Authors
Gregg Sparkman
Gregg Sparkman graduated from UC Berkeley with a BA in Anthropology and Psychology with honors. Mentored by Dacher Keltner as an undergraduate, he completed an honors thesis on the relationship between the vagus nerve, altruism, and positive emotions. His research interests include emotions, morality, physiology, political psychology, positive psychology and pro-social behavior. Gregg makes contributions to Greater Good magazine, helps develop the Greater Good website, and volunteers at Greater Good events.
Stories by Gregg Sparkman
Articles: How Altruistic is the Greater Good Community?
By Gregg Sparkman | April 27, 2012The results are in from the Greater Good altruism quiz—and it turns out that gender, age, and income have significant connections to generosity.
Articles: Here’s How Grateful You Are
By Gregg Sparkman | February 29, 2012The results are in from the Greater Good gratitude quiz. Seems like you've been keeping a gratitude journal, haven't you?
Articles: Here’s How Trusting You Are
By Gregg Sparkman | November 21, 2011Results from the Greater Good trust quiz.
Articles: The Good, the Bad, and the Brain
By Gregg Sparkman | August 3, 2011A review of Braintrust: What Neuroscience Tells Us about Morality.
Articles: A Prescription for Stress Reduction
By Gregg Sparkman | June 24, 2010Can mindfulness prevent doctors from burning out?
Articles: Missed Signals
By Gregg Sparkman | May 24, 2010A new study reveals the hidden costs of cosmetic surgery.
Most...
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Five Ways Giving Thanks Can Backfire
April 29, 2013Most of the time, gratitude is good. But research finds that there are situations when "thank you" may be the wrong response.
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How Gratitude Can Help You Through Hard Times
May 13, 2013It's easy to feel grateful when life is good, says Robert Emmons. But when disaster strikes, gratitude is worth the effort.
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Six Tips for Making the Leap to Meaningful Work
May 15, 2013Job satisfaction is at record lows. What does it take to overcome the fear of change, especially in tough economic times?
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How to Think LIke Sherlock Holmes
May 24, 2013These two books give us insights into how brain science can help us understand our nature, improve our lives, and help us empathize with those who may have memory lapses.
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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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2nd International Conference on Positive Psychology: “Giving Hope – Giving Future”
May 22, 2013
Greater Good 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!
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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
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Sponsors
Special thanks to
The Quality of Life Foundation for its support of the Greater Good Science Center
Daniel Goleman
Best-selling author,
Emotional Intelligence and Social Intelligence
(www.danielgoleman.info)
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