Spring/Summer 2005 (Volume II, Issue 1)
Is Goodness Contagious?
Can witnessing acts of goodness compel people to act better themselves? It can, according to new research featured in this issue of Greater Good. Scientists discuss how this capacity for moral inspiration might improve our work and personal lives, and they explore the possibility that it is even a biologically based part of our behavior. The issue also features an interview with Jan Egeland, the U.N. official responsible for the emergency aid response to the Indian Ocean tsunami, and articles about how to raise levels of empathy among school children and jail inmates.
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In Brief
Q&A
The Morality of Global Giving (05)
By Jason Marsh | Spring/Summer 2005An interview with Jan Egeland, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs
Features
Wired to be Inspired (06)
By Jonathan Haidt | Spring/Summer 2005Ever feel a thrill when you see someone act with courage or compassion? Psychologist Jonathan Haidt calls that feeling “elevation,” and his studies of it may provide a key to understanding what inspires people to do good.
Inspiring Good Work (09)
By Howard Gardner, Wendy Fischman | Spring/Summer 2005Steroid abuse. Accounting tricks. Plagiarism. Budding professionals are learning these tricks of their trades from mentors, say researchers Wendy Fischman and Howard Gardner. Who will inspire them to practice ethics and excellence on the job?
Nobel Pursuits (10)
By Jes Ward | Spring/Summer 2005It’s been 10 years since Jes Ward first heard of the PeaceJam program when she was in high school; now she helps run it. In that time she’s seen thousands of youth learn that the only thing more inspiring than the lives of Nobel Peace Prize Winners is the chance to follow in their footsteps.
Taking Lessons from a Baby (12)
By Sandy Naiman | Spring/Summer 2005To teach compassion and parenting skills to children, this Canadian program relies on some small instructors.
Justice For All (13)
By Kathleen Kenna | Spring/Summer 2005Rehabilitating inmates in America’s prisons and jails may seem like a lost cause. But one innovative program has helped them empathize with their victims and turn their lives around.
Book Reviews
Book Review: Coming to Our Senses (15)
By Pat Soberanis | Spring/Summer 2005by Jon Kabat-Zinn
Hyperion, 2005, 631 pages
Book Review: The Hand of Compassion (16)
By Jason Marsh | Spring/Summer 2005by Kristen Renwick Monroe
Princeton University Press, 2004, 392 pages
Book Review: Leave No Child Behind (17)
By Matthew Wheeland | Spring/Summer 2005by James Comer
Yale University Press, 2004, 352 pages
Book Review: The Compassionate Classroom (18)
By Lauren Shapiro | Spring/Summer 2005by Jane Dalton and Lyn Fairchild
Zephyr Press, 2004, 166 pages
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.
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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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