Seeing a good deed makes others generous

CAMBRIDGE, England, Feb. 4 (UPI) -- Seeing someone perform a virtuous deed -- especially helping another person -- makes people feel good, U.S. researchers say.

Psychological scientists Simone Schnall of the University of Cambridge, Jean Roper of the University of Plymouth and Daniel M.T. Fessler of the University of California, Los Angeles, say this positive, uplifting emotion, known as "elevation," might make us feel great, but is it enough to get us to go out and perform good acts ourselves.

For the study, volunteers watched one of three TV clips: a neutral TV clip, an uplifting TV clip of musicians thanking their mentors, or a clip from a British comedy, intended to induce mirth.

After viewing the TV clip, the research assistant conducting the study pretended to have problems opening up a computer file that was required for the experiment.

She told the volunteers they were free to leave, but she asked them if they would be willing to complete a questionnaire for another study, which she noted was boring.

The findings, published in Psychological Science, found the participants who viewed the uplifting TV clip spent almost twice as long helping the research assistant as participants who saw the neutral TV clip or the comedy clip.