Acts of Kindness
Lissa Coffey
New research from the University of California, San Diego, and Harvard University, provides the first laboratory evidence that cooperative behavior actually spreads from person to person to person. When we benefit from kindness, we “pay it forward” by helping others, which in turn creates a flow of cooperation that influences many more. And it only takes a few individuals to make a difference. The study shows that cooperative behavior spreads three degrees of separation, and that the effects persist over time. It is interesting to note that during the research an evolution of cooperation was found to develop. Groups with altruists in them end up being more altruistic as a whole, and more likely to progress and survive than the more selfish groups. One of the researchers, Nicholas Christakis, says “The flow of good and desirable properties like ideas, love, and kindness is required for human social networks to endure, and, in turn, networks are required for such properties to spread. Humans form social networks because the benefits of a connected life outweigh the costs.”
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