These are Greater Good's ten building blocks of individual and community well-being — the behaviors that research suggests will support your health and happiness, and foster positive connections with other people.
Altruism is when we act to promote someone else’s welfare, even at a risk or cost to ourselves. Though some believe that humans are…
Read More
Are you a giver or a Grinch?
Take the Quiz
Awe is the feeling we get in the presence of something vast that challenges our understanding of the world, like looking up at millions of…
Read More
Could your life be more awe-some?
Take the Quiz
Americans are increasingly divided along social and political lines. The evidence for this polarization can be found in our most intimate…
Read More
Do you embrace a diversity of backgrounds and opinions in others?
Take the Quiz
Compassion literally means “to suffer together.” Among emotion researchers, it is defined as the feeling that arises when you are…
Read More
You might love your partner truly, madly, deeply. But do you love compassionately?
Take the Quiz
For the Greater Good Science Center, “diversity” refers to both an obvious fact of human life—namely, that there are many different…
Read More
How big is your circle of concern?
Take the Quiz
The term “empathy” is used to describe a wide range of experiences. Emotion researchers generally define empathy as the ability to sense…
Read More
How well do you feel and understand what others are feeling?
Take the Quiz
Psychologists generally define forgiveness as a conscious, deliberate decision to release feelings of resentment or vengeance toward a person…
Read More
When someone hurts you, are you more likely to turn the other cheek—or seek revenge?
Take the Quiz
Robert Emmons, perhaps the world’s leading scientific expert on gratitude, argues that gratitude has two key components, which he describes…
Read More
Are you truly grateful for the good things in your life—or do you take them for granted?
Take the Quiz
Coming up with a formal definition of happiness can be tricky. After all, shouldn’t we just know it when we feel it? In fact, we often use…
Read More
How happy are you when you’re on the clock?
Take the Quiz
Mindfulness means maintaining a moment-by-moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and surrounding environment, through…
Read More
Do you savor life or let everyday stresses control you? In other words, how mindful are you?
Take the Quiz
To psychologists, purpose is an abiding intention to achieve a long-term goal that is both personally meaningful and makes a positive mark on…
Read More
Do you have a long-term goal that's meaningful to yourself and the world?
Take the Quiz
When researchers refer to the concept of social connection, they mean the feeling that you belong to a group and generally feel close to…
Read More
How strong are your social connections, online and off?
Take the Quiz