Prosocial spending and well-being: cross-cultural evidence for a psychological universal.

By L. Aknin, Christopher P. Barrington-Leigh, Elizabeth W. Dunn, John F. Helliwell, Justine Burns, R. Biswas-Diener, Imelda Kemeza, P. Nyende, Claire E. Ashton-James, Michael I. Norton. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2013

808 citations recorded by the source corpus.

This research provides the first support for a possible psychological universal: Human beings around the world derive emotional benefits from using their financial resources to help others (prosocial spending). In Study 1, survey data from 136 countries were examined and showed that prosocial spending is associated with greater happiness around the world, in poor and rich countries alike. To test for causality, in Studies 2a and 2b, we used experimental methodology, demonstrating that recalling a past instance of prosocial spending has a causal impact on happiness across countries that differ greatly in terms of wealth (Canada, Uganda, and India). Finally, in Study 3, participants in Canada and South Africa randomly assigned to buy items for charity reported higher levels of positive affect than participants assigned to buy the same items for themselves, even when this prosocial spending did not provide an opportunity to build or strengthen social ties. Our findings suggest that the reward experienced from helping others may be deeply ingrained in human nature, emerging in diverse cultural and economic contexts.

Subfields: Demography, Social Psychology

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/e13c94efaf7f7dddb945a81e1ae30b8bd71de22c

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The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.

In Demography

1. N. Collins
2. B. Feeney
3. Fabian Kosse
4. Thomas Deckers
5. Agota Kun
6. Frank Martela
7. Armin Falk
8. M. Steger

In Social Psychology

1. Frank Martela
2. Richard M. Ryan
3. M. Steger
4. Louis Tay
5. E. Diener
6. T. Kashdan
7. Tom Lane
8. N. Collins

Citations in the corpus

• Positive Empathy and Prosocial Behavior: A Neglected Link (2016, background): “Therefore, people might be intrinsically motivated to show prosocial behaviors when they experience positive affect, because acting prosocially appears to be a viable means to maintain this pleasant affective state (Aknin et al., 2012). Veitch et al. (1977) decoupled the mood induction procedure par”
• Making a Difference Matters: Impact Unlocks the Emotional Benefits of Prosocial Spending (2013, neutral): “Similarly, spending money on others leads to higher levels of happiness than spending money on oneself in North America and around the world (Aknin et al., 2012; Dunn, Aknin, & Norton, 2008).”
• Dirty Dozen vs. the H factor: Comparison of the Dark Triad and Honesty–Humility in prosociality, religiosity, and happiness (2014, background): “For example, there is evidence that happiness leads to prosocial behavior and prosociality makes people happier (Aknin et al., 2013; Hideg, 2012).”
• On the Benefits of Giving Social Support (2017, background): “oneself) leads to greater positive affect (Aknin et al., 2013), and doing nice things for others (vs.”
• Prosocial Spending and Happiness (2014, neutral): “Aknin et al. (2013) examined the correlation between charitable giving and happiness in 136 countries.”
• New Look at Social Support: A Theoretical Perspective on Thriving through Relationships (2014, background): “…whom one would like to have a communal relationship improves the helper’s mood and self-evaluations (Williamson & Clark, 1989); and spending money on others has a more positive impact on the giver’s happiness than spending money on oneself (Aknin et al., 2013; E. W. Dunn, Aknin, & Norton, 2008).”
• The Objective Benefits of Subjective Well-Being (2013, background): “Aknin et al. (2013) found in a study of 136 countries that prosocial uses of money by happy people generalized across regions of the world.”
• A Scientific Review of the Remarkable Benefits of Happiness for Successful and Healthy Living (2013, background): “Aknin et al. (2010) found in a study of 136 countries that prosocial uses of money by happy people generalized across regions of the world.”
• Socioeconomic Status and Inequalities in Children’s IQ and Economic Preferences (2017, background): “with success of groups and cooperative behavior in various domains of life as well as with individual life satisfaction (Rustagi, Engel, and Kosfeld, 2010; Carpenter and Seki, 2011; Becker et al., 2012; Aknin et al., 2013; Burks et al., 2016).”
• ‘It’s up to you’: Experimentally manipulated autonomy support for prosocial behavior improves well-being in two cultures over six weeks (2015, neutral): “Recent evidence indicates that helping others is associated with improvements in well-being across many cultures, suggesting that this effect may be a psychological universal (Aknin et al., 2013; Layous, Lee, Choi, & Lyubomirsky, 2013).”