The Anatomy Of Kindness

In the Anatomy of Kindness Claudia Hammond asks who we are kind to. Professor Nichola Raihani from University College London says there are circles of connections, so family and friends, work colleagues, neighbours continuing out to everyone on the planet. Different people will put their boundaries in different places. One of the mechanisms we have to move these boundaries is empathy says Sara Konrath associate professor at the Lily Family School of Philanthropy. And being able to elicit empathy in strangers is an important part of raising awareness of challenging issues according to Lyndall Stein who has raised money for HIV, refugees and the homeless.
But how do we expand who us is, (whatever that means)? Sunder Katwaler of the think tank British Future says that in part it's about making connections, which is something Gillian Sandstrom from the University of Sussex studies would agree with. She studies talking to strangers and why that is beneficial.

Presenter Claudia Hammond
Producer Geraldine Fitzgerald
Sound Engineer Sarah Hockley
Sound Designer Eleni Hassabis

Claudia Hammond looks at the role of empathy and asks who are we kind to.

Using evidence from the BBC Kindness Test, Claudia Hammond asks what it means to be kind.

In the Anatomy of Kindness Claudia Hammond asks who we are kind to. Professor Nichola Raihani from University College London says there are circles of connections, so family and friends, work colleagues, neighbours continuing out to everyone on the planet. Different people will put their boundaries in different places. One of the mechanisms we have to move these boundaries is empathy says Sara Konrath associate professor at the Lily Family School of Philanthropy. And being able to elicit empathy in strangers is an important part of raising awareness of challenging issues according to Lyndall Stein who has raised money for HIV, refugees and the homeless.
But how do we expand who us is, (whatever that means)? Sunder Katwaler of the think tank British Future says that in part it's about making connections, which is something Gillian Sandstrom from the University of Sussex studies would agree with. She studies talking to strangers and why that is beneficial.

Presenter Claudia Hammond
Producer Geraldine Fitzgerald
Sound Engineer Sarah Hockley
Sound Designer Eleni Hassabis

Claudia Hammond looks at the role of empathy and asks who are we kind to.

Using evidence from the BBC Kindness Test, Claudia Hammond asks what it means to be kind.

In the final part of the Anatomy of Kindness, Claudia Hammond and guests ask 'Can bosses be kind'? Using evidence from the Kindness Test, the world's largest psychological study into kindness, Claudia starts her quest with Thom Elliot Co-founder of Pizza Pilgrims, who deliberately set out to foster a kind culture in a sector not exactly known for its benevolence. They're joined for pizza by Prof Robin Banerjee, architect of the Kindness Test to discuss the findings and examine whether kindness in business really does result in success. Joe Folkman is the perfect person to ask. He runs an evidence based leadership development firm and produced a fascinating study "I'm a boss why should I care if you like me"? It turns out there's a strong correlation between being likeable and effectiveness. Such concepts are backed up by a relatively new field of research called 'ethical leadership' pioneered by Professor Mike Brown. But 60,000 people who took part in the Kindness Test revealed time pressures as one of the barriers to being kind, so how easy is it to be a kind leader on a day to day basis? Claudia meets former head teacher Ros McMullen who tells some home truths about leadership in a culture of relentless pressure and accountability. Plus Lisa Smosarski, editor in Chief of Stylist magazine shares shocking office stories of the 'Devil Wears Prada' era and discusses wider societal shifts that may be contributing to a kinder culture in her industry. And Claudia's fellow science presenters, Robin Ince, Hannah Fry and Marnie Chesterton recall some old bad boss stories of their own.

Producer, Erika Wright

Claudia Hammond asks 'Can bosses be kind?'

Using evidence from the BBC Kindness Test, Claudia Hammond asks what it means to be kind.

In the final part of the Anatomy of Kindness, Claudia Hammond and guests ask 'Can bosses be kind'? Using evidence from the Kindness Test, the world's largest psychological study into kindness, Claudia starts her quest with Thom Elliot Co-founder of Pizza Pilgrims, who deliberately set out to foster a kind culture in a sector not exactly known for its benevolence. They're joined for pizza by Prof Robin Banerjee, architect of the Kindness Test to discuss the findings and examine whether kindness in business really does result in success. Joe Folkman is the perfect person to ask. He runs an evidence based leadership development firm and produced a fascinating study "I'm a boss why should I care if you like me"? It turns out there's a strong correlation between being likeable and effectiveness. Such concepts are backed up by a relatively new field of research called 'ethical leadership' pioneered by Professor Mike Brown. But 60,000 people who took part in the Kindness Test revealed time pressures as one of the barriers to being kind, so how easy is it to be a kind leader on a day to day basis? Claudia meets former head teacher Ros McMullen who tells some home truths about leadership in a culture of relentless pressure and accountability. Plus Lisa Smosarski, editor in Chief of Stylist magazine shares shocking office stories of the 'Devil Wears Prada' era and discusses wider societal shifts that may be contributing to a kinder culture in her industry. And Claudia's fellow science presenters, Robin Ince, Hannah Fry and Marnie Chesterton recall some old bad boss stories of their own.

Producer, Erika Wright

Claudia Hammond asks 'Can bosses be kind?'

Using evidence from the BBC Kindness Test, Claudia Hammond asks what it means to be kind.

In the Anatomy of Kindness, a three part documentary series, broadcaster, author and psychologist Claudia Hammond interrogates what it means to be kind, who we are kind to and the benefits of being a kind boss.

For the first of the three programmes Claudia examines our motivations and decision making around kindness. She meets a super altruist who risked his life for a stranger, his motivation, he says, is to make the world a better place. A car accident left neuroscientist Professor Abigail Marsh stranded on the outside lane of an American freeway facing the oncoming traffic. In a split second a stranger made the decision to run into the oncoming traffic and save her, without thinking of the danger. This act of heroism shaped Abigail's research. She looks at such extreme altruists and her work explores the relationship between psychopathy and extraordinary altruism.
Professor of Philanthropy Sara Konrath was surprised to discover that narcissists are just as likely to give to charity as very empathic people, but a remarkable act of empathy was her inspiration to research this topic and we discover what she owes to a very kind person who entered her life at a pivotal time.

But what about the everyday acts of kindness? Can we ever say we do something for someone else without expecting something in return? Psychologist Jo Cutler says that we weigh up the effort to do something for someone else every time we act, even when it's as simple as holding the door open. Nichola Raihani, Professor of Evolution and Behaviour and author of "The Social Instinct, how cooperation saved the world" thinks we've evolved to be altruistic, it's the reason why we have been so successful as a species and altruism brings reputational and status benefits. But how cynically do we act when we are kind?
Claudia examines the evidence and decides whether you can ever carry out an act of pure kindness.

Claudia Hammond asks: can we ever be purely kind and do our motivations matter?

Using evidence from the BBC Kindness Test, Claudia Hammond asks what it means to be kind.

In the Anatomy of Kindness, a three part documentary series, broadcaster, author and psychologist Claudia Hammond interrogates what it means to be kind, who we are kind to and the benefits of being a kind boss.

For the first of the three programmes Claudia examines our motivations and decision making around kindness. She meets a super altruist who risked his life for a stranger, his motivation, he says, is to make the world a better place. A car accident left neuroscientist Professor Abigail Marsh stranded on the outside lane of an American freeway facing the oncoming traffic. In a split second a stranger made the decision to run into the oncoming traffic and save her, without thinking of the danger. This act of heroism shaped Abigail's research. She looks at such extreme altruists and her work explores the relationship between psychopathy and extraordinary altruism.
Professor of Philanthropy Sara Konrath was surprised to discover that narcissists are just as likely to give to charity as very empathic people, but a remarkable act of empathy was her inspiration to research this topic and we discover what she owes to a very kind person who entered her life at a pivotal time.

But what about the everyday acts of kindness? Can we ever say we do something for someone else without expecting something in return? Psychologist Jo Cutler says that we weigh up the effort to do something for someone else every time we act, even when it's as simple as holding the door open. Nichola Raihani, Professor of Evolution and Behaviour and author of "The Social Instinct, how cooperation saved the world" thinks we've evolved to be altruistic, it's the reason why we have been so successful as a species and altruism brings reputational and status benefits. But how cynically do we act when we are kind?
Claudia examines the evidence and decides whether you can ever carry out an act of pure kindness.

Claudia Hammond asks: can we ever be purely kind and do our motivations matter?

Using evidence from the BBC Kindness Test, Claudia Hammond asks what it means to be kind.

Claudia Hammond and guests announce the results of the biggest ever public science project on Kindness. With over sixty thousand participants from across the world this unique work helps to fill some of the research gaps and learn more about how kindness is viewed within society at large. Led by a team of researchers based at the University of Sussex, in partnership with BBC Radio 4, Claudia is joined on stage at the BBC Radio Theatre by Professor Robin Bannerjee who has been crunching the data. Together with poet Raymond Antrobus, Stylist magazine editor in chief Lisa Smosarski , comedian Elvis McGonagall and clinical ethicist Professor Deborah Bowman they unpick what the results tell us about how experiences of kindness might relate to health, well-being, and other social and psychological apects integral to human nature.

The results of BBC Radio 4\u2019s unique public science project on Kindness.

Using evidence from the BBC Kindness Test, Claudia Hammond asks what it means to be kind.

Claudia Hammond and guests announce the results of the biggest ever public science project on Kindness. With over sixty thousand participants from across the world this unique work helps to fill some of the research gaps and learn more about how kindness is viewed within society at large. Led by a team of researchers based at the University of Sussex, in partnership with BBC Radio 4, Claudia is joined on stage at the BBC Radio Theatre by Professor Robin Bannerjee who has been crunching the data. Together with poet Raymond Antrobus, Stylist magazine editor in chief Lisa Smosarski , comedian Elvis McGonagall and clinical ethicist Professor Deborah Bowman they unpick what the results tell us about how experiences of kindness might relate to health, well-being, and other social and psychological apects integral to human nature.

The results of BBC Radio 4\u2019s unique public science project on Kindness.

Using evidence from the BBC Kindness Test, Claudia Hammond asks what it means to be kind.