Why Getting 'High' Increases Acts of Charity

Want to persuade people to give more? Then get them "high" first — physically that is. New research published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology shows that people act twice as nice when they have just ridden up an escalator or walked up stairs. On higher ground, people's thoughts are apparently more elevated.

Read more: http://healthland.time.com/2011/03/29/why-getting-high-increases-charitable-actions

(..)

Why would height make such a difference? A spate of new research suggests that humans are enormously susceptible to such metaphors because of the way our brains work in the context of our bodies: that is, the thoughts and concepts in our minds are shaped by the experiences of the body. The theory is called "embodied cognition." So, for example, giving someone a warm drink actually makes people feel and behave more "warmly" toward others, while a cold drink evokes the "cold shoulder" and promotes distant behavior.