Prosocial Spending and Well-Being: Cross-Cultural Evidence for a Psychological Universal
Prosocial Spending and Well-Being: Cross-Cultural Evidence for a Psychological Universal
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DOI：
10.1037/a0031578
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发表时间：
2013-04-01
影响因子：
7.6
通讯作者：
Norton, Michael I.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Aknin, Lara B.;Barrington-Leigh, Christopher P.;Norton, Michael I.
这项研究为一个可能的心理普遍性提供了第一个支持：世界各地的人类从使用他们的经济资源来帮助他人（亲社会支出）中获得情感利益。在第一项研究中，来自136个国家的调查数据显示，在世界各地，无论是穷国还是富国，亲社会支出都与更大的幸福感相关。为了检验因果关系，在研究2a和2b中，我们使用实验方法，证明回忆过去的亲社会支出对财富差异很大的国家（加拿大，乌干达和印度）的幸福感有因果影响。最后，在研究3中，加拿大和南非的参与者被随机分配为慈善机构购买物品，他们比被分配为自己购买相同物品的参与者报告了更高水平的积极影响，即使这种亲社会支出没有提供建立或加强社会关系的机会。我们的研究结果表明，帮助他人所获得的回报可能深深植根于人性中，出现在不同的文化和经济背景中。
This research provides the first support for a possible psychological universal: Human beings around the world derive emotional benefits from using their financial resources to help others (prosocial spending). In Study 1, survey data from 136 countries were examined and showed that prosocial spending is associated with greater happiness around the world, in poor and rich countries alike. To test for causality, in Studies 2a and 2b, we used experimental methodology, demonstrating that recalling a past instance of prosocial spending has a causal impact on happiness across countries that differ greatly in terms of wealth (Canada, Uganda, and India). Finally, in Study 3, participants in Canada and South Africa randomly assigned to buy items for charity reported higher levels of positive affect than participants assigned to buy the same items for themselves, even when this prosocial spending did not provide an opportunity to build or strengthen social ties. Our findings suggest that the reward experienced from helping others may be deeply ingrained in human nature, emerging in diverse cultural and economic contexts.