The Concept Of Generosity From A Psychological Perspective
In recent years, new studies are coming to light with data that would support the benefits of practicing generosity. Some humanist-existentialist authors, especially Erich Fromm and Victor Frankl, emphasize ethical values and love in its different variants.
In this sense, Fromm affirms that ethical values and love constitute a source of psychological well-being and a characteristic of the emotionally healthy person (Oberst, 2005).
Generosity and gratitude are two important concepts that denote excellence of personal character (Emmons & Sheldon, 2002). Furthermore, in a way they are complementary. Indeed, the relationship between these two concepts begins with an affective process of “giving” a material good, advice or help to another person without expecting reciprocity; generosity is a prosocial behavior that aims to promote the well-being of another person (beneficiary).
Maslow (2001) speaks of the “generous nature” of the human being as opposed to selfishness and “healthy generosity”. He affirms that there is a relationship between generous behavior and psychological health, since generous behavior comes from “abundance” and “inner wealth”. Instead, selfish behavior is a phenomenon of inner poverty, typical of neurotic people.
The concept of gratitude from a psychological perspective
From the ethical point of view, gratitude is defined as a moral virtue that, as such, denotes good behavior (McCullogh, Kilpatrick, Emmons & Larson, 2001). However, the definition, as moral behavior, forces to thank for impersonal mandates the benefits received (Blumenfeld, 1962).
Recognizing and appreciating the person who gave us help does not imply that we are indebted to them. Although many have suggested that gratitude and indebtedness are equivalent, they are essentially different (Watkins, Scheer, Ovnicek & Kolts, 2006). The debt forces the debtor to make a payment to the creditor.
It is important to underline that the action of the giver must necessarily be generous, and that it is not a question of giving a benefit in search of rewards. The generous act does not seek to acquire creditors for the purposes of selfish gratification.
Generosity, an indicator of mental health?
Generosity has been studied especially in the context of the scientific search for the origin of altruism. In addition, currently several empirical studies estimate that it is a good indicator of mental health. The feeling of community also lies at the base of psychological well-being, which is why its absence is an indicator of poor psychological adjustment and mental disorder.
When the child fails to develop a certain degree of community feeling – as a result, for example, of an overly authoritarian or overly consenting education, among other factors – feelings of not belonging, of inadequacy, of inferiority, the famous inferiority complex arise. (Oberst, 2005).
These feelings of inferiority are difficult to tolerate. For this reason, the usual tendency is to compensate and overcompensate them with what Adler calls “a desire for superiority or a desire for power”, an aspect that according to Adlerian Psychology would be at the base of any psychological disorder.
The individual with feelings of inferiority – and therefore with a deficient sense of community – would develop what Adler calls a “neurotic disposition” (Adler, 1912/1993). The neurotic disposition can have several manifestations, which today would be more precisely defined in neuroticism -as a personality trait-, in addition to psychosomatic disorders and personality disorders.
From this supposed inferiority, a distortion of emotional life is born : the neurotic is no longer able to relate to others in a natural, spontaneous way; on the contrary, to compensate for this feeling of inferiority, he constantly tries to achieve fatuous triumphs.
When this disposition is accentuated or psychosocial problems converge, character deformities may appear, such as greed, resentment, malice, cruelty, etc. And all this to escape the unbearable feeling of feeling inferior or underappreciated.
