This article is about calculating the correlation between acts of kindness and rude acts. When people do something nice for someone, it usually influences the other person to do something nice for others. But sometimes a nice action can backfire and make someone think that because they did one nice action, they can do a mean one after to balance it out. The study in this article consisted of texting a group of 1252 a few times a day asking if anyone had recently done anything good or bad for them. If something good or bad had happened, they would then have to say who did the act, what they did and how good or bad it was.
Participants in the study found that this study made them more aware of their surroundings and more aware of what people around them were doing for or against them. At the end of the three study, they found that on average, people did as many good things a day as they did bad. The test also found that there was no correlation between moral behavior or judgment within religious and non-religious groups. The study did find that people who received an act of kindness were 10% more likely to commit an act of kindness later than day. On the other hand, someone who committed an act of kindness were 3% more likely to do an act of rudeness later on that same day.
The study did not give a specific reason as to why people thought that after doing one act of kindness that they could then all of a sudden be rude to someone later. I believe that this is because people see kind and rude acts as a point system. When someone does something nice, the add one point and when they do something rude, they subtract one point. So people think that as long as they stay a 0 or above, they are a good person and can justify their rude actions. But a lot of other factors go into weather a person is nice or rude and a lot of these things cannot be calculated through a study. Things like these would be such as what type of mood the person is in. If someone is in a bad mood, they obviously wont do anything nice for someone and if someone is in a good mood, they may be more likely to help another person out. In a study like this, it would be very difficult to calculate a variable like this.
Overall, this was a good study but I think there are many ways that it could have been improved. Maybe instead texting the group of people to find out info, they could have called them instead and gotten more details than you can get over text. I think that overall, the data could have been more through and specific.
It is intriguing how the human brain works and how people might act one act of kindness compensates for one rude action. I personally can’t stand rude people. I usually try and kill another persons rudeness with my own kindness in order to break this kind of vicious cycle, although at times it’s hard to do. It is so easy for your brain and sensitivity to take a rude comment personally and let that out on others, but maybe this kind of study can bring kindness to people’s attention. Sometimes I think kindness goes more unnoticed than if someone is rude. This really triggered some thought and I think I will try and share this with people I know so the vicious cycle stops
I feel it is okay to be rude in certain situations. Two examples that come to mind are the following: 1. If you had plans with someone on a Friday night and you made the plans during the day and then they do not respond to you that night, I feel although sending multiple texts is viewed as rude, it is really the person on the other ends fault. Another situation that rudeness may be called for is if you are put in an uncomfortable situation. I feel it is okay to be rude because that would just mean that is your natural reaction, afterwards I feel you should take yourself away from the situation. Good blog post, got me thinking.