Is Happiness Divine?
By Anahid Modrek | December 1, 2010Research looks at how our thoughts about God relate to our happiness.
In Brief
Most Recent Story
Meditation Makes Us Act with Compassion
By Emiliana R. Simon-Thomas | April 11, 2013A new study suggests mindfulness meditation can help us overcome the "bystander effect."
Past Stories
Why Other People’s Good News Could Be Good for You
By Matthew Brim | November 15, 2010A recent study shows how sharing positive experiences can make relationships stronger.
Busy People Are Happy People
By Whitney Patterson | November 10, 2010Why a life of leisure may not bring us happiness.
Gender and Touch
By Jason Marsh | October 18, 2010When it comes to touch, do men and women speak the same language?
How to Rebuild Trust
By Anahid Modrek | October 11, 2010A recent study suggests that our beliefs about human nature strongly influence how trusting we are.
Serve Others, Find Success
By Anahid Modrek | September 28, 2010Research suggests that young people motivated to help others are poised for a successful career.
Over the Hill to Happiness
By Hanna Roen | September 15, 2010A recent study finds that people get happier as they get older. But why?
Why Kids Are Lucky to Go Back to School
By Jason Marsh | September 7, 2010A new study explains why more education leads to better health.
Kind Kids
By Jason Marsh | August 18, 2010Getting children to be helpful might be easier than we think.
The Poor Give More
By Jason Marsh | August 11, 2010A new study finds that the rich are less altruistic
You Are What Your Parents Eat
By Hanna Roen | August 4, 2010A new study offers insight into how parents can help—or harm—an overweight child’s diet and self-esteem.
The Power of Kisses
By Jason Marsh | July 28, 2010A new study suggests that affectionate mothers raise resilient adults.
What Seniors Get from Giving Back
By Bernie Wong | July 22, 2010Research shows how older volunteers can get the most out of their service.
When Values Trump Violence
By Katie Goldsmith | July 13, 2010A new study suggests an important way to reduce bullying.
Most...
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Why Compassion in Business Makes Sense
April 15, 2013Emma Seppala explains how compassionate workplaces are good for employee health and the corporate bottom line.
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How to be a Happy Working Dad, Part One
March 27, 2013A new report finds that fitting work with family isn't just a women's issue. Jeremy Adam Smith offers 10 tips for helping fathers to navigate a changing landscape at home and on the job.
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When Getting Angry Makes You Happy
April 2, 2013A new study shows how seeking happiness at the right time may be more important than seeking happiness all the time.
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‘Free the Mind’ film
May 17, 2013 -
Free the Mind: Hope after Trauma
May 17, 2013A new documentary reveals the power of mindfulness and neuroplasticity. Bay Area residents can catch a screening tonight at Stanford University.
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The International Summit Conference on Compassionate Organizations
May 16, 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
Why We Cooperate
Nature and nurture interact to inform, and reform, cooperative behavior. Infants and apes are both able to share, but only the two-year-old will pick up that thing you dropped in front of her.
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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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