Our tendency to be “nice” can be separated into two related but distinct personality traits: politeness and compassion.
Politeness is linked to being fair, while compassion is helping others.

Our desire to be nice

Compassion refers to our tendency to be emotionally concerned about others and rests on progressive values.

Compassion

We should strive for politeness and compassion, as both have a role to play in society.
As a principle: if you can, help others; if you can't, at least do not hurt them.

Politeness or compassion

Politeness and compassion lead to different kinds of behaviors.Polite people tend to do the right thing while they may not necessarily help people in need. Compassionate people will respond to the misfortunes of others, but may not be even-handed and rule-abiding.

Different behaviors

Politeness refers to our tendency to be respectful of others and not aggressive. It's about having good manners based on traditional values.

Politeness

The word "nice" has an unusual history in the English language. Originally a term for "foolish", its meaning over the centuries has morphed from "wanton" to "reserved" to "fastidious". These days, it has become a somewhat bland and opaque description of personality: "she's really nice."

Politeness

The science of being 'nice': how politeness is different from compassion

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