Levine study on kindness garners worldwide media notice

By Tom Uribes
University Relations

Psychology Professor Robert V. Levine is receiving national and international media attention regarding his six-year study on "simple acts of kindness."

The June issue of American Scientist magazine included an article by Levine on his study.

The Christian Science Monitor also featured his study in its June issue. New York Times columnist Clive Haberman has also written about Levine’s work. Newsweek magazine also has inquired about it.

The study stems from one of Levine’s earlier book, "A Geography of Time," which Levine said is the main source of this work.. The study shows the relative helpfulness one could expect to experience in 36 U.S. cities. More recently Levine extended that study to 22 foreign cities and found that people in some countries (and cultures) are indeed more helpful than others.

In general, those living in richer countries appear to treat one another less kindly than their counterparts in poorer nations, Levine writes. The two highest-ranking cities are in Latin America: Rio and San Jose.

“'Overall, we found that people in Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking cities tended to be among the most helpful,” Levine writes. “The other three such cities on our list, Madrid, San Salvador and Mexico City, each scored well above average. Considering that some of these places suffer from long-term political instability, high crime rates and a potpourri of other social, economic and environmental ills, these positive results are noteworthy.”

Social psychologist Aroldo Rodrigues -- a Levine colleague who is currently chair of the Psychology Department at Fresno State -- spent most of his career as a leading scholar at universities in the most helpful city of all, Rio. Rodrigues was not surprised by the results, Levine writes.

"'There is an important word in Brazil: 'simpatico,' " Rodrigues explains. "The term has no equivalent in English. It refers to a range of desirable social qualities -- to be friendly, nice, agreeable and good-natured, a person who is fun to be with and pleasant to deal with.”

Levine said people are sometimes quite helpful to the strangers they encounter on the street -- and sometimes they are not. Importantly, the likelihood of finding a helpful stranger depends strongly on where you are.

Levine, who joined the Fresno State faculty in 1973, has also been published in numerous articles featured in Psychology Today, Discover and the New York Times.