Naturally, we are happy when we receive gifts. Naturally, we are happy when someone shares with us, and naturally, we are happy when someone unexpectedly thinks of us and sweetens our day with a generous act. So far, so good. But what about the person who is so generous? There is a "happy" study on this subject. Brain researchers from 3 different universities have investigated the connection between generosity and feelings of happiness.
The result: Generosity makes you happier, according to the title of a summary of the study on the University of Lübeck's website. Brain researchers from the universities of Lübeck, Zurich, and the Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago were able to discover in several studies that "the feeling of happiness increases with generous behavior." They call this state the "warm-glow" effect, explains the study's lead author, Prof. Dr. Soyoung Park.
A measure of happiness
For the study, subjects were divided into two groups: a "control group" and an "experimental group." They were given money. The control group was instructed to spend the money on themselves, while the second group was to use the money to give gifts to others or treat them.
The two groups then had to solve tasks related to generosity and spending money. Before and after solving the tasks, they had to state how happy they felt. Participants in the experimental group chose to be more generous more often than the other group. During this process, brain activity was measured using magnetic resonance imaging.
Generosity and increased brain activity
In this context, two brain areas are particularly important: the temporoparietal junction and the ventral striatum. It was observed that when a generous decision was made, the cortex was activated and, at the same time, the ventral striatum showed greater activity. This is a brain area associated with feelings of happiness, leading to the aforementioned "warm-glow" effect.
Generosity is sustainability
Therefore, those who act generously toward others make themselves happy. From a human and social perspective, this form of interaction fosters more social behavior and humanity within society. On a health level, generosity promotes a good mood and increases brain activity.
• You can read more about happiness here.
