The concept of mirror neurons and charity

Understanding human beings is vital, especially in interactive situations and activities like charity. Charity work is complex. To some people, it's a concept that just doesn’t add up and is often used to manipulate, such as softening the public image of a high-profile celebrity or politician. Despite that belief holding some truth, charitity, in many cases, is a silent superhero that benefits both the giver and receiver and ties into the concept illustrated by mirror neurons.

Most psychological researchers and writers have different opinions on what those neurons do and how they affect human interaction in their behavioral scope. Some researchers argue that mirror neurons are essential in coupling perceptions and actions. In turn, researchers believe they help people to understand the actions of other people and help them learn new skills by imitation. Essentially, this means mirror neurons allow people to learn from one another by stimulating observed actions. This contributes to learning and adopting new skills and behaviors.

That concept aligns with charity work and especially in non-profit organizations. Most non-profit organizations' primary purpose is to help or enlighten their target population. However, these organizations often depend on untrained volunteers due to the often limited availability of trained personnel. So, naturally, the untrained will rely on what they observe from the trained personnel to learn how to do things and operate in situations. This fact is directly in conjunction with what most researchers perceive regarding mirror neurons. In addition, most people working for a non-profit organization in a foreign country learn new language skills by interacting and observing how the natives communicate with each other. This is believed to be the effect of mirror neurons as well

Additionally, it’s arguable that mirror neurons play a vital role in making some people commit their lives to work in non-profit organizations to help others. And, based on research, mirror neurons play an important role in enhancing empathy among people through their emotional experiences. Seeing tears of joy running down a hungry mother who has received food from donors, or treating eye problems among the poor who could not have afforded such medical help, encourages some social workers, dentists, opticians and many other professionals to dedicate their lives to helping people, even without pay. Further, with such scenarios, donors are also motivated to continue supporting non-profit organizations because of the positive impact their help does on people who need help. Based on that, it is explicit that despite mirror neurons being a psychological and scientific concept, they can be illustrated in different dimensions and bear a positive impact.

Donating and contributing to non-profit organizations is not meaningless; it is an emotional and psychological drive that directly influences people’s acts and can be explained scientifically with available concepts such as the impact of mirror neurons. Thus, it is not silly to contribute or participate in non-profit organizations; it is a drive that comes from deep within with no bias or manipulation, which perfectly explains why some people dedicate their lives to such organizations to do the good they do.

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