《社会心理学》课程教学资源（文献资料）prosocial——Prosocial Spending and Happiness：Using Money to Benefit Others Pays Off

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Current Directions in Psychological Science 2014, Vol. 23(1) 41–47 © The Author(s) 2014 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0963721413512503 cdps.sagepub.com Imagine digging out your jacket for the first time since winter and discovering a crumpled $20 bill in the pocket. How would you spend this windfall? Would you buy your partner a bouquet of yellow tulips? Would you give the cash to the homeless man you pass everyday on your way to work? Or would you buy yourself a vegetable panini for lunch? These questions reflect a broader human dilemma: What is the best way to use our money to maximize our happiness? A large body of research on the overall relationship between money and happiness has shown that individuals with more money are happier (e.g., Diener, Ng, Harter, & Arora, 2010; Diener, Tay, & Oishi, 2013), although this relationship is weaker than many people assume (Aknin, Norton, & Dunn, 2009; Kahneman, Krueger, Schkade, Schwarz, & Stone, 2006; but see Cone & Gilovich, 2010). But how people spend their money may be at least as important as the amount of money they have (Dunn & Norton, 2013). In an initial experiment, we approached people on a university campus and gave them either $5 or $20 to spend by the end of the day (Dunn, Aknin, & Norton, 2008). We instructed half of the participants to spend the money on themselves (personal spending) and half to spend the money on someone else (prosocial spending). That evening, people who had been assigned to spend the money on someone else reported happier moods over the course of the day than did those people assigned to spend the money on themselves. It is interesting that the amount of money the participants received had no bearing on their happiness. When we described the experiment to other participants, however, their predictions were doubly wrong: They believed that they would be happier spending more money ($20 vs. $5) and that they would be happier spending it on themselves. Thus, people’s daily spending choices may be guided by flawed intuitions about the relationship between money and happiness. Indeed, research has suggested that just being reminded of money may make people less attuned to the needs of others (Vohs, Mead, & Goode, 2006). Thinking about money may propel individuals toward using their financial resources to benefit themselves, but spending money 512503 CDPXXX10.1177/0963721413512503Dunn et al.Prosocial Spending and Happiness research-article2014 Corresponding Author: 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@psych.ubc.ca Prosocial Spending and Happiness: Using Money to Benefit Others Pays Off Elizabeth W. Dunn1 , Lara B. Aknin2 , and Michael I. Norton3 1 Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia; 2 Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University; and 3 Marketing Unit, Harvard Business School 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. Keywords money, prosocial spending, happiness, well-being Downloaded from cdp.sagepub.com by Cai Xing on February 9, 2014

42 Dunn et al. on others can provide a more effective route to increasing one’s own happiness. Is the Warm Glow of Giving Universal? Our initial research on prosocial spending and happiness was conducted in North America, where people enjoy a level of wealth that is highly atypical compared with living conditions experienced throughout human history and much of the world today. As a result, the emotional benefits of giving might be dampened or eliminated in countries in which many people are still struggling to meet their own basic needs. Discovering that people derive emotional benefits from prosocial spending even in poorer countries, however, would provide evidence that the warm glow of giving may be a fundamental component of human nature. We examined the correlation between charitable giving and happiness in 136 countries (Aknin, Barrington-Leigh, et al., 2013). In 120 of the countries, there was a positive relationship between giving and happiness (when we controlled for income and other demographic variables), and this relationship was significant in a majority of the countries (see Fig. 1 for world map). Although the strength of the relationship varied among countries, individuals in poor and rich countries alike reported more happiness if they engaged in prosocial spending. We also provided causal evidence for the emotional rewards of prosocial spending in an economically diverse group of countries, including Canada, India, South Africa, and Uganda (Aknin, Barrington-Leigh, et al., 2013). In one experiment conducted in both Canada and South Africa, participants were given the opportunity to spend money on a “goody bag” filled with treats (such as chocolate). Half of the participants were told that they would receive the goody bag they purchased (personal spending), and half were told that a sick child in a local hospital would receive the goody bag (prosocial spending). Participants who bought a gift bag for a sick child reported significantly happier mood than did participants who purchased the same goody bag for themselves. This finding is particularly notable, given that more than 20% of the South African sample reported not having enough money to buy food for themselves or their families in the preceding year. These results suggest that the capacity to derive joy from giving might be a universal feature of human psychology. If this is the case, then even young children might experience happiness from giving to others. We gave toddlers just under the age of 2 a pile of appealing Fig. 1. World map displaying the relationship between prosocial spending and happiness around the globe. From “Prosocial Spending and WellBeing: Cross-Cultural Evidence for a Psychological Universal,” by L. B. Aknin, C. P. Barrington-Leigh, E. W. Dunn, J. F. Helliwell, J. Burns, R. BiswasDiener, . . . M. I. Norton, 2013, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 104, p. 639. Copyright by the American Psychological Association. Reprinted with permission. Downloaded from cdp.sagepub.com by Cai Xing on February 9, 2014

Prosocial Spending and Happiness 43 treats (e.g., goldfish crackers; Aknin, Hamlin, & Dunn, 2012). The children were asked to give one of their treats away to a puppet who enthusiastically ate the treat (see Fig. 2 for images from each phase of the study). In addition, the experimenter “found” an extra treat, which she asked the child to give to the puppet. Research assistants coded children’s facial expressions for happiness. Children exhibited more happiness when they gave treats away to the puppet than when they received treats themselves (see Fig. 3 for coded happiness ratings). Moreover, children showed the highest levels of happiness when they gave a treat away from their own stash (vs. the experimenter’s extra treat). Taken together, this research showed that adults around the world and even young children experience emotional benefits from using their resources to help others, which suggests that humans may have a deep-seated proclivity to find giving rewarding. When Does Prosocial Spending Promote Happiness? The argument that humans have a universal tendency to experience joy from giving does not mean that every form of prosocial spending always produces emotional benefits. Most people can probably think of a time when they did something generous and did not experience a boost in happiness, and the existing literature has confirmed that giving does not always produce joy (e.g., Berman & Small, 2012). Self-determination theory provides a framework for understanding when and why giving leads to happiness (Weinstein & Ryan, 2010). According to this theory, human well-being depends on the satisfaction of three basic needs: relatedness, competence, and autonomy. Although prosocial spending is certainly not the only way to fulfill these needs—and it may also be possible to meet these needs through personal spending—we suggest that prosocial spending should be most likely to produce happiness under conditions that satisfy these needs. Relatedness Helping others may be most emotionally rewarding when it satisfies the fundamental need for social connection. Consistent with this idea, we found that individuals garner more happiness from prosocial spending when giving provides the opportunity to connect with other people (Aknin, Dunn, Sandstrom, & Norton, 2013). In Fig. 2. Example images of four phases from Aknin, Hamlin, and Dunn’s (2012) toddler sharing study. Toddlers were introduced to a puppet (a) and given eight treats (b). Then, in counterbalanced order, each toddler was asked to give the experimenter’s extra treat to the puppet (c) and to give one of their own treats to the puppet (d). A sample video is available at http://cic.psych.ubc.ca/Example_Stimuli.html. Downloaded from cdp.sagepub.com by Cai Xing on February 9, 2014

44 Dunn et al. one experiment, participants who received a $10 Starbucks gift card were happier if they spent it on a friend rather than on themselves—but only if they took the time to go to Starbucks with their friend. In another study, we found that individuals get the biggest happiness bang for their buck when they spend money on close others rather than on acquaintances (Aknin, Sandstrom, Dunn, & Norton, 2011), perhaps because close relationships are especially critical for satisfying the need to belong (Baumeister & Leary, 1995). Competence Prosocial spending is most likely to satisfy the need for competence if people can see how their generous actions have made a difference. Thus, individuals may experience a bigger happiness boost from giving to charities that make it easy to see the positive impact of donations. For example, both UNICEF and Spread the Net are deserving charities dedicated to improving children’s health in impoverished areas of the world, but Spread the Net offers a clear, concrete promise: For every $10 donated, the charity will provide a bed net to protect a child at risk of malaria. When we gave participants the opportunity to donate money to Spread the Net, individuals who donated more money felt happier, controlling for happiness before the donation (Aknin, Dunn, Whillans, Grant, & Norton, 2013). In contrast, giving money to UNICEF provided no such benefit. People derive more happiness from prosocial spending if they feel like effective, competent helpers whose actions have made a real difference. Autonomy Because the need for autonomy is satisfied when people feel that their actions are freely chosen, the emotional benefits of prosocial spending should be stronger when people have a choice about whether to give. In one study, participants inside a scanner exhibited stronger activation in reward areas of the brain when they freely donated to a local charity compared with when they were required to make a donation (Harbaugh, Mayr, & Burghart, 2007). Weinstein and Ryan (2010) showed that people experienced happier moods when they gave more money away—but only if they had a choice about how much to give. When participants were given a choice, the donation of more money led them to feel more autonomous, as well as more related and competent. The effect of giving on happiness was mediated by overall satisfaction of the three basic needs, which demonstrated that these needs are deeply intertwined. Taken together, this research suggests that the emotional benefits of prosocial spending are likely to be greatest when giving satisfies the needs for relatedness, competence, and autonomy. When prosocial spending fails to increase happiness—in everyday life or in a psychology experiment—consider whether the giving opportunity could be redesigned to increase the likelihood that one or more of these needs is satisfied. By 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 5.5 6 (a) Child Meets Puppet (b) Child Receives Eight Treats (c) Child Gives the Experimenter’s Extra Treat to Puppet (d) Child Gives Own Treat to Puppet Happiness as Rated by Coders Fig. 3. Children’s happiness, as rated by coders, for four phases of the toddler sharing study (Aknin, Hamlin, & Dunn, 2012). Error bars represent 95% confidence intervals around the mean. Downloaded from cdp.sagepub.com by Cai Xing on February 9, 2014

Prosocial Spending and Happiness 45 doing so,charities can maximize the emotional benefits feelings.For example,prosocial spending might promote r donor thereby potentially increasing ngof powe feel when reflectin ngiother than ers'gral sp ding als more likely they are to spend on others in the future predict happiness (e.g.,volunteering:Thoits Hewitt (Aknin.Dunn.Norton.2012). 2001),researchers could explore whether different path ways- rent antecedents quences Beyond Happiness might exp with the Although happiness is most frequently assessed though Most of our research has focused on common forms of simple self-report measures,the benefits of prosocial spending,such as treating a friend to coffee or making a d in the brain and e body.As also would be interesting to inves of the br spe (Ha ing proh nd to the happ which et al..2006:Zaki Mitchell.2011).And the emotional goal of adng so of physica consequences. hapeniosn consequences of prosocial spending produce a cascade mental causes while also reaping a financial return.In in the addition,future chers shoul amine mor hat the uld doa eo wished to another student in the class who had not happiness,it may be possible to hamess research on the received any money (Dunn,Ashton-James,Hanson, emotional benefits of prosocial spending to improv taxes.Indeed,para when we controlle mhat the students kept for themselves,the more shame they ex choice (einstein Rvan.2010).and new rese rienced.And the more ashamed they felt,the higher thei suggested that injecting an element of choice into tax l,a stres hat has been linke payments increases taxpayer satisfaction (Lamberton. 2013 ese Although any one spending decision likely has short- cial spending initiatives within teams and organizations lived effects on biological processes these For example,Google provides employees with an oper may compound over tim shap important health taton to apply for a 013).0 and other res search has provided initil evidence that givin health -from fewer sleep disorders to better hearing- employees the opportunity to engage in prosocial spenc even after a wide range of variables are controlled ing can potentially enhance job satisfaction and perfo for (c.gg mo unn,o ach.2013 shown that p cial spendine se n aniale strength;participants who had donated to a charity Finally,many fascinating questions remain unan were able to squeeze a handgrip for more than 20 se 51 n the proclivit were con ray,2010 engag in pr rive joy fron ing but their enha ed st h did not st from involved in bonding elevated happiness.Thus,prosocial spending may have explain why s ome people get a bigger boost from pro independen positive effects on both emotional and cial spending than do others?Do enjoyable early child physical vitality nces with giving lead people to seek Future Directions chan the individ ual-level factors that alter the emotional impact of giving Res chers should further examine the pathways that will offer further insight into the psychology of prosocia explain how good deeds are transformed into good spending. u2014

Prosocial Spending and Happiness 45 doing so, charities can maximize the emotional benefits of giving for their donors, thereby potentially increasing the likelihood of repeat donations; the happier people feel when reflecting on previous prosocial spending, the more likely they are to spend on others in the future (Aknin, Dunn, & Norton, 2012). Beyond Happiness Although happiness is most frequently assessed though simple self-report measures, the benefits of prosocial spending can be detected in the brain and the body. As noted earlier, prosocial spending produces activation in reward areas of the brain (Harbaugh et al., 2007; Moll et al., 2006; Zaki & Mitchell, 2011). And the emotional consequences of prosocial spending produce a cascade of physical consequences. In a previous study, in the context of a large classroom, we gave students $10 and informed them that they could donate as much as they wished to another student in the class who had not received any money (Dunn, Ashton-James, Hanson, & Aknin, 2010). The more money students gave away, the happier their moods afterward, when we controlled for their happiness beforehand. Conversely, the more money students kept for themselves, the more shame they experienced. And the more ashamed they felt, the higher their levels of cortisol, a stress hormone that has been linked to a variety of health problems. These results suggested that everyday spending decisions can get under the skin to influence health. Although any one spending decision likely has shortlived effects on biological processes, these decisions may compound over time to shape important health outcomes. Older adults who report giving more money and other resources to others exhibit better overall health—from fewer sleep disorders to better hearing— even after a wide range of variables are controlled for (e.g., gender, income, physical mobility; Brown, Consedine, & Magai, 2005). Experimental research has shown that prosocial spending can increase physical strength; participants who had donated to a charity were able to squeeze a handgrip for more than 20 seconds longer than were control participants (Gray, 2010). Participants also reported happier moods after donating, but their enhanced strength did not stem from their elevated happiness. Thus, prosocial spending may have independent positive effects on both emotional and physical vitality. Future Directions Researchers should further examine the pathways that explain how good deeds are transformed into good feelings. For example, prosocial spending might promote happiness by endowing givers with a feeling of power or by enabling them to witness others’ gratitude. Given that forms of generosity other than prosocial spending also predict happiness (e.g., volunteering; Thoits & Hewitt, 2001), researchers could explore whether different pathways—with different antecedents and consequences— might explain the emotional benefits of giving money compared with the giving of other resources. Most of our research has focused on common forms of spending, such as treating a friend to coffee or making a charitable donation. It also would be interesting to investigate whether the happiness benefits of prosocial spending extend to “impact investments,” in which people invest money with the goal of aiding social or environmental causes—while also reaping a financial return. In addition, future researchers should examine more diverse forms of prosocial spending, including its most dreaded form: taxation. Although taxes are rarely associated with happiness, it may be possible to harness research on the emotional benefits of prosocial spending to improve people’s feelings about paying their taxes. Indeed, parallel research has suggested that the benefits of prosocial spending are most likely to emerge if donors are given a choice (Weinstein & Ryan, 2010), and new research has suggested that injecting an element of choice into tax payments increases taxpayer satisfaction (Lamberton, 2013). In addition to research on individual happiness, researchers should examine the broader benefits of prosocial spending initiatives within teams and organizations. For example, Google provides employees with an open invitation to apply for a bonus—not for themselves, but for a deserving coworker (Dunn & Norton, 2013). Our most recent research has provided initial evidence that giving employees the opportunity to engage in prosocial spending can potentially enhance job satisfaction and performance (Anik, Aknin, Norton, Dunn, & Quiodbach, 2013). The time is ripe for exploring how “prosocial bonuses” can improve organizational success. Finally, many fascinating questions remain unanswered regarding individual differences in the proclivity to engage in prosocial spending and to derive joy from doing so. For example, could genetic differences in sensitivity to oxytocin (a hormone involved in bonding) explain why some people get a bigger boost from prosocial spending than do others? Do enjoyable early childhood experiences with giving lead people to seek out prosocial spending opportunities, perhaps as a result of changes in the self-concept? Understanding the individual-level factors that alter the emotional impact of giving will offer further insight into the psychology of prosocial spending. Downloaded from cdp.sagepub.com by Cai Xing on February 9, 2014

46 Dunn et al. Conclusion In much of the research on money and happiness, researchers have explored the overall relationship between these variables; in our research, we have shifted the focus toward the consideration of how people can use their money to increase happiness—whether they have a little or a lot of money. The benefits of prosocial spending are evident in givers old and young in countries around the world and extend to not only subjective wellbeing but also objective health. Despite people’s intuitions and inclinations to the contrary, one of the best ways to get the biggest payoff personally from a windfall of $20 is to spend it prosocially. Recommended Reading Aknin, L. B., Barrington-Leigh, C. P., Dunn, E. W., Helliwell, J. F., Burns, J., Biswas-Diener, R., . . . Norton, M. I. (2013). (See References). Provides a broad review of the relevant literature, detailed data from around the world, and discussion of alternative explanations. Diener, E., Ng, W., Harter, J., & Arora, R. (2010). (See References). Provides a full discussion of research on the relationship between money and happiness around the world. Dunn, E. W., Aknin, L. B., & Norton, M. I. (2008). (See References). Presents our first studies on the correlational and causal relationship between prosocial spending and happiness. Dunn, E., & Norton, M. (2013). (See References). Written for a broad audience, provides an approachable review of research on how people can get more happiness from their money. Helliwell, J., Layard, R., & Sachs, J. (2012). World happiness report. New York, NY: The Earth Institute, Columbia University. Commissioned by the United Nations, offers a thorough overview of predictors of happiness around the world. Author Contributions Elizabeth W. Dunn and Lara B. Aknin wrote the manuscript. Michael I. Norton edited the manuscript. 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. 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. References Aknin, L. B., Barrington-Leigh, C. P., Dunn, E. W., Helliwell, J. F., Burns, J., Biswas-Diener, R., . . . Norton, M. I. (2013). Prosocial spending and well-being: Cross-cultural evidence for a psychological universal. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 104, 635–652. Aknin, L. B., Dunn, E. W., & Norton, M. I. (2012). Happiness runs in a circular motion: Evidence for a positive feedback loop between prosocial spending and happiness. Journal of Happiness Studies, 13, 347–355. Aknin, L. B., Dunn, E. W., Sandstrom, G. M., & Norton, M. I. (2013). Does social connection turn good deeds into good feelings? On the value of putting the “social” into prosocial spending. International Journal of Happiness and Development, 1, 155–171. Aknin, L. B., Dunn, E. W., Whillans, A., Grant, A. M., & Norton, M. I. (2013). Making a difference matters: Impact unlocks the emotional benefits of charitable giving. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 88, 90–95. Aknin, L. B., Hamlin, J. K., & Dunn, E. W. (2012). Giving leads to happiness in young children. PLoS ONE, 7(6), e39211. Retrieved from http://www.plosone.org/article/ info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0039211 Aknin, L. B., Norton, M. I., & Dunn, E. W. (2009). From wealth to well-being? Money matters, but less than people think. Journal of Positive Psychology, 4, 523–527. Aknin, L. B., Sandstrom, G. M., Dunn, E. W., & Norton, M. I. (2011). It’s the recipient that counts: Spending money on strong social ties leads to greater happiness than spending on weak social ties. PLoS ONE, 6(2), e17018. Retrieved from http://www.plosone.org/article/ info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0017018 Anik, L., Aknin, L. B., Norton, M. I., Dunn, E. W., & Quoidbach, J. (2013). Prosocial spending increases job satisfaction and organizational commitment. PLoS ONE, 8(9), e75509. Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M.R. (1995). The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 117, 497–529. Berman, J. Z., & Small, D. A. (2012). Self-interest without selfishness: The hedonic benefit of imposed self-interest. Psychological Science, 23, 1193–1199. Brown, W. M., Consedine, N. S., & Magai, C. (2005). Altruism relates to health in an ethnically diverse sample of older adults. The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 60(3), P143–P152. Cone, J., & Gilovich, T. (2010). Understanding money’s limits: People’s beliefs about the income-happiness correlation. Journal of Positive Psychology, 5, 294–301. Diener, E., Ng, W., Harter, J., & Arora, R. (2010). Wealth and happiness across the world: Material prosperity predicts life evaluation, whereas psychosocial prosperity predicts positive feeling. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 99, 52–61. Diener, E., Tay, L., & Oishi, S. (2013). Rising income and the subjective well-being of nations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 104, 267–276. Dunn, E. W., Aknin, L. B., & Norton, M. I. (2008). Spending money on others promotes happiness. Science, 319, 1687– 1688. Downloaded from cdp.sagepub.com by Cai Xing on February 9, 2014

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