There’s been a lot of talk about greed lately. Not sure why – something about some occupation somewhere. It’s easy to point fingers at fat cats. Giant corporations. Millionaire CEOs.
But what about the level of your own generosity? How much time do you spend volunteering to feed the homeless, helping the elderly or disabled or mentoring kids? Do you donate money to charity, help your friends out, sponsor a kid somewhere or give back to your community?
If you do, bonus! Generosity could be good for your health. But what makes some of us more giving than others?
What the experts say
“We found when we raised their oxytocin levels, individuals became 80 per cent more generous toward strangers. And in a subsequent study, we found people were around 50 per cent more generous to charities when we raised the levels. People given oxytocin report feelings of empathy. The health implications are interesting. We know that people who volunteer are happier and have richer social networks, and those networks are protective against early death and ill health. Oxytocin reduces anxiety and stress, so generosity is health-promoting.”
PAUL ZAK, director, Center for Neuroeconomic Studies, Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, California
“Helping others has clear benefits in the recovery of alcoholics and others with addictive disorders. It has clear benefits at low thresholds of just a couple of hours a week for people with mild and moderate depression. Among people followed from age 12 every 10 years [the do-gooders] had lower rates of depression and heart disease. There are many studies showing that those who contribute to the lives of others tend to be happier. Generous people tend to be happier and healthier, especially with regard to stress-related illnesses. There’s an emotional shift that moves them away from negative emotions to a different emotional range associated with lower cortisol levels and better immune function.”
STEPHEN POST, author, The Hidden Gifts Of Helping, Stony Brook, New York
“We gave children sticker sheets and told them, ‘It’s all yours, but do you want to share with a child who didn’t get any?’ We were looking at a gene called AVPR1A, responsible for the activity of vasopressin, a hormone associated with social processes. We showed that carriers of one of the variants of the gene were substantially less generous than other children. Almost all the children gave one sticker. About a quarter of the non-carriers gave more than one, but only 6 per cent of carriers gave more than one. This is a very big difference. We don’t control everything through socialization. But just because it’s heritable doesn’t mean we can’t teach generosity.”
ARIEL KNAFO, associate professor of psychology, Hebrew University, Jerusalem
“When people are in an anonymous situation, both the religious and non-religious tend to be self-interested. We used a priming technique where subjects are led to unconsciously think about religion, and then gave them an economic game that measures generosity. We found that both religious and non-religious people become nearly completely equitable. Leading them to unconsciously think about religion in the moment makes them more generous. But priming people with thoughts of secular institutions of morality had exactly the same effect.”
AZIM SHARIFF, professor, department of psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene
