Kindlab
Investigating the causes and consequences of kindness.
We’re dedicated to answering questions like: Why are people kind? What stops people from being kind? How does kindness contribute to a happy and fulfilling life? What are the most effective ways to teach kindness?
Kindness is an action
Intended to benefit
Typically accompanied by an emotional component
What we do
We conduct and fund research, promote public understanding, and build impactful real-world programs.
Academic Research
Kindlab provides authoritative, expert reviews of the science of kindness. Building on this foundation, we conduct pure and applied research to take the science forward.
Field Research
Our team of more than 400 citizen scientists in 45 countries test our theories and kind act recommendations in real-world situations.
Knowledge Translation
From creative campaigns, to programs for classrooms (Learn Kind) and workplaces (Work Kind), we make sure our findings make it into the hands of people who can put them to practical use.
Kind Fund
Kindlab provides small grant funding (<$5k) for kindness-related projects, particularly research that aims to be published in peer-reviewed journals. Anyone can apply. We evaluate applications on a rolling basis.
Why we do it
Understanding the biological basis and psychological circuitry of kindness, as well as the social conditions that facilitate it, enables us to explore the real, quantifiable, and often far-reaching effects of kindness on society. We can then design the most effective programs and interventions to increase kindness at scale.
How we do it
We are committed to open, interdisciplinary, collaborative research that draws on the best of the social, behavioral and life sciences – including genetics, neuroscience, psychology, economics, and anthropology.
Highlights
Does helping make you happy?
In order to find out, we conducted a systematic review of the experimental literature. We combed through more than 400 published papers that investigated the relationship between kindness and hapiness, and identified 27 studies that explicitly put the claim to the test. We then conducted a meta-analysis, which statistically combines the results of these previous studies.
We found that doing a kind act has a significant effect on well-being.
Recommended acts of kindness
What are the costs and benefits of different acts of kindness? To find out, we built a framework for evaluating kind acts, and are now creating a database of 1,000 Recommended Acts of Kindness, in collaboration with researchers at Harvard University. Check out our latest findings for our advice on ‘how to be kind in a crisis’.
Who we are
Kindlab is led by Oliver Scott Curry, PhD. Dr Curry received his PhD from the London School of Economics.
He has spent that past ten years teaching and researching cognitive and evolutionary anthropology at the University of Oxford.
Dr Curry’s career has been focused on studying the biological and psychological roots of human morality, viewing through a scientific lens questions that were once the exclusive domain of philosophy.
We are supported by a multidisciplinary team of scientific advisors and have a community of over 400 Citizen Scientists in 45 countries.
We value collaborating with other labs and are currently working on projects with researchers at the University of Oxford and Harvard University.
Get involved
Are you interested in collaborating with us or supporting our work? Fill out this short form and we’ll be in touch!