Kindness for Peace

This chapter introduces the concepts of peace and kindness from a developmental perspective and outlines a social-emotional developmental framework for the relationship between kindness and inner, relational, and intergroup peace. It first reviews Western and Eastern philosophical and psychological perspectives of peace. Second, it introduces the concept of kindness and provides an overview of core components of kindness (i.e., empathy with the self, empathy with others, and prosocial behavior; Malti, Eur J Dev Psychol, 18(5): 629–657, 2021). Using data from the VIA Inventory of Strengths (i.e., VIA Survey) and supplementary validated scales, we tested the theoretical framework that kindness is an important mechanism promoting peace in youth. Preliminary results revealed unique pathways between self- and other-oriented components of kindness (e.g., empathy with the self, empathy with others, and prosocial behavior) and the inner, relational, and intergroup levels of peace. We discuss findings in reference to peace-building interventions to support social-emotional development and kindness across childhood and adolescence.