Kindness
Kindness is a type of behavior marked by acts of generosity, consideration, or concern for others, without expecting praise or reward in return. It is a subject of interest in philosophy, religion, and psychology.
It can be directed towards one's self or other people, and is present across multiple different species and cultures.
History
In English, the word kindness dates from approximately 1300, though the word's sense evolved to its current meanings in the late 14th century. The word "kindness" comes from the Old English "kyndnes," which is related to "kind," meaning "nature" or "family". This suggests that kindness was initially seen as a natural quality within one's kin.In society
Human mate choice studies suggest that both men and women value kindness in their prospective mates, along with intelligence, physical appearance, attractiveness, and age.The New Zealand the Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern believed that leadership should espouse kindness when she led the country through the COVID-19 pandemic, the Christchurch mosque shootings, and the Whakaari volcanic eruption.
In psychology
Studies at Yale University used games with babies to conclude that kindness is inherent to human beings. There are similar studies about the root of empathy in infancy – with motor mirroring developing in the early months of life, and leading to the concern shown by children for their peers in distress.Barbara Taylor and Adam Phillips stressed the element of necessary realism in adult kindness, as well as the way "real kindness changes people in the doing of it, often in unpredictable ways".
Behaving kindly may improve a person's measurable well-being. Many studies have tried to test the hypothesis that doing something kind makes a person better off. A meta-analysis of 27 such studies found that the interventions studied supported the hypothesis that acting more kindly improves your well-being.