The Science of Giving
Do You Want to Feel the Power of Giving?
Want to feel like a powerful hero?
Giving to other people is not just a right thing to do for them, but it is right for you, too, because you experience many benefits for your kindness. Each time you help someone, it’s also a great reminder that everyone has problems. There are as many different types of problems as there are people. Seeing those up close can help us be grateful that those exact problems aren’t ones we have to solve. This helps make us grateful.
Giving to other people is a proven way to become a happier person. The happy feeling we get for helping is not just an idea and a smile. It is partially from two chemicals in our brains. First, what exactly is the brain? The brain is the control center of the whole human body. It is made up of a special kind of cells. They connect with each other and the nerves in our body. is the part of the body which lets us, and other animals, make sense of the world. Our sense organs send input, and based on this data, the brain dictates our behavior. In all animals with a backbone including humans, the delicate brain is protected by the bones of the skull.
Now! Back to that happy feeling we get from helping others. There are two chemicals that cause the happy reaction. One of them is called dopamine.
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter.
Many different kinds of animals and humans use it to transfer information. It is used when the brain sends signals to the muscles in the body to make them move, and it can make a person feel good when they perform an act of kindness.
The 3 areas of the brain affected by dopamine are:
the frontal lobe
the motor cortex
the insular cortex.
You can read an explanation for each of these areas of the brain in the vocabulary definitions at the end of the unit.
The second chemical is called oxytocin.
Oxytocin is a hormone found in mammals. Instead of being produced in the brain, it acts on the brain. It is produced by special nerve cells called the pituitary gland. It’s one of the things that makes your parents feel good about loving you, and it is probably part of the happy feeling you get when you do something to care for another.
Most importantly, we are made to have a purpose in life, and part of growing up is figuring out that purpose. Helping someone else is the very best kind of purpose.
Many animals have symbolic meanings that can represent kindness, including:
· Deer
In many cultures throughout history, a deer symbolizes kindness, gentleness, and gracefulness. In the far East, deer can also represent peace, harmony, and longevity. Superstition says that the spirit of the deer is intuitive and easily connected to others’ emotions.
· Buffalo
In Native American culture, the buffalo represents kindness, strength, bravery, and respect. A white buffalo is a symbol of abundance, and the Lakota Indians believe that they are reminders that one does not have to struggle to survive if the right action is joined by the right prayer. The birth of a sacred white buffalo is a sign of hope and an indication of good times to come.
When we think about being kind to another person, part of our willingness to care about them imagines that we are doing well ourselves and have plenty to share. Having plenty becomes part of our mindset for sharing even when we might be able to have a little and share that out of a deeper love.
Because a buffalo symbolized having plenty, it naturally became a sign of kindness.
· Elephants
Of all wild animals in any other species, elephants show the most empathy, compassion, and care for their herd members. They will walk at the pace of their slowest member. They surround babies by nurturing members of the herd to protect them from the elements, like the wind, the rain and the sun. With a lifespan of 70-80 years, elephants grieve and mourn when a herd member dies. Many times, people have witnessed them visiting the bones of deceased herd members and touching these bones with their trunks.
Females remain with their herd for their entire lives and bulls form ‘bachelor herds’ made up of other males. Clearly, elephants form close bonds of friendship. If a baby elephant is orphaned, other elephants will care for them as if they were their own, even if the infant is not related to the herd. In this way, they have their own foster children.
Vocabulary
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One of the four major lobes of the brain, it is the front-most part. It is responsible for control over many abilities, including the way you think, how you move and how you remember things. It's also a key part in your social skills, and helps you understand and control how you talk, behave and interact with others.
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The region of the cerebral cortex involved in the planning, control, and execution of voluntary movements.
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A distinct lobe of the cerebral cortex. It has a variety of functions ranging from sensory processing to representing feelings and emotions, autonomic and motor control, risk prediction and decision-making, bodily- and self-awareness, and complex social functions like empathy.
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Involuntary without needing to think about it.
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A chemical messenger that communicates between neurons.
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A nerve cell that carries electrical impulses.
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A chemical messenger in mammals (this includes humans) that communicates information from the brain to the muscles in the body so they will make certain movements. Dopamine can make a person feel good when they perform an act of kindness.
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A hormone made by the pituitary gland in mammals that helps build emotional relationship.
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An organ of which you have many all over your body, and though many of them are small, each produces something important. Some glands create and release things from the body — like saliva, sweat, or tears.
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(pronounced: puh-TOO-uh-ter-ee) gland: a gland at the base of the brain and is no bigger than a pea. Despite its small size, the pituitary is often called the "master gland." The hormones it makes control many other glands.
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A chemical substance that acts as a messenger molecule in the body. After being made in one part of the body, they travel to other parts of the body where they help control how cells and organs do their work.
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an animal that breathes air, has a backbone, and grows hair at some point during its life.
Fun Fact!
Humpback Whales 🐋will pair up and leap beside small species who are being hunted by kil whales. Their size will discourage the orca whales until they leave the smaller species alone. Some scientists think the humpbacks 🐳who help, do it because they remember when it happened to them when they were young.
Fun Fact!
Elephants 🐘have amazing memories and demonstrate incredible care for herd members who are hurt or injured.
Fun Fact!
Chickens🐔 take in foster chicks🐣! When a hen dies, one hen will sit on her eggs🥚 until they hatch, and all of the hens in the flock will help feed and protect the motherless chicks 🐤
Activities
Activities
What Have We Learned:
Offering kindness to others allows good things to happen on both ends. Not only are we offering a hand to help another, but we are creating a feeling of satisfaction and purpose inside ourselves. We are also causing the release of chemicals in our brains that make us feel happy.
We learn to give by seeing others give to us and each other. Even creatures know how to help each other, and many of them do.
It’s important to remember that there is power in giving. We empower each other by encouraging each other to give to other people. Even small acts of kindness return all sorts of benefits. Helping others is a good reminder that all sorts of people have all sorts of problems, and giving a hand to another builds a grateful attitude. All of us, no matter what age we are, should look for chances to help others. It is the right thing to do.