Are you humane?

5 Psychology Studies That Will Make You Feel Good About Humanity

When reading the news, it's easy to feel discouraged and pessimistic about human nature. However, recent psychology studies have suggested that people aren't actually as selfish or greedy as they sometimes seem. A growing body of research is showing that most people want to help others and that doing so makes their lives more fulfilling.

You may have heard in the news about "pay it forward" chains: when one person offers a small favor (like paying for the meal or coffee of the person behind them in line) the recipient is likely to offer the same favor to someone else. A study by researchers at Northeastern University has found that people really do want to pay it forward when someone else helps them — and the reason is that they feel grateful. This experiment was set up so that participants would experience a problem with their computer half way through the study. When someone else helped them fix the computer, they subsequently spend more time helping the next person with their computer issues. In other words, when we feel grateful for the kindness of others, it motivates us to want to help someone as well. Read more...

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