Welcome back to savvy psychologist. I'm Dr. Ellen Hendrickson and every week I'll help you

meet life's challenges with evidence-based research, a sympathetic ear, and zero judgment.

Forward-thinking companies strive to be socially responsible.

Fear commercials exhort us to drink responsibly.

And every parent wants their kid to be more responsible.

All in all, responsibility is a good thing, right? It means you're committed,

dependable, accountable, and you care about others. It's the opposite of shirking responsibility

by pointing fingers or making excuses. But it's easy to go too far.

Do you take on everyone's tasks? If someone you love is grumpy, do you assume it's something you did?

Do you apologize when someone else bumps into you?

Now, owning what's yours, mistakes and blunders included, is a sign of maturity. But owning everybody else's mistakes and blunders, not to mention their tasks, duties and emotions, is a sign of over-responsibility. But here is the twist. Being overly responsible isn't just

the realm of control freaks or earnest Eagle Scouts. Over responsibility can work for you, building trust and even currying favor.

For example, a fascinating joint study out of Harvard Business School and Wharton examined what happens

when we apologize in the absence of culpability, that is,

when we take responsibility for something that is clearly not our fault.

Specifically, on a rainy day, the researchers hired an actor to approach

travelers in a busy train station and ask to use their cell phones. Half the time,

the actor led by taking responsibility for the weather, as in,

I'm so sorry about the rain, can I borrow your cell phone? The other half of the time,

he simply asked, can I borrow your cell phone?

When he took responsibility for the weather,

47% of the travelers offered their phone.

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