World Happiness Report 2023 121 Table 4.1. Summary of the relationships between altruism and subjective well-being. Beneficiaries Altruistic Actors Third-Party Observers Altruism improves beneficiaries’ well-being Altruism improves altruistic actors’ well-being Observing altruistic acts improves observers’ well-being Examples: Altruistic acts, such as donating money to increase recipients’ wealth or donating blood to improve their health, aim to increase others’ well-beingi People who received cash payments report greater life satisfaction and positive affect and lower negative affect, with greatest effects observed among lower income countriesii Additional details: These acts may also lead to unintended negative effects on beneficiaries’ well-being—for example, when beneficiaries feel indebted to the altruistiii or if they perceive the altruist as acting for selfish reasonsiv Examples: Spending money on others,v volunteering,vi and donating bloodvii promote altruists’ well-being Additional details: These acts may also be associated with negative outcomes—for example, when helping is viewed as obligatoryviii This effect appears to be greater for younger peopleix Examples: Observing altruism elevates mood, increases energy, desire for affiliation, the motivation to do good things for other people, and the desire to become a better personx Additional details: Observing altruism may also lead to negative affect—for example, when witnessing others deviating from norms or when perceiving altruistic acts in a way that makes observers feel worse by comparisonxii Increased well-being of beneficiaries leads to altruism Increased well-being of altruistic actors leads to altruism Increased well-being from observing altruistic acts leads to altruism Examples: Expressing more positive emotions may increase the likelihood that a person will receive help from othersxiii Additional details: Decreased well-being (e.g., increased emotional distress or physical pain) also increases the likelihood that a person will receive help from othersxiv Beneficiaries of altruism are more likely to pay it forward in the future,xv which may result from feelings of gratitudexvi Feelings of guilt in beneficiaries of altruism increases future altruismxvii Examples: People who are happier are more likely to volunteer, give to charity, and help strangersxviii People who are happier are more likely to donate blood, bone marrow, and organsxix Additional details: At the national level, this effect is weaker among less individualistic countriesxx The strength of this relationship decreases among those with very high well-beingxxi Acute stress or fear can also promote helping behaviorxxii Examples: “Moral elevation” after observing altruism influences observers to be more altruistic in the futurexxiii Additional details: When altruistic acts are perceived as strongly non-normative, it may lead to “do-gooder derogation”xxiv Note: The top row describes how altruism leads to subjective well-being; the Bottom row describes how subjective well-being leads to altruism. Table 4.1 References: i Batson & Powell (2003); de Waal (2008) ii Dwyer & Dunn (2022) iii R ighetti et al., (2022); Zhang et al. (2018) iv Maisel & Gable (2009) v Dunn et al. (2008); Aknin et al. (2013, 2015; 2020) vi Dolan et al. (2021); Lawton et al. (2021); Meier & Stutzer (2008) vii H inrichs et al. (2008); Sojka & Sojka (2003) viii L ok & Dunn (2022); Weinstein et al. (2010) ix Hui et al. (2020) x Algoe & Haidt (2009); Haidt (2000) xi Blain et al. (2022) xii Pleasant & Barclay (2018) xiii Hauser et al. (2014) xiv B atson & Powell (2003); de Waal (2008) xv Chancellor et al. (2018); DeSteno et al. (2010); Fowler & Christakis (2010) xvi G rant & Gino (2010) xvii Baumeister et al. (1994) xviii K ushlev et al. (2021) xix Brethel-Haurwitz et al. (2019); Rhoads et al. (2021) xx Rhoads, et al. (2021) xxi Rhoads et al. (2021) xxii V ieira et al. (2022); Vieira & Olsson (2022) xxiii S pivey & Prentice-Dunn (1990); Carlson & Zaki (2022) xxiv B arclay (2013); Minson & Monin (2012); Tasimi et al. (2015)
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