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  Music is an important part of our lives.  Many people spend aconsiderable amount of time listening to music.  Listening tomusic may be beneficial in a number of ways.  One of the waysthat it may be beneficial is by increasing helping behavior.  Could listening to songs with prosocial lyrics increase the number of people who… Continue reading Can Listening to Songs with Prosocial Lyrics Influence Donating Behavior?

By Brad Bell Empathy may be one of the most important attributes.  Empathy involves being able to see things from another person’s perspective, as well as being able to feel what another person feels.  There may be several reasons why empathy is important.  These reasons include building rapport, reducing conflicts, and increasing helping behavior. Building… Continue reading Why Is Empathy Important?

By Brad Bell   Self-improvement is an important topic.  An important question concerns how to be a better person.  What are the qualities orcharacteristics of a good person?  This can be viewed as a subjective or value judgment that has many possible answers.  A simple answer to the question of how to be a good person… Continue reading Characteristics of a Good Person

By Brad Bell Poetry is an artistic form of communication that may be appreciated by a significant number of people.   It may be easier to address questions concerning the psychology of poetry than the question concerning what is poetry. The psychology of poetry has two perspective:  the writer perspective and the reader perspective.  The writer… Continue reading The Psychology of Poetry

By Brad Bell Getting a low response rate in mail fundraising is fairly typical for new donors.  Even with a really good list of possible donors, you still might not receive many donations.   People may know that they may be asked to donate in the future.   Thus, it not a simple, one-time decision.  People… Continue reading The Three-Step Fundraising Technique

By Brad Bell Some lectures may be hard to pay attention to.  Some subjects suchas research methods and statistics may seem very dry.  What can theinstructor do to make these topics more interesting?   One possibilityis to use humorous examples in the lectures. In Garner’s (2006) experiment, all the participants viewed threevideo-recorded lectures on statistics and… Continue reading Can Funny Lectures Foster Learning?

By Brad Bell You have been listening to soothing music while reading a book.  You go to answer the phone.  It is a volunteer who is asking you to donate to a nonprofit.  You are feeling happy and relaxed.  You agree to donate 10 dollars to the organization.  Did listening to the soothing music influence… Continue reading Psychology of Music: Can Soothing Music Increase Helping?

By Brad Bell People have different aspirations.  Some people may wish to befamous and wealthy.  Others may be more concerned with developing good social relationships and making a contribution totheir community.  Could exposure to nature affect our aspirations? In their first three studies, Weinstein, Przybylski, and Ryan (2009)had participants view either slides involving natural scenes… Continue reading Can Exposure to Nature Influence Our Aspirations?

By Brad Bell You are having writer’s block.  You are staring at your computer screen and you cannot think of what to write next.  You have been working on a novel for more than two years, and now it is quite frustrating that you cannot complete the last several pages of the novel.  You decide… Continue reading Psychology of Creativity: Can Watching a Comedy Film Make You More Creative?

By Brad Bell Imagine that you are juror in a criminal trial in which the defendant isaccused of stealing a duffle bag from a gym.  One eyewitness is positive that the defendant took the bag, and the other eyewitness is positive that someone else took the bag.  The eyewitness for the prosecution was much more… Continue reading Are People Influenced by Trivial Details?