Even before COVID-19, it was well known in psychological science that people’s well-being is strongly served by the quality of their close relationships. But is well-being also served by social contact with people who are known less well? In this article, we discuss three propositions that support the conclusion that the benefits of social contact also derive from interactions with acquaintances and even strangers. The propositions state that most interaction situations with strangers are benign (Proposition 1), that most strangers are benign (Proposition 2), and that most interactions with strangers enhance well-being (Proposition 3). These propositions are supported, first, by recent research designed to illuminate the primary features of interaction situations. This research shows that situations with strangers often represent low conflict of interest. Also, in interactions with strangers, most people exhibit high levels of low-cost cooperation (social mindfulness) and, if the need is urgent, high levels of high-cost helping. We close by sharing research examples showing that even very subtle interactions with strangers yield short-term happiness. Broader implications for COVID-19 and urbanization are discussed.

甚至在 COVID-19 之前，心理科学中就众所周知，人们的幸福感很大程度上取决于他们亲密关系的质量。但是，与不太知名的人进行社交接触是否也有助于幸福？在本文中，我们讨论了三个支持以下结论的命题：社交接触的好处也来自与熟人甚至陌生人的互动。这些命题指出，大多数与陌生人的互动情况是良性的（命题 1），大多数陌生人是良性的（命题 2），并且大多数与陌生人的互动会增强幸福感（命题 3）。首先，最近旨在阐明交互情况的主要特征的研究支持这些命题。这项研究表明，陌生人的情况通常代表低利益冲突。此外，在与陌生人的互动中，大多数人表现出高水平的低成本合作（社会正念），如果需要紧急，高水平的高成本帮助。我们通过分享研究实例来结束，这些实例表明，即使与陌生人非常微妙的互动也会产生短期的快乐。讨论了对 COVID-19 和城市化的更广泛影响。