Research published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology shows that small kind gestures can have a significant impact on recipients, even if givers don’t typically realize it.
Performing random acts of kindness increases happiness in both givers and receivers, but we find that givers systematically undervalue their positive impact on recipients. … those performing a random act of kindness consistently underestimated how positive their recipients would feel, thinking their act was of less value than recipients perceived it to be.” – Study authors
Source: Nice News, September 13, 2022. Link. Commenting on the study, Marisa G. Franco, PhD, said, “With a study like this, I hope it will inspire more people to actually commit random acts of kindness. We have this negativity bias when it comes to social connection. We just don’t think the positive impact of our behaviors is as positive as it is.”
INSIGHTS: The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation provides many examples of ways to bestow kindness on another person <Link>.