--- description: Surround yourself with good people title: How to Be a Better Person: 7 Steps Backed By Research image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc87de1386b9fe6fc/698858085f570fa3dab1c230/sb10065025a-008-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1080&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Ideas](/section/ideas/) ## Ideas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Careers & Workplace](/tag/careers-workplace/) ## Careers & Workplace Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # How to Be a Better Person: 7 Steps Backed By Research by [Eric Barker](/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 27, 2015 4:01 AM CUT  Getty Images by [Eric Barker](/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 27, 2015 4:01 AM CUT * We all want to know how to be a better person. The science can be surprising. First, remember context, context, context. Your context dramatically affects your behavior, [so manipulating it is the easiest, most painless way to change yourself](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/whats-the-most-effective-way-to-change-you-be "undefined"). This is why the religious are [nicer on Sundays](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/are-religious-people-nicer-on-sundays "undefined") and mentioning [God](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-to-easily-get-strangers-to-be-kinder-to-y "undefined") makes people clean up their act. [Thinking about your childhood](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-there-a-way-to-quickly-and-easily-make-peo "undefined") (seriously, get a [teddy bear](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/can-teddy-bears-make-you-more-ethical "undefined")) and seeing [others do nice things](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/does-seeing-altruism-make-you-more-altruistic "undefined") can make you act more ethically. Our circumstances can make it hard to be objective even when [you really should be](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/in-what-ways-do-judges-with-daughters-vote-di "undefined"). Across the board, you behave better when you feel you’re being watched, whether it’s [an image of a pair of eyes](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-getting-people-to-behave-better-a-matter-o "undefined"), a [security camera](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/do-security-cameras-make-us-act-kinder "undefined") or a [mirror](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-everyday-object-can-motivate-you-to-work "undefined"). * Power corrupts so tread lightly when you have authority. Power can lead you to [dehumanize people](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/does-power-make-us-dehumanize-people "undefined"). It makes you believe [misbehavior is okay](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/do-the-highest-paid-nba-players-misbehave-mor "undefined"). It comes in [many forms](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/are-attractive-people-more-comfortable-with-i "undefined"). * [Stress](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/do-people-cheat-because-theyre-stressed-out "undefined") can make you cheat. Lack of sleep can [make you unethical](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/does-lack-of-sleep-make-us-unethical "undefined") and when faced with moral dilemmas [you usually do what is easy, not necessarily what’s right](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/when-faced-with-moral-dilemmas-do-we-do-what "undefined"). So learn how to [de-stress](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/5-ways-to-reduce-stress-and-anxiety "undefined"). * Ethical people are [happier](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/are-ethical-people-happier "undefined") and happier people are [better citizens](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/are-happier-people-better-citizens "undefined") — so [get happy](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/10-things-you-need-to-know-to-be-happier "undefined"). * It’s not black and white. Men and women have [different moral values](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/do-women-and-men-have-different-moral-values "undefined") and the sins they admit to [reflect this](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/which-of-the-seven-deadly-sins-do-men-and-wom "undefined"). (And, no, [women are not more ethical than men](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/are-women-more-ethical-than-men "undefined").) * Sadly, this will not be easy. Bad _is_ [stronger than good](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-bad-truly-stronger-than-good "undefined"). (And ethics books [get stolen more frequently than other books](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/ethics-books-get-stolen-more-frequently-than "undefined").) Full disclosure is not a [free pass](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/does-full-disclosure-really-address-conflicts "undefined"). Feeling moral [can lead you to act immorally](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/can-feeling-moral-lead-you-to-you-act-immoral "undefined") and [being ethical can hurt your income.](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/can-being-ethical-hurt-your-income "undefined") So force yourself to be better [ahead of time](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/whats-a-trick-we-can-use-to-make-sure-we-do-t "undefined"). * Research also shows little things can make a difference: 1. Play music [with positive lyrics](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/do-song-lyrics-affect-behavior "undefined"). 2. [Clean smells](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-there-a-smell-that-promotes-good-behavior "undefined") and the [odor of cookies](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/can-the-smell-of-cookies-make-us-nicer-to-eac "undefined") both make you behave better. 3. Keep the area [warm](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-can-you-make-a-gathering-more-social-and "undefined"). 4. Get [outside in nature](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-to-quickly-and-easily-become-a-better-per "undefined"). 5. Read [fiction](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/does-reading-fiction-make-us-nicer "undefined"). **Join over 195,000 readers. Get a free weekly update via email** [**here**](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD "undefined")**.** **_This piece originally appeared on_** [**_Barking Up the Wrong Tree_**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/04/7-steps-to-being-a-better-person/ "undefined")**_._** Related posts: [How To Stop Being Lazy And Get More Done – 5 Expert Tips](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/08/how-to-stop-being-lazy/ "undefined") [How To Get People To Like You: 7 Ways From An FBI Behavior Expert](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/10/how-to-get-people-to-like-you/ "undefined") [New Harvard Research Reveals A Fun Way To Be More Successful](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/09/be-more-successful/ "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3932654/being-better-person-steps/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3932654/being-better-person-steps/"},"headline":"How to Be a Better Person: 7 Steps Backed By Research","datePublished":"2015-06-27T04:01:25.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T08:32:31.434Z","description":"Surround yourself with good people","url":"https://time.com/3932654/being-better-person-steps/","keywords":["Careers & Workplace","Psychology","Stress","Power"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc87de1386b9fe6fc/698858085f570fa3dab1c230/sb10065025a-008-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eric Barker","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eric-barker/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc87de1386b9fe6fc/698858085f570fa3dab1c230/sb10065025a-008-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"volunteers-construction","caption":"volunteers-construction","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/careers-workplace/","name":"Careers & Workplace"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3932654/being-better-person-steps/","name":"How to Be a Better Person: 7 Steps Backed By Research"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Tony Robbins: How to be a better person","description":"Tony Robbins talks about his 37-year long career as a life coach.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/pwTCW5Bo/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-03-11T15:52:35.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/pwTCW5Bo.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3932654/being-better-person-steps/","duration":"PT1M30S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3932654/being-better-person-steps/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```