Experts say when we do something kind, it causes others to be kind, creating a cascading effect.

4. Experts say when we do something kind, it causes others to be kind, creating a cascading effect.

A: True

According to researchers Fowler and Christakis, kindness spreads. They have determined there is a mimicry process at work.  Watching others engaged in acts of kindness, or knowing that they have done so, tends to inspire us to be kind.

Here is an inspiring video on how it works that was filmed in Red Bank, N.J., and an article about a not-so-random act of kindness.

Daniel J. Tomasulo, Ph.D., TEP, MFA, MAPP is a graduate of the Masters of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) program at the University of Pennsylvania and works as Martin Seligman's assistant instructor there. He is a licensed psychologist specializing in group psychotherapy and psychodrama and is the author of the highly acclaimed Confessions of a Former Child: A Therapist’s Memoir. Visit www.formerchild.com for more information. He also writes for Psych Central's Ask the Therapist column and the Proof Positive blog.

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What Do You Know about Being Happy? The Positive Psychology Quiz « LibGrl (5/6/2012)


    Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 5 May 2012
    Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.

APA Reference
Tomasulo, D. (2012). What Do You Know about Being Happy? The Positive Psychology Quiz. Psych Central. Retrieved on May 22, 2013, from http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2012/05/05/what-do-you-know-about-being-happy-the-positive-psychology-quiz/

 

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