A Scientific Reason to Stop and Smell the Roses
By Stacey Kennelly | July 3, 2012A new study suggests people are happier when they take time to appreciate the good things in life.
In Brief
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How to Train the Compassionate Brain
By Jason Marsh | May 23, 2013A new study finds that training in compassion makes us more altruistic—and explores the neuroscience behind why.
Past Stories
The Genetics of Happiness
By Stacey Kennelly | June 29, 2012A new study of twins sheds light on the complex links between biology and happiness.
What Motivates Kids to Help Others?
By Stacey Kennelly | June 19, 2012A new study suggests even toddlers are motivated by compassion rather than the desire to get credit for good deeds.
Does Playing Music Boost Kids’ Empathy?
By Stacey Kennelly | June 8, 2012A new study suggests it does, at least when practiced in a group.
Are Married People Happier?
By Stacey Kennelly | June 6, 2012A new study suggests that getting hitched is good for our happiness.
Do Bad Grades + Violent Video Games = Violent Kids?
By Anna Jacobi | May 23, 2012A recent study suggests boys who do poorly in school are more attracted to violent video games—and violent behavior.
Can Supportive Moms Enhance Your Brain?
By Wendy Durst | May 9, 2012A recent study offers striking evidence of how nurturing parenting early in a child’s life promotes their healthy development.
Religious People Less Motivated by Compassion than Atheists
By Yasmin Anwar | May 2, 2012In three experiments co-sponsored by the GGSC, scientists found that compassion drove less religious people to be more generous.
You’re Never Too Old to Build Emotional Intelligence
By Andrew Yee | April 24, 2012A recent study suggests we can learn to regulate and manage our emotions even after we’re reached adulthood.
Why You Shouldn’t Curb Your Compassion
By Brylyn Stacy | April 13, 2012A new study suggests the hidden costs of callousness.
Do Babies Know What’s Fair?
By Bernie Wong | March 20, 2012A new study suggests they do, even before they’re two years old.
A Training to Make Teachers Less Stressed
By Melissa Janson | March 8, 2012A new study shows how the Cultivating Emotional Balance program can help teachers (and the rest of us) reduce stress and cultivate compassion.
Affluent People More Likely to be Scofflaws
By Yasmin Anwar | February 28, 2012Seven separate studies by GGSC-affiliated researchers find that upper-class people are more likely to break laws and social customs.
Baby Love
By Melissa Janson | February 7, 2012New research suggests the care we receive as infants affects the quality of our relationships as adults.
Oxytocin: The Holiday Hormone
By Melissa Janson | December 22, 2011New study: People give more when under the influence of oxytocin.
Most...
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Seven Paths to a Meaningful Life
May 28, 2013A giant in the field of social psychology draws on five decades of teaching and research to reveal the secrets of a fulfilling life to today's graduating seniors.
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How to Train the Compassionate Brain
May 23, 2013A new study finds that training in compassion makes us more altruistic—and explores the neuroscience behind why.
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Five Reasons Why It’s a Good Time to be a Dad
June 12, 2013Feeling fed up and burned out, Dad? That may be a sign of progress, says Jeremy Adam Smith.
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How to Make Giving Feel Good
June 18, 2013Studies show giving makes people happy, and happiness makes people give--but not always. Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton offer three ways to help people feel good about giving.
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Rethinking Family Meetings
June 17, 2013 -
Death and Gratitude: Death Reflection Enhances Gratitude
June 14, 2013
Greater Good Events
Greater Good Summer Institute for Educators
University of California, Berkeley
Clark Kerr Campus
Friday, June 28 - Wednesday, July 3, 2013
» ALL EVENTS
University of California, Berkeley
Clark Kerr Campus
Friday, June 28 - Wednesday, July 3, 2013
The GGSC’s six-day Summer Institute will equip educators with social-emotional learning tools that will benefit both students and teachers. Registration is now closed.
» ALL EVENTS
Take a Greater Good Quiz!
How compassionate are you? How generous, grateful, or forgiving? Find out!
» TAKE A QUIZ
Watch Greater Good Videos
Talks by inspiring speakers like Jon Kabat-Zinn, Dacher Keltner, and Barbara Fredrickson.
WatchGreater Good Resources
"Gratitude and Prosocial Behavior"
Finds that feeling gratitude produces kind and helpful behavior, even when that behavior is costly to the individual actor.
- "Compassion: An Evolutionary Analysis and Empirical Review"
Compassion evolved as a distinct affective experience whose function is to enable cooperation and protection of those who...
- "From Jerusalem to Jericho"
This article on bystander intervention in emergency situations suggests that we are likely to help a “shabbily dressed”...
- Center for Investigating Healthy Minds
The Center for Investigating Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, runs a state-of-the-art neuroscience...
- Northeast Foundation for Children
Northeast Foundation for Children is a non-profit educational organization that offers educators the Responsive Classroom...
- Center for Positive Organizational Scholarship
Based at the University of Michigan Business School, this is a networking community for researchers and practitioners...
Book of the Week
29 Gifts
Walker’s life is in a downward spiral until she takes unusual advice from a friend: to give away 29 gifts in 29 days.
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Sponsors
Special thanks to
The Quality of Life Foundation for its support of the Greater Good Science Center
"Greater Good offers a first-rate service to those who want to track new and important research findings in social and emotional intelligence."
Daniel Goleman
Best-selling author,
Emotional Intelligence and Social Intelligence
(www.danielgoleman.info)
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