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To Feel Good, Give Your Money Away
May 23, 2008 05:27 PM
by
findingDulcinea Staff
Scientists have found that giving money away brings more happiness than shopping therapy. Other studies suggest there is a biological component to selflessness.
30-Second Summary
The saying “it is better to give than to receive” may have a solid basis in scientific fact.
A new study suggests that people feel their spirits life when giving money away, a boost they don’t experience when spending on themselves.
The study followed students at the University of British Columbia who were given $5 or $20 and told how to spend the money.
Those who spent it on others, donating to charity or buying a gift, were happier at the end of the day than students who spent the money on themselves.
Furthermore, it may only take thinking about altruistic activities to make people happy.
Scientists at the National Institutes of Health reported last year that when volunteers in an experiment simply thought about performing generous acts, they “activated a primitive part of the brain that usually lights up in response to food or sex,” according to The Washington Post.
A new study suggests that people feel their spirits life when giving money away, a boost they don’t experience when spending on themselves.
The study followed students at the University of British Columbia who were given $5 or $20 and told how to spend the money.
Those who spent it on others, donating to charity or buying a gift, were happier at the end of the day than students who spent the money on themselves.
Furthermore, it may only take thinking about altruistic activities to make people happy.
Scientists at the National Institutes of Health reported last year that when volunteers in an experiment simply thought about performing generous acts, they “activated a primitive part of the brain that usually lights up in response to food or sex,” according to The Washington Post.
Headline Link: ‘The Secret to Happiness? Giving’
Social psychologist Elizabeth Dunn, who headed the study at the University of British Columbia, says she hopes the findings will have long-term effects. One charitable act may make a person happy for a day, she said, but “if it becomes a way of living, then it could make a lasting difference." Dunn said she hopes the study will prompt policymakers to promote philanthropy, creating a more altruistic, and happier, population.
Source: Science
Related Topics: Other studies linking altruism and happiness
Two scientists at the National Institutes of Health showed that humans may be programmed to perform selfless acts. “Altruism, the experiment suggested, was not a superior moral faculty that suppresses basic selfish urges but rather was basic to the brain, hard-wired and pleasurable,” according to a May 2007 Washington Post story. The research supports the idea that morality may have biological roots.
Source: The Washington Post (free registration may be required)
Another recent study, performed by Davide Fiaschi, an economist at the University of Pisa, and Bank of Italy analyst Marzia Romanelli, showed a strong link between acts of charity and happiness. Their research, suggesting that “those who give to charity feel happier and report feeling a ‘warm glow’ about their behavior,” was presented at the Royal Economic Society's annual conference, reports The Daily Telegraph.
Source: The Daily Telegraph
‘Oprah’s Big Give’
Troy Patterson of Slate reviews Oprah Winfrey’s newest television show, “Oprah’s Big Give,” writing that “Winfrey’s successful attempt to civilize the wilds of reality TV finds 10 do-gooders vying to see who can do best at lending a hand to people down on their luck.” But the show’s purely altruistic aims are precisely the reason people may not want to watch it. He says, “In all, Oprah's Big Give is a triumph of virtue, which leaves only the question of who would want to watch it. Writing a check to UNICEF achieves the same emotional effect in a fraction of the time.”
Source: Slate
Money may buy some happiness, but not that much
In a 2006 story in the International Herald Tribune, University of Illinois psychologist Ed Diener contended that money is indeed often a source of happiness. “The connection is complex, he says. But in fact, very rich people rate substantially higher in satisfaction with life than very poor people do, even within wealthy nations.” Other researchers in the story agree that money does bring some happiness. The question is, How much?
Source: International Herald Tribune
Reference: Philanthropy and nonprofits
FindingDulcinea provides a philanthropy and nonprofit guide that includes a list of nonprofit organizations, volunteer opportunities abroad and advice on determining the legitimacy of a charity or a nonprofit.
Source: findingDulcinea
In March, The New York Times Magazine devoted an issue to philanthropy, with a focus on fundraisers, the ultra-rich and celebrities.
Source: The New York Times
© 2009 Dulcinea Media, Inc.
