generosity leads to higher levels of happiness

http://www.cifar.ca/lara-b-aknin

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Dr. Aknin’s primary research interests focus upon the antecedents and consequences of happiness and prosocial behaviour. Some of her recent work has examined perceptions of the money and happiness relationship and whether people reap greater happiness from spending money on others (i.e. prosocial spending) than when spending the same amount of money on themselves. Her research has found that generous spending leads to higher levels of happiness than spending money on oneself, both in North America and in various other countries around the world. Dr. Aknin and her colleagues have also found that children as young as two years old experience greater happiness when sharing their own resources (e.g. edible treats) with others than when receiving the same treats themselves.

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