Happiness
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- 13 Nov 2017
- Research & Ideas
Want to Be Happier? Spend Some Money on Avoiding Household Chores
In an age of time scarcity, buying our way out of the negative moments in the day is an important key to happiness, according to research by Ashley V. Whillans, Michael I. Norton, Elizabeth W. Dunn, Paul Smeets, and Rene Bekkers. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 05 Aug 2013
- Research & Ideas
To Buy Happiness, Purchase an Experience
Michael Norton explains why spending money on new experiences yields more happiness than spending it on new products. Closed for comment; 16 Comment(s) posted.
- 15 May 2013
- Research & Ideas
From McRibs to Maseratis: The Power of Scarcity Marketing
In the new book Happy Money: the Science of Smarter Spending, behavioral economists Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton describe how money can buy happiness—but only if we spend it the right way. Closed for comment; 2 Comment(s) posted.
- 10 Sep 2009
- Working Paper Summaries
Feeling Good about Giving: The Benefits (and Costs) of Self-Interested Charitable Behavior
Helping others takes countless forms and springs from countless motivations, from deep-rooted empathy to a more calculated desire for public recognition. Social scientists have identified a host of ways in which charitable behavior can lead to benefits for the giver, whether economically via tax breaks, socially via signaling one's wealth or status, or psychologically via experiencing well-being from helping. Charitable organizations have traditionally capitalized on all of these motivations for giving, with a recently emerging focus on highlighting the mood benefits of giving—the feelings of empowerment, joy, and inspiration that giving engenders. Indeed, if giving feels good, why not advertise the benefits of "self-interested giving," allowing people to experience that good feeling while increasing contributions to charity at the same time? HBS doctoral candidate Lalin Anik, Professor Michael I. Norton, and coauthors explore whether organizations that seek to increase charitable giving by advertising the benefits of giving are making claims supported by empirical research and, most importantly, whether such claims actually increase donations. Key concepts include: Happier people give more and giving makes people happier, such that happiness and giving may operate in a positive feedback loop (with happier people giving more, getting happier, and giving even more). At the same time, charitable organizations should be concerned about the possibility of crowding out their donors' proclivity to donate in the longer term by incentivizing them (via gifts, etc.) in the short term. While offering donors monetary or material incentives for giving may undermine generosity in the long term, preliminary research suggests that advertising the emotional benefits of prosocial behavior may leave these benefits intact and might even encourage individuals to give more. Future research is needed to disentangle the possible costs and benefits of self-interested giving. The authors are actively engaging charitable organizations to conduct these studies. Closed for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.
- 02 Jun 2008
- Research & Ideas
Spending on Happiness
Money can't buy love but it can buy happiness—as long as it's spent on someone else. Research by Michael I. Norton and colleagues looks into how and why spending on others promotes happiness. Closed for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.
How to Monetize Happiness
Is there a business model around happiness? Hitachi believes that a happy employee is a productive one, and is investing in "happiness sensors" to prove the connection. Ethan Bernstein explains why in this podcast. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.