THE world’s largest study on kindness has found that two-thirds of people think the Covid-19 pandemic has made people kinder.
The kindness test found that while most participants felt levels of kindness had stayed the same (39%) or declined (36%) over their lifetime, two-thirds believed the pandemic had made people kinder.
Designed by the University of Sussex and launched on BBC Radio 4, the study was an in-depth online questionnaire that ran from August 31 to October 4, 2021.
The kindness test
Professor Robin Banerjee, Head of the School of Psychology at the University of Sussex, said: “Our partnership with the BBC on The Kindness Test has generated enormous knowledge about the nature of kindness and the role it plays. play in our lives.
“Even very small acts of kindness are linked to our well-being, and the results of the kindness test raise important questions for all of us about how we can promote kindness in our homes, communities and workplaces. .”
More than 60,000 people from 144 countries chose to participate, aged between 18 and 99.
Other study results concluded that all aspects of kindness, being kind, receiving kindness and seeing kindness, were more often reported by women.
It also found a link between kindness and well-being, as people who reported receiving, giving, or noticing more acts of kindness also reported higher levels of well-being, on average.
People who talk to strangers see and receive more kindness, the study finds, even when accounting for different personalities.
Claudia Hammond, presenter of Radio 4’s All in the Mind and The Anatomy of Kindness, and visiting professor at the University of Sussex, said: “The fact that so many people have chosen to give their time to participate at The Kindness Test shows how much we appreciate it.
“It’s encouraging to see how many acts of kindness people give, receive and notice every day.
“I hope this insight into what’s holding us back from being even kinder will help us find ways to build kindness even more.”
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Source: www.theargus.co.uk
This notice was published: 2022-03-11 05:19:00
