It's the thought that counts: UCLA opens

institute to study kindness

By Los Angeles Times, adapted by Newsela staff on 10.10.19
Word Count 909
Level 880L

Image 1. Four women smile as they stand on a mountain. Photo by: RawPixel

LOS ANGELES, California — A friendly smile. A food pantry donation. Or, a remarkable act of Los
Angeles, California, compassion: allowing a driver to cut in front of you.

Such acts of kindness have a self-serving upside, too. Science has shown they also make you
healthier.

Now the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), is advancing that science with the world's
first research institute on kindness. The institute launched on September 25. The institute blends
different academic subjects together. It will explore, for example, how and why being nice to
others reduces depression and the risk of cancer and heart disease.

Mental illnesses are serious conditions that are different than feeling sad. Feeling sad, lonely or
unhappy sometimes is normal and is usually related to what is happening in your life. Mental
illness, on the other hand, refers to disorders that affect someone's mood, thoughts and behavior.
Anxiety and depression are examples of mental illnesses. People can experience mental illness

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.

even when things seem like they are going well. It is often connected to chemicals in the brain.
Most mental illnesses can be treated by doctors.

Changing The Behavior Of Genes

Research by UCLA scientists has shown that mindfulness and kindness change the behavior of
genes. A gene is a section of DNA that tells a specific part of the body how to grow and
work. Mindfulness is the practice of focusing on the present. This is done with slow and deep
breathing.

Acts of kindness can change the behavior of genes by turning down ones that cause swelling. These
types of genes can lead to heart disease or certain cancers. At the same time, kindness turns up the
genes that protect against infections.

The ultimate goal of the institute is to spread kindness

and encourage a more kind world. It will develop
training tools to help practice kindness. It will also
work to spread the tools through online programs,
public speeches, media campaigns and a free app
called UCLA Mindful. The app is already made. A $20
million gift from the Bedari Foundation, will provide
money for the center's research projects.

Project Hopes To Offer Healing

Darnell Hunt is the head of UCLA's branch of social

sciences. This branch is where the institute will be based. Hunt said that in the middle of current
international conflict and suffering this project hopes to offer healing.

Researchers agreed on an academic definition for kindness: an act that improves the health of
others as the main goal. When it comes to kindness, the purpose — rather than the result — is key.
As the saying goes, it's the thought that counts.

Kindness is complimenting someone to make them feel good, not to get what you want. It's giving
to a charity even if the gift is never used. It's thinking about the reason why a driver who cuts you
off might be in a hurry.

Daniel Fessler teaches the study of human societies at UCLA. He is also the institute's first leader.
Fessler said that having kind thoughts increases how often you take kind actions. Both the
thoughts and the experience of doing the actions have positive effects on the well-being of the
person.

Already, a range of UCLA researchers are studying the types of questions that will be the core of
the institute's work. The work will focus on three ideas: the roots of kindness, how to encourage it,
and how to use it to heal and improve mental and physical health.

Fessler said humans have come to rule the globe, even though they're small in size. This is due to
humans' ability to cooperate.

Fessler and other anthropologists are studying how kindness can spread among individuals and
groups. In an experiment, people watched a video clip of someone showing kindness. They were

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more likely to donate money to a children's hospital than people who watched a video without
kind actions. The researchers had given each participant $5 and showed the videos. Then they
turned their backs as each person decided whether to place any money in an envelope. The
envelope was padded to hide the contents.

Soothing Depression And Anxiety

UCLA researchers also have shown that kindness can help soothe depression and anxiety. Michelle
Craske studies the mind, mental illness and behavior. Craske shows that when patients did
compassion training, it improved their mental health. The training encouraged joy, thankfulness,
kindness, generosity and also involved doing kind acts. For example, the kind act could be to offer
help to co-workers on projects. The improvement lasted for the six months of the study.

Craske plans to start a similar research project with high school students who are at risk of
depression. She is expanding the study to help UCLA students. She hopes sharing the mindfulness
training will help tackle rising mental health issues with students. There has been a rise in mental
health issues among students. Craske is also developing virtual reality tools. These tools replicate
positive environments that can help people feel better.

To spread such healing is why Jennifer and Matthew Harris wanted to start the Bedari Kindness
Institute. Matthew Harris thinks it is very important to the preservation of humans and our ability
to live with each other.

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Quiz

1 Which sentence from the article supports the main idea of the article?

(A) It will explore, for example, how and why being nice to others reduces depression and the risk of cancer
and heart disease.

(B) People can experience mental illness even when things seem like they are going well.

(C) Fessler said humans have come to rule the globe, even though they're small in size.

(D) The researchers had given each participant $5 and showed the videos.

2 Read the paragraph from the article.

The ultimate goal of the institute is to spread kindness and encourage a more kind world. It will
develop training tools to help practice kindness. It will also work to spread the tools through online
programs, public speeches, media campaigns and a free app called UCLA Mindful. The app is
already made. A $20 million gift from the Bedari Foundation, will provide money for the center's
research projects.

How does this paragraph support the main idea of the article?

(A) It provides an academic definition of kindness.

(B) It summarizes research done by UCLA.

(C) It shows how the institute plans to spread kindness.

(D) It explains why the Bedari Foundation was created.

3 Read the section "Project Hopes To Offer Healing."

Select the paragraph from the section that shows examples of kindness.

(A) Researchers agreed on an academic definition for kindness: an act that improves the health of others
as the main goal. When it comes to kindness, the purpose — rather than the result — is key. As the
saying goes, it's the thought that counts.

(B) Kindness is complimenting someone to make them feel good, not to get what you want. It's giving to a
charity even if the gift is never used. It's thinking about the reason why a driver who cuts you off might
be in a hurry.

(C) Already, a range of UCLA researchers are studying the types of questions that will be the core of the
institute's work. The work will focus on three ideas: the roots of kindness, how to encourage it, and how
to use it to heal and improve mental and physical health.

(D) Fessler said humans have come to rule the globe, even though they're small in size. This is due to
humans' ability to cooperate.

4 Read the paragraph from the section "Soothing Depression And Anxiety."

Which detail from this paragraph shows how Craske plans to help high school students?

(A) Craske plans to start a similar research project with high school students who are at risk of depression.

(B) She is expanding the study to help UCLA students.

(C) She hopes sharing the mindfulness training will help tackle rising mental health issues with students.

(D) There has been a rise in mental health issues among students.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.