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Altruism and Acts of Kindness
Random and anonymous acts of kindness are indeed, an excellent way to touch the lives of other people and hence, make the world a better place to live. All it takes to perform such acts is a simple intention. Such acts make you feel good; even contented and satisfied at times. I experienced the feeling last Christmas Eve. It was while standing in my kitchen making coffee that I noticed a lone figure stumbling through the cold, bare streets of the neighbourhood outside. It was an old tramp, a lonely homeless and undoubtedly hungry man.
My heart melted. So, I opened my kitchen window and called out to him for a cup of coffee. Though startled at first, he quickly rushed up to grab the steaming, hot cup of espresso I offered. I watched him as he gulped down cup after cup of coffee and stuffed the baked potatoes and lamb sandwiches I had set out for him into his pockets. He smiled when he was done and left, muttering words I failed to understand. As I watched him disappear into the darkness, my heart ached for this lonely man and his...
This is because most psychologists like Daniel Batson find it easy to rationalise egoism than altruism, calling it the easiest explanation (Batson, 2002, p. 486). But studies and experiments have shown that altruism is alive and it is what promotes the positive emotions in our society as concluded by Sonja Lyubomirsky (Lyubomirsky et al., 2004).
What is good about altruism?
Generally, altruism makes people happy. The feeling of contentment and satisfaction you get from helping out others is irreplaceable. It helps in promoting compassion…
Bibliography:
Batson, C.D., Ahmad, N., Lishner, D.A., & Tsang, J. (2002). Empathy and altruism. In C.R. Snyder & S.L. Lopez (Eds.), Handbook of Positive Psychology (pp. 485-498). New York: Oxford University Press.
Lyubomirsky, S., Tkach, C., & Sheldon, K.M. (2004). Pursuing sustained happiness through random acts of kindness and counting one's blessings: Tests of two six-week interventions. Unpublished data, Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside.
Plante, T.G. (2011). Contemporary clinical psychology. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
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