Money can buy happiness--if you spend it on other people.
Research from the current edition of the journal Science shows that even for people with little to spend, the greater percentage of income used for charity or gifts, the greater levels of personal happiness.
For the first part of the study, Professor Elizabeth Dunn of the University of British Columbia examined a sample of 630 Americans for the study. Participants reported their income and monthly spending and rated their own happiness. Results showed a direct correlation between spending on others or charity and levels of happiness.
The research also tracked a group of workers who received profit-sharing bonuses ranging from $3000 to $8000. What determined the workers' happiness was not the size of their bonus, but who they spent it on.
In a final experiment, 46 student participants were given either $5 or $20 to spend either on themselves or on others. Those who spent the money on others reported feeling happier at the end of the day than those who spent it on themselves.
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