Born To Be Good

Positive Psychology: Raising Happy, Kind Children Evolutionarily Adaptive

In contrast to "every man for himself" interpretations of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection, Dacher Keltner, a UC Berkeley psychologist and author of "Born to be Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life," and his fellow social scientists are building the case that humans are successful as a species precisely because of our nurturing, altruistic and compassionate traits. Christine Carter writes "Raising Happiness" (Yasmin Anwar, AlterNet, March 4, 2010)

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HARD-WIRED FOR COLLABORATION: PHYSICAL TOUCH INCREASES PERFORMANCE

Physical touch stengthens creative problem solving and performance. In Born To Be Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life (Norton, 2009), Dacher Keltner cites research indicating that simply giving a reassuring physical touch (a high-five, a chest bump, a shoulder pat) can increase performance on the basketball court, in intimate relationship, in the classroom, everywhere! Humans are wired to seek collaborative effort to "share the load" of problem solving.

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