PRESIDENT’S CORNER
2014-April
by Kyle Jensen, MHA President
There are a handful of commercials that I actually look forward to seeing. One of them starts by showing a little boy seeing others kids spraying paint on a wall of a man's store. He sees the result of their actions and feels hurt. He then sees a boy at school getting bullied by another student and he again feels the hurt. Those actions cause him to want change for the world. He does one good deed, which spurs a chain of good deeds. I love this commercial because it helps to shape my own frame of mind. In the end, the boy's actions come full circle. This commercial always brings a smile to my face, and a recommitment in my heart to do good deeds. (http:// youtu.be/XtIsiKu_JUg) I've always wondered if witnessing acts of kindness has a similar effect on others as well, and apparently some researchers have had the same question.
Psychologists from a number of universities recently conducted a study where participants viewed either a neutral or uplifting video of people expressing gratitude to their mentors, which was designed to provide a burst of positive feelings. Many participants then wrote essays about what they saw, and were paid for their time. Researchers found that those who watched the uplifting clips were more likely to volunteer as subjects for future projects.
While it can be argued that those who watched pleasant and uplifting videos were more likely to participate in future studies because they found the experience more enjoyable, and more likely to repeat it, the willingness to help in the future by those who watched others display kindness can also be interpreted as a greater propensity toward helping others. The research continued. In the second part of the study, the research assistant helping with the project pretended to have trouble opening a computer file necessary for the experiment. She told everyone that they were free to leave, but asked if they would be willing to fill out a questionnaire that she described as boring.
The results of this study put a smile on my face. Participants who viewed the uplifting clip spend about twice as much time helping the assistant as did participants in either of the other groups! This means that finding the experiment enjoyable, or wanting to make additional money participating in studies, isn't what was behind people's willingness to help out. The researchers themselves concluded that "by drawing out positivity, even brief exposure to other individuals' communal behavior, motivates selflessness, thus potentially providing an avenue for increasing the general level of community in society."
This research left me with a warm, fuzzy feeling and a determination to see this in action in my own life. Will people in my community be kinder to others if they see more kindness from me? Will they be less stressed? I intend to find out, though I expect I already know the answer.
How will you use this story in your own life? Share your experiences with us in next month's newsletter. We plan
to start a page that is designated for anything you want to contribute to the neighborhood. Share a story; send us your favorite recipe; say thank you; or share your arts and crafts projects, whatever you choose to share, we will include it. Write a paragraph or two of "Good Will" and send it to newsletter@mistletoeheights.org by the tenth of the month. See Page 6. Bring a smile to someone's face!
Get connected. Be more engaging. We have lots of avenues to make our community better than the way we found it.
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Facebook Chat Room www.facebook.com/groups/ mhneighbors
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NextDoor page www.mistletoeheights.nextdoor.com
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Webpage www.mistletoeheights.org/contact
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Next neighborhood meeting
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