Humble People More Likely to Help the Needy

Psychologists have found a positive link between humility and willingness to help the needy.

Humble people are more likely to offer help to someone in need than arrogant people, according to psychologists from the University of Maine, US.

Time pressure, the presence of bystanders, and temporary feelings of empathy or distress influence a person's decision to offer help. During the research scientists noted that individuals who scored highly for humility in personality assessment tests offered to give more of their time to help an injured student than those with lower scores.

Humility in Leaders Proves Effective and Earns Likability
Humble leaders demonstrate effectiveness and are better liked by their supporters and subordinates, a new study states.

Dr. Wade Rowatt, from Baylor University in Texas, said, "Our discovery here is that the understudied trait of humility predicts helpfulness. Important next steps will be to figure out whether humility can be cultivated and if humility is beneficial in other contexts, such as scientific and medical advancements or leadership development."

The findings have been published in the journal Positive Psychology.

Source-Medindia

Empathy Linked to Genes
A genetic variation linked to a person's ability to infer the mental state of others has been discovered by researchers.

The Feeling of 'In Another's Shoes' Tied to Empathy
The way our brain handles how we move through space-including being able to imagine literally stepping into someone else's shoes-may be related to how and why we experience empathy

Higher Level of Testosterone Reduces Empathy: Study
Researchers from the Utrecht and Cambridge Universities have found that an administration of testosterone under the tongue in volunteers negatively affects a person's ability to 'mind