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Kindness leads to popularity and happiness



Kinder children were happier and more accepted in their peer groups, says a study reported by the BBC (29 December, 2012, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20851434). Researchers at the University of California revealed that pre-teen children who performed deliberate acts of kindness were more popular with their peers.
Researchers assigned children three acts of kindness each week for four weeks. Four hundred (400) children aged between 9 and 11 years from 19 classrooms in Vancouver participated in the study. Researchers worked with whole classes of school children to perform three kind acts per week and also with a control class of students who visited three places per week (anywhere they wished such as their grandparents’ place or the mall designed to be “mildly pleasant”). Consent was first sought from parents and teachers. The kind acts were not necessarily directed at their classmates. They included hugging parents, performing chores at home, or sharing their toys. Throughout the four weeks, students in both groups reported what they did each week during in-class surveys.
Before the study, students in both groups were asked to circle the names of classmates whom they would like to be in school activities with (as many or as few as they wished). Students also reported their life satisfaction on standardized life scales). They repeated the exercise after the four week study. Students in the kindness group gained significantly more nominations and peer acceptance than the control group, although both conditions (acts of kindness and visiting places) improved well-being.
Researchers suggested that by reinforcing social connections between children could help positive interactions and reduce bullying. They were not surprised that the study led to happier students because they had the same effects in adults. Therefore the researchers suggested that the goals of happiness, pro-sociality, and popularity may not only be compatible but also reciprocal. In other words, happy people were more likely to engage in pro-social behavior and have satisfying friendships. Similarly, students who were well-liked by peers were also more helpful, cooperative, and emotionally well-adjusted.
By encouraging simple, positive deeds, it had a double reward: for those who received the acts of kindness, but also for the giver. Furthermore, entire classrooms practicing pro-social behavior may reap benefits in student performance.
Layous K, Nelson SK, Oberle E, Schonert-Reichl KA, Lyubomirsky S (2012), Kindness Counts: Prompting Prosocial Behavior in Preadolescents Boosts Peer Acceptance and Well-Being. PLoS ONE 7(12):e51380. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0051380.

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