley psychology professor leading research in emotion and social interaction. See How a Cross-Race Friendship Is Good for Your Health In a Berkeley experiment designed by psychologist Rudy Mendoza-Denton, researchers sought answers to overcome prejudice. They put two strangers of different races together in a room. They first measured the level of the hormone Cortisol, which is elevated when a person is under stress. They are given increasingly personal questions to ask...
On May 14, 2012, Greater Good Science Center Faculty Director Pr. Dacher Keltner delivered the commencement address for graduating psychology students at the University of California, Berkeley, asking them to look for the best in themselves and in humanity. In 1986, Ivan Boesky, of insider trading fame, gave a graduation speech on this very same Berkeley campus of free speech and Nobel laureates. That day he declared, ‘Greed is healthy.’Below are some powerful excerpts from his speech. A year later in the movie Wall Street, Gordon Gekko famously turned that phrase into, ‘Greed is good.’ This battle cry was part of a pendulum swing seen before in history, one that expressed a certain view of who we are as a species. We are selfish gratification machines. Happiness is found in material pursuits. Other people’s concerns are not our own. Altruism is an illusion. The bad in human nature is stronger than the good.” Can A System Teaching Self Interest Gain At The Expense Of Everyone And Thing Provide Us A Beneficial Society? That phrase and its accompanying ideology was the mantra of my generation, and scientific studies show it brought us: Rises in loneliness and a loss of friends; A loss of trust in our communities and institutions; Increases in narcissism and decreases in empathy; Spikes in anxiety, to the point where 75 percent of Americans now say they are too stressed; And the recent economic collapse, an insulated one percent, and levels of inequality in the United States that are literally shortening the lives of our citizens.” Science Reveals The Depth Of Connections Between Humans And The Power Of...
