WASHINGTON – The Bible counsels misers that it’s better to give than to receive.
Science agrees.
People who made gifts to others or to charities reported they were happier than folks who didn’t share, according to a report in today’s issue of the journal Science.
Previous studies have shown that having more money can increase happiness, but researchers at the University of British Columbia and Harvard University wondered if the way people spent their money made a difference.
Turns out, it does.
Lead researcher Elizabeth Dunn, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia, said she wasn’t surprised that doing something for others made people happy.
But she was struck by how big the effect was and that how people spent money was more important than money they had.
“This work suggests that even making small alterations in how we spend money on a daily basis can make a difference in happiness,” Dunn said.
And, she added, “there’s nothing special about money” – giving can involve time or special skills to help other people.
The researchers started by asking a sample of 632 Americans, 55 percent of whom were women, to rate their happiness.
Then they asked the participants to report their income and estimate how much they spent on paying bills, buying gifts for themselves, buying gifts for others and giving to charity.
The first two were considered personal spending and averaged $1,714 a month, the second two were termed “prosocial” spending and averaged $146 a month.
“Personal spending was unrelated to happiness,” said the researchers. “But higher prosocial spending was associated with significantly greater happiness,” they found.
译文:
幸福的人，喜欢给予
华盛顿-圣经奉劝吝啬之人，多给予，少索取。
科学界也认同这种观点。
据今天出版的《科学》杂志报道，那些经常给别人送礼物或者热心慈善事业的人们比那些不善给与的人生活更加快乐。
先前也有调查研究显示，拥有更多的财富可以使人幸福，但是英属哥伦比亚大学和哈佛大学的研究员都提出，人们花钱的方式，是否会影响其幸福程度。
结果显示，的确如此。
主要研究员伊丽莎白杜恩，英属哥伦比亚大学的心理学助理教授，表示为别人做点事会让人心情愉快，对于这点她毫不吃惊。
而人们花钱方式比拥有金钱更重要，而且这影响力如此之大，她还是感到颇为诧异。
杜恩说，“这项研究显示，对每日基本花费的方式稍作改变就能对幸福生活产生很大影响。”
另外，她还说，“并不局限于钱本身”——给予的形式可以是时间或者别的能力，来帮助他人。
研究员问卷调查了532位美国人，让他们评价自己的幸福程度。其中55%的被调查者为女性。
被调查者被提问的方面涉及收入水平，支付账单数额，以及给自己买东西，给别人买礼物，参与慈善募捐的情况。
前两项涉及个人支出，每月平均1714美元，后两项则是关于“服务社会”的花费，平均每个月146美元。
“个人花费对于幸福感没有影响”，一位研究员说，“但是为社会多付出一些钱的话，很大程度上，会让人们觉得更幸福。”