CrowdScience - Does it Pay to be Nice?
Download Does it Pay to be Nice?
Most of us want to be nice. But is it all it's cracked up to be? It's a question that's been nagging at listener Tony in Illinois, USA, for over 25 years. While studying at university, the lecturer asked him whether competing or co-operating was the best strategy for success – essentially, does it pay to work together or should we sharpen our elbows and look after number one?
Nastaran Tavakoli-Far goes in search of answers. She talks to a local hero about why he puts his life on the line for others, and visits a neuroscientist to find out what happens in the brain when we help others. Her quest also leads her to question whether women really are the more co-operative sex and how an animal called a kudu might reveal how human co-operation evolved in the first place.
Do you have a question we can turn into a programme? Email us at crowdscience@bbc.co.uk
(Image: John Cook from Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service. Credit: Anna Lacey / BBC)
Published on Saturday, 17th December 2016.
Available Podcasts from CrowdScience
We are not the BBC, we only list available podcasts. To find out more about the programme including episodes available on BBC iPlayer, go to the CrowdScience webpage.