Prosocial Spending: Why Giving Boosts Happiness

The giving-happiness link, what makes it work, and how to spend generously well

Does spending money on others actually make you happier than spending on yourself?

Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton’s research found that spending money on others — "prosocial spending" — reliably produces more happiness than spending the same amount on oneself, across income levels and cultures. The effect is real and replicates, though it is not unlimited: how you give matters as much as whether you give.

Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton spent years testing whether the intuitive belief that "more money for me = more happiness" holds up. The data said otherwise: across income levels, nations, and age groups, people who spent even small amounts on others reported higher well-being than those who spent the same on themselves. Their book Happy Money identifies the conditions that activate the giving-happiness link and the common mistakes that dissolve it. Below are the core practices, each with the mechanism and an honest read on the evidence.