ACADEMICS at the University of Sussex have teamed up with BBC Radio 4 on a project aimed at understanding the role kindness plays in our lives.

The Kindness Test, an in-depth online questionnaire, explores how kindness is viewed across society, with respondents being quizzed on their attitudes towards it.

The project is being spearheaded by Professor Robin Banerjee, head of the school of psychology at the university, and BBC Radio 4 broadcaster and visiting professor Claudia Hammond.

Professor Banerjee said: “Recent research has begun to shine a light on the powerful impacts of kindness on people and communities, but there is so much we still don’t know.

“This major survey is designed to help us learn more about kindness in our lives - how people’s attitudes and experiences vary across different groups, and how kindness relates to our mental health, well-being and other social and psychological experiences.”

The study will investigate what are the most common good deeds carried out, what barriers are there to behaving more kindly and how kindness is related with compassion and empathy.

Claudia said: “This feels like the perfect moment to explore the topic of kindness in depth. I think a lot of us have found the pandemic has led us to think more about what really matters to us.

“In my view, kindness is not something soft, but something that can make a real difference.

“With the help of our large audience at Radio 4, I’m looking forward to discovering what everyone thinks about it.”

The test is the fourth in a series of questionnaires carried out in partnership between BBC Radio 4 and academic institutions - the first covering the topics of rest, loneliness and touch.

The results from The Kindness Test will be announced on the radio station in February next year, with the findings informing subsequent research papers, which will be submitted for publication in scientific journals by University of Sussex academics.

The university is developing a specialism in the science of kindness, with an interdisciplinary research group dedicated to examining how kindness impacts well-being and different aspects of society.

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