Our publication likes the idea of doing well by doing good, and these days we're getting a lot of validation from the field of psychology.

First we read about a "positive psychology" movement in the nation's colleges. And now new research suggests that generosity has physical and psychological benefits. Among the results in bioethicist Stephen Post's new book:

•Actively helping others during the teenage years promotes good physical and mental health all the way into late adulthood.

•Volunteerism on the part of older adults significantly reduces mortality.

•Giving to others enables people to forgive themselves for mistakes, a key element in well-being.

We've tried being generous and, just anecdotally, it definitely seems to work.

You can take positive psychology questionnaires here.