Love is All You Need

And now for some more mental manipulation from the University of Southern Brittany, France (all in the name of good, of course). This particular psychological experiment was held in conjunction with a blood drive at various university campuses. Students were asked to donate blood by friendly researchers wearing T-shirts. As it happens, these tees were key to the experiment. Some of the shirts were plain, some had the motto “Donating = Helping,” and some read: “Loving = Helping.” The result? Students were more likely to give blood when asked by someone in a “Loving = Helping” outfit. The other motto had no effect compared to a plain shirt.

What does this tell us? Maybe, the researchers theorize, the word “loving” prompts people to think about the needs of others (instead of that nasty poke in the arm). It’s also possible that just hearing the word “loving” puts folks in a positive frame of mind… and we know that happy people are helpy people.

Either way, it’s clear from this and other similar experiments that love conquers all, love finds a way, love actually.

Now excuse me, I’m going to go think up ways to print the word “love” on all my power suits, as it never hurts to have an edge in a business meeting…