Summer 2007 (Volume IV, Issue 1)
Building Gratitude
Groundbreaking research has revealed that practicing gratitude can lead to transformative life changes. More than a simple “thank you,” studies show gratitude can build physical health, personal happiness, and strong social bonds. This issue of Greater Good explores how this research can apply to everyday life, from romantic relationships to children s classrooms. This issue also marks the debut of a few new departments in Greater Good, including a column by co-editor Dacher Keltner in which he helps readers understand the emotions conveyed by their body language.
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In Brief
Can Robots Feel Your Pain? (02)
By Jeremy Adam Smith | Summer 2007Not yet, but empathic androids are the next wave in robotics.
Body Language (08)
By Dacher Keltner | Summer 2007Dacher Keltner reveals the science behind everyday gestures
The Circle of Security (10)
By Daniel Goleman | Summer 2007New programs help at-risk parents tune in to what their children really need.
Q&A
The Politics of Gratitude (11)
By Jason Marsh | Summer 2007An interview with Iraq’s former ambassador to the United States, Rend Al-Rahim Francke
Features
Pay it Forward (12)
By Robert Emmons | Summer 2007Gratitude may seem like a simple emotion, but Robert Emmons argues that it inspires kindness, connection, and transformative life changes. And he’s done the research to prove it.
Stumbling toward Gratitude (14)
By Catherine Price | Summer 2007New research suggests gratitude is a key to health and happiness, but Catherine Price wanted to find out for herself.
Love, Honor, and Thank (17)
By Jess Alberts , Angela Threthewey | Summer 2007Researchers Jess Alberts and Angela Trethewey have found that a successful relationship doesn’t just depend on how partners divide their household chores, but on how they each express gratitude for the work the other one puts in.
A Lesson in Thanks (19)
By Jeffrey Froh | Summer 2007Psychologist Jeffrey Froh infused middle-school classes with a small dose of gratitude—and found that it made students feel more connected to their friends, family, and their school.
Hope on the Battlefield (20)
By Lt. Col. Dave Grossman | Summer 2007Military leaders know a secret: The vast majority of people are overwhelmingly reluctant to take a human life.
Mindful Kids, Peaceful Schools (21)
By Jill Suttie | Summer 2007With eyes closed and deep breaths, students are learning a new method to reduce anxiety, conflict, and attention disorders. But don’t call it meditation.
Book Reviews
Change Your Mind and Your Brain Will Follow (22)
By Mirka Knaster | Summer 2007The Dalai Lama at MIT
Edited by Anne Harrington and Arthur Zajonc
Harvard University Press, 2006, 304 pages
Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain: How a New Science Reveals Our Extraordinary Potential to Transform Ourselves
By Sharon Begley
Ballantine Books, 2007, 304 pages
Book Review: The Power of Play (23)
By Dawn Friedman | Summer 2007By David Elkind
Da Capo Lifelong Books, 2007, 240 pages
Book Review: Why Good Things Happen to Good People (24)
By Jill Suttie | Summer 2007By Stephen Post and Jill Neimark
Broadway Books, 2007, 320 pages
Book Review: The Mark of Shame (25)
By Jason Marsh | Summer 2007By Stephen P. Hinshaw
Oxford University Press, 2007, 352 pages
Book Review: Alone Together (26)
By Jeremy Adam Smith | Summer 2007By Paul R. Amato, Alan Booth, David R. Johnson, and Stacy J. Rogers
Harvard University Press, 2007, 336 pages
Pop Culture Review
Altruism in Space (27)
By Jeremy Adam Smith | Summer 2007What does the science-fiction series Battlestar Galactica teach us about human nature?
Ideas for the Greater Good
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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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Why Lent Makes People Happy (and Netflix Doesn’t)
March 21, 2013New research suggests that cutting back on life’s pleasures helps us enjoy them significantly more.
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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.
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!
» 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
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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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