All in the Mind

In the Anatomy of Kindness Claudia Hammond asks who we are kind to. Professor Nichola Raihani from University College London says there are circles of connections, so family and friends, work colleagues, neighbours continuing out to everyone on the planet. Different people will put their boundaries in different places. One of the mechanisms we have to move these boundaries is empathy says Sara Konrath associate professor at the Lily Family School of Philanthropy. And being able to elicit empathy in strangers is an important part of raising awareness of challenging issues according to Lyndall Stein who has raised money for HIV, refugees and the homeless.

Presenter Claudia Hammond

In the Anatomy of Kindness, a three part documentary series, broadcaster, author and psychologist Claudia Hammond interrogates what it means to be kind, who we are kind to and the benefits of being a kind boss.

For the first of the three programmes Claudia examines our motivations and decision making around kindness. She meets a super altruist who risked his life for a stranger, his motivation, he says, is to make the world a better place. A car accident left neuroscientist Professor Abigail Moore stranded on the outside lane of an American freeway facing the oncoming traffic. In a split second a stranger made the decision to run into the oncoming traffic and save her, without thinking of the danger. This act of heroism shaped Abigail’s research. She looks at such extreme altruists and her work explores the relationship between psychopathy and extraordinary altruism.

Professor of Philanthropy Sara Konrath was surprised to discover that narcissists are just as likely to give to charity as very empathic people, but a remarkable act of empathy was her inspiration to research this topic and we discover what she owes to a very kind person who entered her life at a pivotal time.

But what about the everyday acts of kindness? Can we ever say we do something for someone else without expecting something in return? Psychologist Jo Cutler says that we weigh up the effort to do something for someone else every time we act, even when it’s as simple as holding the door open. Nichola Raihani, Professor of Evolution and Behaviour and author of "The Social Instinct, how cooperation saved the world" thinks we've evolved to be altruistic, it’s the reason why we have been so successful as a species and altruism brings reputational and status benefits. But how cynically do we act when we are kind?

Claudia examines the evidence and decides whether you can ever carry out an act of pure kindness.

Claudia Hammond and guests announce the results of the biggest ever public science project on Kindness. With over sixty thousand participants from across the world this unique work helps to fill some of the research gaps and learn more about how kindness is viewed within society at large. Led by a team of researchers based at the University of Sussex, in partnership with BBC Radio 4, Claudia is joined on stage at the BBC Radio Theatre by Professor Robin Bannerjee who has been crunching the data. Together with poet Raymond Antrobus, Stylist magazine editor in chief Lisa Smosarski , comedian Elvis McGonagall and clinical ethicist Professor Deborah Bowman they unpick what the results tell us about how experiences of kindness might relate to health, well-being, and other social and psychological aspects integral to human nature.

Delving into animals' minds - and our relationships with them - Claudia Hammond wonders whether our pets care if we get hurt. Would a dog - or even a cat - give a monkey's if their owner fell over? Researchers like Dr Karen Hiestand are keen to explore the differences between canine and feline reactions. At the University of Sussex she works in the field of anthrozoology - analysing the relationship between humans and other animals. In one study she asked dog and cat owners to feign injury, setting up small cameras in their homes to monitor reactions, hoping to find out if the pet have empathy. We hear about the initial findings.

For years our understanding of animals was limited by attitudes like that of Descartes who thought they were merely machines made of flesh. Charles Darwin famously wrote in The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals that animal minds only differed from our own by degree, not in kind. Today some of the methods scientists use to measure animal responses are adapted from studies on children who've not yet learned to talk.

Mental health campaigner and All in the Mind Awards judge Marion Janner used to take her support dog Buddy wherever she was went, whether it was onto mental health wards or into the BBC studios. Marion says she helped to keep her safe during crises related to her borderline personality disorder because she knew she couldn't do anything which prevented her from looking after Buddy. Last year when Buddy died Marion gained comfort from her other dogs and an aquarium filled with fish.

On a walk in the park, we hear how Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy Polly has similarly helped her owner Sam to come to terms with the death of her previous dog Margo. The whole family was devastated by the loss and put a large plant where Margo's bed used to be because the room felt so empty. The Blue Cross for Pets charity offers support to anyone who's lost a pet - on the phone and online. We hear from their Bereavement and Loss Support Service manager Diane James about it can affect people as profoundly as human loss.

Cats have had a bit of an image problem - as the recent headline "How to Tell if Your Cat is a Psychopath" shows. Karen Hiestand says their apparent aloofness and accusations of laziness arise because we forget that they are solitary creatures, descended from wildcats who hunt and then sleep it off. She hopes the explosion in cat research will help us to understand our feline friends better.

Fish oil supplements are often touted as good for your heart health, but a new study finds they may also help fight depression. Alessandra Borsini of King’s College London has been examining the impact of these omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in the lab and has followed up with a promising trial on severely depressed patients. She discusses how and why this might prove useful for those for whom current antidepressants don’t make a difference.

Does a good life involve more than just pleasure? Could suffering be essential too? The psychologist and author Paul Bloom argues in a new book called The Sweet Spot that the activities that provide the most satisfaction are often the ones that involve the greatest sacrifice or suffering and how embracing a balance between the two is the key to a life well lived.

Claudia’s guest is Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience, Catherine Loveday of University of Westminster, who launches a new study on our memory for comedy - investigating whether various types of comedy could be applied in a way that music is increasingly being used in therapy.

The Expectation Effect. Claudia talks to science journalist David Robson about how our reality can be changed by our beliefs, from being able to see more clearly in bright sun if we believe we are wearing good quality sunglasses to getting long lasting pain relief from a placebo labelled exactly as that. Claudia talks about new guidelines from the British Standards Institute on buildings and neurodiversity. Called 'Design for the Mind', Jill Hewitt from Buro Happold and Jilly Corbyn from the National Development Team for Inclusion discuss the impact design features like lighting and sound can have on neurodivergent people and the best ways to design buildings so they are a relaxing environment for everyone. Also in the programme, how scientists are showing how the fine motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease like writing or cutting are benefitting from musical therapy. Claudia discusses the research with Isabelle Buard from University of Colorado School of Medicine.

Many people listen to music for hours every day, and often near bedtime in the hope of a good night’s sleep. But if you can’t get the tune out of your head could this be counter-productive? In new research, neuropsychologist Michael Scullin of Baylor University has looked at the rarely studied effect of these so called earworms, offering new insights into the way music is processed in our brain during sleep and effect music has on both sleep quality and quantity.

There’s growing evidence that signals sent from our internal organs to the brain play a major role in regulating emotions and fending off anxiety and depression. Claudia meets Dr Jane Aspell of Anglia Ruskin University who’s found that the strength of the connection between our brain and internal organs is linked to how we feel about our appearance – and could in future act as a biomarker to help identify, or even predict, negative body image and its related conditions.

And Claudia visits a new exhibition examining the work of the hugely popular Edwardian illustrator Louis Wain. His playful, sometimes even psychedelic pictures helped to transform the public's perception of cats As a patient at the Bethlem Psychiatric Hospital he continued to produce many drawings of gleeful and often outlandish creatures, and his body of work demonstrated the therapeutic and restorative effect that closeness with animals can have on a person’s mental health.

Claudia’s studio guest is Professor Catherine Loveday of the University of Westminster

Producer: Adrian Washbourne

The risk of a teenager developing an eating disorder appears to increase if they had tummy pains in childhood, according to new research from the University of Oxford. Data from families in the Bristol area who took part in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children helped to identify children who had abdominal pains as well as teenagers who went on to fast to lose weight aged 16. In the International Journal of Eating Disorders, Dr Kate Stein says there is an association between tummy pains aged 7 and 9 and an increased risk of developing anorexia. The paediatric psychiatrist believes that stomach pains or even normal gut sensations can lead a child to fear food, sometimes avoiding it altogether. Researchers in Sweden have created an online Cognitive Behavioural Therapy programme which Dr Stein hopes could be adapted and brought to the UK to help children who would otherwise have to wait a long time for support.

Athletes coming back from competing can experience the slump that’s been called the post-Olympic Blues. Even gold medallists aren’t immune to feeling lost or depressed after they return home and some have been known to try to deal with their feelings by partying hard instead of seeking psychological support. New research carried out by bronze medal winning pole vaulter Holly Bradshaw has shown that athletes would rather talk to former-Olympians than sports psychologists about any difficulties they’ve been having. Co-author Karen Howells, a Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology at Cardiff Metropolitan University, was surprised that the athletes preferred to open up to a former Olympian – but says that experts like her could provide training and support to those mentors.

Senior Lecturer in Mental Health at the Open University Mathijs Lucassen who's a co-author on the post-Olympic blues study likens the aftermath of a Games to the period after a wedding, following months of planning, emotional and financial investment. Mathijs also discusses with Claudia a study which looked at the impact that ready-prepared food kits can have on family meals in Australia and how sweet snacks might reduce our enjoyment of music.

Depersonalisation disorder involves feeling completely disconnected from yourself or from reality. It’s among the most common yet under-recognised psychiatric conditions and as such is hard to diagnose. Joe Perkins whose new book Life on Autopilot charts his 14 year experience with the disorder, discusses his long journey on the road to formal diagnosis, the need for innovative treatments, and why this disorder is so little understood or discussed.

City-wide air pollution has adverse effects on our heart and lungs, but there is now increasing evidence that air pollution isn’t great for our brain either. Recent research shows that adults exposed to high levels of traffic-related air pollution are more likely to experience anxiety and mild depression. But could it also contribute to the course and severity after the onset of more serious mental illness? Claudia Hammond meets Ioannis Bakolis of Kings College London who in the first study of its kind, has examined the extent to which air pollution exposure leads to a more severe course of illness in people experiencing first episodes of psychotic disorders.

And Claudia’s studio guest Professor Daryl O’ Connor discusses a new study into an effective way to counter the way disinformation spreads unchecked, and how inserting a counter-message, just once, into a close replica of a deceptive rival’s message can undercut its persuasive effects.

Producer Adrian Washbourne

Produced in association with the Open University

Claudia Hammond talks to Daniel Freeman, a clinical psychologist at the University of Oxford about a trial into a new talking treatment for people experiencing persecutory delusions. Called the Feeling Safe programme, the trial has had positive results and has transformed the lives for many of those receiving it, including Joe, one of the trial participants. Claudia talks to Professor Catherine Loveday about the lives and work of psychiatrists Aaron T Beck and Professor Sir Michael Rutter who have both died. She also talks to social psychologist, Fanny Lalot about how different signs at a railway level crossing in Canterbury might influence drivers to turn their engines off while they're waiting for the barriers to lift. Also in the programme, Professor Catherine Loveday talks about a new study looking at how taxi drivers brains help us understand and improve navigational skills. Producer Pamela Rutherford