The Emotional Rewards of Prosocial Spending Are Robust and Replicable in Large Samples

Abstract

Past studies show that spending money on other people— prosocial spending—increases a person’s happiness. However, foundational research on this topic was conducted prior to psychology’s credibility revolution (or “replication crisis”), so it is essential to ask whether the evidence supporting this claim is robust and replicable. Here, we consider all 15 published preregistered experiments on prosocial spending to evaluate whether there is causal evidence for the idea that spending money on other people promotes happiness. Although the evidence appears somewhat mixed, we argue that the emotional benefits of prosocial spending are robust and replicable in large samples. These benefits are particularly likely when people have some choice about whether or how to give and when they understand how their generosity makes a difference. This review provides renewed support for the idea that prosocial spending promotes happiness and offers a template for revisiting phenomena that were established prior to the credibility revolution.

Are People Generous When the Financial Stakes Are High?

“…These findings dovetail with past research showing that people around the world find spending money on others inherently rewarding (Aknin et al, 2022). Past research also suggests that people find giving to close others more rewarding than giving to distant others (Aknin et al, 2011).…”

“…Prosocial spending. Following past research, we defined "prosocial spending" broadly as any spending that benefited others-even if it simultaneously benefited the self (see Aknin et al, 2022, for a review). We also examined narrower forms of prosocial spending, such as donations to charity, to provide a more conservative test of generous decision-making.…”

Mechanisms of Change in a Digital Five Ways to Wellbeing Intervention: A Network Intervention Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial

“…Learning, acquire mastery in various life skills, and exposure to novelty is associated with wellbeing and protect against stress (Heller et al, 2020;Heller et al, 2013;West et al, 2020). Giving, being prosocial, and prac�cing kindness makes people happier (Aknin et al, 2022;Curry et al, 2018) and being generous is linked to several eudaimonic wellbeing benefits (Hui et al, 2020).…”

On the relationship between the social brain, social connectedness, and wellbeing

“…Direct emotional benefits of prosocial behavior have also been reported. For example, participants who engaged in voluntary prosocial spending experienced greater increase in subjective wellbeing than those who spent money for themselves [for a review and replication, see Aknin et al (66)]. Even a small act of kindness such as writing a note of appreciation decreased loneliness and improved mood (67).…”