World Happiness Report 2023 122 relationship is strongest and for which types of well-being and altruism. This kind of data could also address the timescale at which these effects occur. Longitudinal effects are particularly important to consider given the apparent self-reinforcing nature of altruism, such that engaging in altruism tends to beget more altruism in the future.110 One open question remains: Why does this occur, and how are altruistic behaviors reinforced? Existing research points to a few possibilities. One is that improving someone else’s well-being may be rewarding because it enhances positive mood vicariously.111 In other words, people become happier upon seeing others become happier as a result of empathic processes. Another possibility is that altruism may be self-reinforcing when it yields more social rewards, such as the social approval and intrinsic satisfaction that result from conforming to desirable social norms. In general, adhering to altruistic norms may increase social rewards like affiliation, social approval, or prestige.112 By contrast, digressing from such norms may result in social punishments that signal violators to update their behavior.113 Finally, altruism may be self-reinforcing because altruists discover it is a reliable route to fulfilling desirable outcomes like autonomy (feelings of personal choice), competence (feelings of self-efficacy), and relatedness (feelings of social connection).114 Meeting these needs through altruism may increase altruists’ subjective well-being and thus promote future altruistic behavior. However, more research is required to determine the circumstances in which each of these potential mechanisms contributes to reinforced altruistic behavior. Different Features of Altruism and Well-being It will also be important to assess how different types of altruism are related to different well- Photo by Nguy N Hi P on Unsplash
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