(To read Parts – 1 of 3; 2 of 3)
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‘Doing Good’ – a one-time thing?
Is doing good an one-time activity or infrequently done act whose benefits last a long time? Dr. Waguih William Ishak, a professor of psychiatry at Cedars-Sinai reflects17 on this -“Biochemically, you can’t live on the 3-to-4-minute oxytocin boost that comes from a single act.” The trick you need to know: Acts of kindness have to be repeated.
On a daily basis, the opportunities to do good, practice kindness, or engage in any other prosocial behaviors are plenty – whether it be holding the door for somebody, sharing something with someone, helping a neighbor, or even more engaged volunteer efforts. With introspection and discipline, this can become a regular practice.
As this quote from Dalai Lama puts it – “Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.”
Why Authenticity Matters in ‘Doing Good’?
How is an act of kindness perceived? Are all prosocial actions altruistic?
- Stanford Social Neuroscience Laboratory and Dr. Jamil Zaki have done interesting research in the area of altruism. This particular study detailed below focuses on how laypeople (or observers here) perceive those who are engaging in altruistic acts (do-gooders or agents). It identifies four buckets of people engaging in altruistic acts, based on their motives and the benefits they are seen to accrue.
- Material benefit (as an example people giving to charity to get a tax break)
- Social benefit (such as praise)
- Emotional benefit (to feel good)
- No benefits (without expectation in their altruism)
It is not hard to see everyday examples of ‘altruism with a benefit’ and place them in one of these buckets for yourself. Think of a politician volunteering once at soup kitchen, someone volunteering at their employer-supported civic activity, someone volunteering at their children’s school, someone donating blood, or someone making an anonymous donation for a cause. Clearly these situations may all be viewed differently by a third-party observer.
- While this Stanford study18 is more nuanced and detailed on the areas of motives and benefits, the results are very clear. As the findings state:
- Do-gooders’ motives make a big difference in how they are perceived by laypeople. “When actors benefit from good deeds, observers view them as less altruistic; when actors perform good deeds in order to accrue material or social benefits, observers view them as “counter-altruistic,” more selfish even than people who engage in non-prosocial behavior.”
- On the other hand, for agents in the emotional benefits bucket, observers’ respond that “feeling good after acting prosocially is consistent with true altruism, but helping others as a means for building positive emotion is viewed less nobly.”
- In a slightly connected inference from a study at the University of Hong Kong19 – a meta-analysis of 201 independent studies, comprising 198,213 total participants – it was found20 that “random acts of kindness, such as helping an older neighbor carry groceries, were more strongly associated with overall well-being than formal prosocial behavior, such as scheduled volunteering for a charity”.
Conclusion
Writing an article around this subject of Doing Good and its impact feels like swimming in a vast ocean of data and research, while running into buoys of our intuitive self. Intuitive, because by and large, humans tend to do good in context. It is part of our historical cultural norms and our DNA. Thus, we believe and act based on an understanding of what it means to be human. Nevertheless, data and research findings help identify a lot of nuances and nuggets of understanding.
Loneliness, social isolation, and stress have shown to be a global problems affecting the well-being of humans. Doing good and other prosocial behaviors have been proven to affect our physiology and emotional core positively. Furthermore, research findings provide insights into the infectious nature of witnessing altruistic acts and how it makes us want to be a better person – by infusing us with feelings of gratitude and elevated levels of the good hormones (oxytocin, dopamine, and serotonin).
For us, the biggest insights are around how deeply connected mind and body experiences are, the infectious nature and inspirational offshoots of positive practices, and why authenticity is key for an agent of altruism.
A concluding thought: Doing good does not take much to activate and practice consistently. As the Dalai Lama says, “Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.”
Sources and Citations
- Gallup.com. “2022 Global Emotions 2022.” https://img.lalr.co/cms/2022/06/29185719/2022-Gallup-Global-Emotions-Report-2022_compressed.pdf
- Gallup.com. “2023 Global Emotions Report.” https://www.gallup.com/analytics/349280/gallup-global-emotions-report.aspx
- Valtorta, Nicole K., et al. “Loneliness and social isolation as risk factors for coronary heart disease and stroke: systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal observational studies.” 2016 Jul 1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4941172/
- Holt-Lunstad, Juilanne et al. “Advancing Social Connection as a Public Health Priority in the United States.” 2018 Sep 1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5598785/
- Harding, Kelli. “The Rabbit Effect: Live Longer, Happier, and Healthier with the Groundbreaking Science of Kindness.” Page 39. 2019.
- Nerem, Robert M., Leveque, Murina J., and Cornhill, J. Frederick. “Social Environment as a Factor in Diet-Induced Atherosclerosis.” 1980 June 27. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.7384790
- Kim, Seoyoun, Ferraro, Kenneth F. “Do Productive Activities Reduce Inflammation in Later Life? Multiple Roles, Frequency of Activities, and C-Reactive Protein.” 2014 October. https://academic.oup.com/gerontologist/article/54/5/830/627130?login=false
- Sneed, Rodlescia S., Cohen, Sheldon. “A Prospective Study of Volunteerism and Hypertension Risk in Older Adults.” 2014 June. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3804225/
- Science Daily. “Volunteering reduces risk of hypertension in older adults.” 2013 June. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/06/130613092344.htm
- Schreier, Hannah M. C., et al. “Effect of Volunteering on Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Disease in Adolescents.” 2013 April. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/1655500.
- Kirschner, Hans, et al. “Soothing Your Heart and Feeling Connected: A New Experimental Paradigm to Study the Benefits of Self-Compassion.” 2019 May. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7324152/
- Algoe, Sara B., Haidt, Jonathan. “Witnessing excellence in action: the ‘other-praising’ emotions of elevation, gratitude, and admiration.” 2009. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2689844/
- Haidt, Jonathan, et al. “Moral elevation can induce nursing.” 2008. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2008-03871-014
- Piper, Walter T, et al. “Autonomic and prefrontal events during moral elevation.” 2015May. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0301051115000629?via%3Dihub
- Suttie, Jill. “How Our Bodies React to Seeing Goodness.” 2015 May. https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_our_bodies_react_human_goodness
- Cedars-Sinai. “The Science of Kindness.” 2019 February. https://www.cedars-sinai.org/blog/science-of-kindness.html
- Cedars-Sinai. “The Science of Kindness.” 2019 February. https://www.cedars-sinai.org/blog/science-of-kindness.html
- Ryan W. Carlsona, Ryan W., Zakib, Jamil. ”Good deeds gone bad: Lay theories of altruism and selfishness.” 2018. https://drive.google.com/file/d/16gKoxa0pK8loRraE603wowOju5geIqUi/view
- Hui, B. P. H., Ng, J. C. K., Berzaghi, E., Cunningham-Amos, L. A., & Kogan, A. “Rewards of kindness? A meta-analysis of the link between prosociality and well-being.” 2020. https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fbul0000298
- Robinson, Bryan. ”How Good Deeds Improve Our Health and Well-being.” 2020. https://community.thriveglobal.com/new-study-shows-the-benefits-of-doing-good-deeds/