The reward for being nice
Why you should choose to be a nice person
"You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar"
If you've heard this phrase before perhaps you're wondering what it actually means? Cooperation is a goal most people have at some point. The ability to persuade or convince someone else to do what you want without coercion or and the threat of violence. The secret behind promoting cooperation rather than competition is to rely on reciprocity. Reciprocity is a fair exchange for mutual benefit. The Wikipedia definition below:
In social psychology, reciprocity is a social norm of responding to a positive action with another positive action, rewarding kind actions. As a social construct, reciprocity means that in response to friendly actions, people are frequently much nicer and much more cooperative than predicted by the self-interest model; conversely, in response to hostile actions they are frequently much more nasty and even brutal. [1]
So as we can see here reciprocity is the social tradition in human beings to reward kindness. If you do a good deed for the right person then that person may feel an innate desire to return the favor. This innate desire to return the favor is based around the concept of reciprocity. This concept of reciprocity is promoted by the instinct of fairness.
Human beings have an instinct to be fair. If you make the first move of being nice to the right person then you may be surprised someday to find that this person remembers what you did for them. The reward for being nice in this context is that it encourages people to be nice to you back and this highlights the principle of reciprocity.
Some people are nice because they have some innate feeling of pleasure they get from being nice. My blog post is not about these people who would be nice out of instinct. My blog post instead provides a rational basis for being nice (to encourage cooperation). Being nice allows you to get along with more people, get cooperation from more people at a lower cost. Being mean or scary can also achieve cooperation but at a higher cost depending on your perspective.
If you want voluntary cooperation without having to risk damaging your reputation, or risk putting yourself in a position to be harmed in retribution, then being nice is the more efficient answer. What are your thoughts on this? Do you find being nice as more effective than being mean? Do you think voluntary cooperation is better than coercion?
It makes the world a better place. It makes society more civilized, and easier for all to live in peace.
Being nice is actually good, but it bites back in the butt. It has bitten me on steemit where I started a group called @steem-lagos and out of the blue the people I was nice to and call brothers bites me in the back. Check my earnings, i hardly earn something encouraging and all this happened to me out of being nice.
It all depends on who you choose to be nice to. If you are nice to a person who believes in fairness and reciprocity then it could help but if you're nice to a person who isn't nice back then perhaps it's time you stop being nice to that kind of person.
Yes Yes, wrong people to be nice to indeed!
you are very right ... we all have to be good fellow human beings.other we are fellow friend .. i really like your post..let me resstem your pots
Well, I always try to be nice to people and I hope to get the same treatment from others. It'a definitely a more effective way than being mean. Nobody likes mean people, thus it's less likely that they will get some sort of rewards or whatever. Being nice often makes others to be nice to you as well!
Being a nice person can make all the difference in the World!!
being good attracts Goodness :-)
I have come to realise one thing in life and that is the fact that if you think people you are so nice to will also be nice to you then you are wrong. It never works that way, but that does not mean been nice is a bad idea. In fact been nice has it's numerous advantages to our existence, but never expect it back.
So if I'm mean to people should I expect people to be nice to me in return? The only reason to be nice is because you expect it back otherwise why not be mean and not care what you get back?
@dana-edwards, sure you are right. Once you are nice, you will expect Same in return, but the whole truth is that It might not happen that way because you might expect to get it back and you might never get it back or you might, it's a 50-50 thing, but if you put your mind to it, you might get some heart break, pardon me I am only speaking from past experiences and from the part of the world where I come from.
Anything might happen and all social activities are gambles. But if you want a higher chance of receiving nice you have to be nice. Just like if you're a jerk to most people then sooner or later someone is going to treat you that way that you treat others.
Noted @dana-edwards, your advice is well received. I will continue to be nice like I have always been. Thank you for the kind advice.
I’m sure the majority of people want to be nice to one another but the minority overrules it with their brazen and loud obnoxious attitude
It’s like looking at reviews of a restaurant the majority of people who had a nice time wont pair a positive review they just had a good time but the off chance the customer had a bad time you going to be damn sure it’s going to be all they talk about
Being nice can also be a powerful tool even more so than money or force or authority! Mutual respect goes a long way