PRESIDENT, THE SOCIETY OF NOTARIES PUBLIC OF BC
Photo credit: www.lonniewishart.com
Rhoda Witherly
Keep it Up!
We are active in our communities and freely donate our time and resources to worthy causes. I am sure most of you have responded in some way to a public appeal for help for flood victims, for people who have lost everything in a natural disaster like the Fort McMurray fire, or for assistance for victims of a devastating earthquake or famine in some far-off land. The response by the public to these calls is often overwhelming. It exemplifies the “kindness of strangers.” At other times we respond in our community when volunteers are needed for the hospital, the local recreation centre, the hockey or dance program, a blood donor clinic . . . the list is endless. Have you ever wondered why we respond? Are we just great folks . . . responsible citizens who like to be seen helping? What is our motivation? Scientists have also been wondering. One of the topics at a conference I attended recently was raising money for a cause. The presenter talked about “giving” of both our time and your money. She concluded it was good for our well-being to be generous. She based her conclusion on university
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research studies examining how people respond to different types of requests for donations.
They divided giving into three general categories.
The professors studied giving . . . the science behind what we feel when we give and how giving both time and money can affect our mental and physical well-being. They also studied how we feel when approached for a donation.
• Giving to enhance either financial well-being or community stature
Have you ever wondered why we respond? Are we just great folks . . . responsible citizens who like to be seen helping? What is our motivation? Scientists have also been wondering. Their Discoveries Their research shows the action of giving triggers brain signals that are sent to an interconnected brain area called “medial forebrain pleasure circuit,” the area of the brain where pleasure is felt.
• Giving for strictly altruistic reasons
• Giving for personal satisfaction When we are asked for a donation or to assist others, certain circumstances can change our feelings associated with giving and affect how much we give and to whom. The researchers went on to review how various approaches can motivate charitable giving. The conclusion seems to be that whether people are motivated by pure altruism or by a sense of improved social status, the act of giving provides a sense of pleasure and well-being to the donor and needed resources to the recipient. Do we really need researchers to tell us what we know? Giving feels good! Keep it up! s
For humans, pleasure is a motivator. If an action gives us pleasure, we will want to continue the behaviour and even expand it, in this case donating to or volunteering for something.
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s you read through this issue of our magazine, you will see BC Notaries are a charitable lot.
The researchers developed a series of studies comparing how the brain reacts to different sets of motivators in our lives. The Society of Notaries Public of British Columbia
Volume 27 Number 4 Winter 2018
