Study Shows Happiness Comes From Giving

In an unlikely news story squeezed in somewhere between high oil prices and
Obama/Clinton drama, the journal Science published a study that showed how money
relates to happiness. As it turns out, it isn’t the amount we have, but what we do with it
that has a large impact on our happiness.

A group of college students were split into two and each given an amount of $5 or $20
after being asked how happy they were. Group A was told to spend the money on
anything they want for themselves, while B was to purchase gifts for others, or donate to
charitable causes. At the end of the day, the students were again questioned how happy
they were.

The results showed that those who spent the money on others were significantly happier
than those who bought items for themselves. Perhaps more surprising, the amount of
money the students were given didn’t seem to matter at all.

Elizabeth Dunn, one of the authors of the study and a professor of psychology at the
University of British Columbia in Canada, reported, “This suggests that even making
really small changes in how one spends money can make a difference for happiness.”
She was also involved in a study that tracked the happiness levels of 16 employees who
received a profit-sharing bonus. Again, the results were the same.

Yet another study reveals how completely unaware we may be of the basic teaching, “it’s
better to give than to receive.” Dunn and her colleagues asked another group of college
kids what they thought would make them happier if given the two choices on how to
spend money. The vast majority responded with spending money on themselves.
Eric Weiner of NPR commented on Dunn’s research recently, signing off by saying
“Apparently there is a large chasm between what we think will make us happy and what
actually does.”

I doubt science will ever be able to explain that “chasm.” That seems to be up to us to
learn.