2017’s Happiest Places to Live

March 2017

Linda Levine, Professor of Psychology and Social Behavior, is featured in Wallet Hub, as she, along with other experts, give insight over what factors can affect a person's happiness.

From Wallet Hub:
Can money buy happiness?

Yes if you spend it on others. See Elizabeth Dunn (University of British Columbia, Canada):

Dunn, E.W., Aknin, L. B., & Norton, M. I. (2008). Spending money on others promotes happiness. Science, 319(5870), 1687-1688. Abstract:

"Although much research has examined the effect of income on happinesss, we suggest that how people spend their money may be at least as important as how much money they earn. Specifically, we hypothesized that spending money on other people may have a more positive impact on happiness than spending money on oneself. Providing converging evidence for this hypothesis, we found that spending more of one's income on others predicted greater happiness both cross-sectionally (in a nationally representative survey study) and longitudinally (in a field study of windfall spending). Finally, participants who were randomly assigned to spend money on others experienced greater happiness than those assigned to spend money on themselves."

Read Article

Share