Prosocial Spending and Happiness
Using Money to Benefit Others Pays Off
- 1Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia
- 2Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University
- 3Marketing Unit, Harvard Business School
- Elizabeth W. Dunn, Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Douglas Kenny Building, 2136 West Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada E-mail: edunn{at}psych.ubc.ca
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Author Contributions Elizabeth W. Dunn and Lara B. Aknin wrote the manuscript. Michael I. Norton edited the manuscript.
Abstract
Although a great deal of research has shown that people with more money are somewhat happier than are people with less money, our research demonstrates that how people spend their money also matters for their happiness. In particular, both correlational and experimental studies have shown that people who spend money on others report more happiness. The benefits of such prosocial spending emerge among adults around the world, and the warm glow of giving can be detected even in toddlers. These benefits are most likely to emerge when giving satisfies one or more core human needs (relatedness, competence, and autonomy). The rewards of prosocial spending are observable in both the brain and the body and can potentially be harnessed by organizations and governments.
Article Notes
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Declaration of Conflicting Interests The authors declared that they had no conflicts of interest with respect to their authorship or the publication of this article.
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Funding The research described in this article was supported by grants to E. W. Dunn from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (410-2008-2509) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (MOP-110968). These are government agencies and do not represent specific interests beyond advancing science and furthering the general betterment of society.
- © The Author(s) 2014
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