Positive Psychology and GOOD Neighbors

I introduced my Master of Applied Positive Psychology class at UPenn to GOOD today.  We were discussing "businesses as agents of world benefit" - in other words, how can companies do good and do well?  Naturally, GOOD came up and we got into a discussion about Neighbor Day.  Specifically, what can positive psychology, which is the scientific study of human flourishing, teach us about how to be good neighbors?  Here are a few of the ideas we came up with:

- Neighborhood walks with pedometers - Exercise promotes physical and mental well-being. (Ratey & Hagerman)
- Conduct gratitude visits with your neighbors - Gratitude is well-researched path to happiness. (Seligman)
- Give baked goods for shared savoring: Research shows mindful savoring enhances experience. (Bryant)
- Know your neighbors strengths and help them use them: We all have character and competence strengths that, when used in new and regular ways, bring opportunities for growth. (Peterson & Seligman)
- Smile and say hello - happiness is contagious: Mirror neurons in our brains cause us to smile when we see others smile, and the physical act of smiling can produce corresponding positive emotions. (Ekman, Christakis & Fowler)
- Exercise respect and self-regulation in honor of your neighbors: Self-control works like a muscle; when you exercise self-control, your energy depletes temporarily only to grow back stronger.  Like a muscle, with practice it can grow stronger. (Baumeister)
- Commit random acts of kindness:  Altruistic actions predict physical and mental health throughout the lifespan. (Post)
- "Other people matter." - Christopher Peterson: The shortest summary of positive psychology research findings to date.


These are just a few of the ideas that came up, and I'm excited to keep making connections between this research and the great ideas coming from the GOOD community.  More to come...in the meantime, what do you think makes a good neighbor?