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Can third-party observers detect the emotional rewards of generous spending?

Resource type
Date created
2014-02-20
Authors/Contributors
Abstract
Can others detect the emotional consequences of our personal choices? Here we investigate whether third-party observers can detect the emotional benefits of two factors shown to influence self-reported happiness: the speed with which people make decisions, and the generosity of spending choices. Participants were randomly assigned to purchase a goody bag either for themselves or for a sick child, and to choose the contents of this goody bag either as quickly as possible, or by taking as much time as needed. After, participants reported their current emotional state, and were rated for happiness by a research assistant blind to their spending condition. Analyses revealed that purchasing a gift for someone else not only improved participants’ self-reported mood, but that observers could detect these affective differences as well. Observers also rated participants who made their spending decision more quickly as happier, although participants did not report these emotional differences.
Document
Published as
Lara B. Aknin, Alice L. Fleerackers & J. Kiley Hamlin (2014) Can third-party observers detect the emotional rewards of generous spending? The Journal of Positive Psychology, 9:3, 198-203, DOI: 10.1080/17439760.2014.888578
Publication title
The Journal of Positive Psychology
Document title
Can third-party observers detect the emotional rewards of generous spending?
Date
2014
Volume
9
Issue
3
First page
198
Last page
203
Publisher DOI
10.1080/17439760.2014.888578
Copyright statement
Copyright is held by the author(s).
Scholarly level
Peer reviewed?
Yes
Language
English
Member of collection

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