Good and Evil Deeds Stimulate Surprising 'Superpowers'

 

The mere act of kindness, or one of evil, can boost willpower and physical strength, a new study suggests.

 

The results, based on three experiments, show that those who performed good deeds, or envisioned themselves acting charitably, were able to hold a weight or squeeze a hand grip significantly longer than those who didn't perform or think about such deeds.

 

But evil acts appeared to confer similar and perhaps even greater superpowers.

 

"When you think of superheroes or super villains, [you think of people] that can possess huge amounts of willpower and are relatively unfazed by pain," said study researcher Kurt Gray, a doctoral student in psychology at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. "And because of your stereotype of heroes and villains, you kind of embody that, or transform yourself into your perception of hero and villain," when you perform good or evil acts, he said.
 
 
full @ http://www.livescience.com/culture/good-deeds-willpower-100504.html

 

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