Research now shows that even watching someone else do a good deed makes us feel better. The study is reported in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. Scientists call this effect “mood elevation”, meaning that it makes our moods cheerier, but now we know that it also makes the observer even more likely to do something to help others in the future. The implication of this research is that it is good for families to watch movies and news programs that feature acts of human kindness.
Psychologists studied a group of volunteers who viewed either a neutral TV clip (showing scenes from a nature documentary) or an uplifting TV clip (not surprisingly, a segment from “The Oprah Winfrey Show”). The moving piece from the Oprah show was specifically chosen to induce feelings of elevation. The volunteers in the study were first asked to write an essay about what they experienced and later were asked if they would be willing to participate in an additional study. Those who watched the uplifting TV clip were more likely to volunteer for another research study than volunteers who saw the neutral TV clip, suggesting that elevation makes us more willing to be helpful.
A growing number of scientists now believe that doing good deeds can also make us healthier and possibly even live longer. This is the focus of 50 scientific studies funded through The Institute for Research on Unlimited Love, headed by Stephen G. Post, PhD, a professor of bioethics at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Post examined studies that looked at all kinds of altruism such as compassion, generosity, and kindness. The so-called “helper’s high”, when we feel empathy and love towards others, appears to lower stress indicators and improve signs of immunity. “Humans have evolved to be caring and helpful to those around us,” says Post. “In Darwin’s Descent of Man, he mentions survival of the fittest only twice. He mentions benevolence 99 times.” Isn’t it interesting that we constantly hear about the tough interpretation of Darwin and not about his belief that goodness is an essential part of our humanity–and necessary for our survival.
How true…My husband, Erasmus, was playing chess with a man who had a stroke and can’t speak, but can still play! I spent most of the morning in the health center visiting the “‘stuckees” at this time of year. Thanks for blog!