By Jill Suttie, Greater Good Magazine, November 7, 2022
Now and then, I give up my spot in the grocery line to a stranger. Or, if a friend is in the hospital, I’ll surprise them by sending flowers. These random acts of kindness—given without expectation of thanks or reciprocity—feel good in the moment and help connect me to my community.
But, if random kindnesses spread so much positivity, why don’t we do them more often? Findings from a recent study conducted by Amit Kumar of the University of Texas at Austin and Nicholas Epley of the University of Chicago suggest one possible reason: We may be underestimating how nice it is to receive kindness.
In several experiments within the study, Kumar and Epley gave people opportunities to act in a variety of kind ways, both with strangers and with people they knew. In one experiment, for instance, researchers went to a public ice rink on a cold day and handed people a cup of hot chocolate, telling them they could keep it for themselves or give it to a random stranger at the rink. The people who gave theirs away first reported how much happier they were than usual, then predicted how much happier the stranger would be receiving the drink from them (knowing someone had given it up for them). Next, the researchers delivered the hot chocolate, telling the recipients that it was a gift from a stranger and querying them about how they felt.
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