I read an interesting article in the Scientific American this morning. It was more of just a snippet than a full article but I think it was worth noting. The concept was that people are more likely to assist a perfect stranger if they themselves have been helped out recently.

This morning I took a flight from Austin to New York and while at the gate the lady in front of my was short one storage bin for her laptop. I was also short a storage bin for my laptop so I asked if she would like a bin and after her enthusiastic yes, I walked over to the other lane and grabbed a couple of bins for the both of us. Since I was in a good mood about going to NY to see friends and family I was probably more liken to help her out. Had I been in a poorer mood I might have crossed my arms and waited for another bin on our lane to free up.

My assisting her may have bettered her mood as well increasing the likelihood of her helping someone else. It appears that being in a good mood is infectious.