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At the PopTech conference in Camden, Maine, this weekend I caught up with social psychologist Liz Dunn who studies links between money and happiness. Recently she’s found a possible link between generosity and physical health and I asked her about it:
[Liz Dunn] We did a little experiment where we gave people some money, ten dollars. And we said, “Hey, you can keep all this money for yourself or you can give as much of it as you want away.” What we found, consistent with all our past research, was that the more money people gave away, the happier they felt. Conversely though, the more money people kept for themselves the more shame they experienced.
And the more shame people felt the more we saw their cortisol levels rise. Now this is important because cortisol is thought to explain some of the links that we’ve seen between stress and disease. So we know that over time elevated levels of cortisol cause wear and tear on the body.
So what we think is that we may be seeing just the first hint of this kind of missing link between generosity and health. So we know that a lot of generous behaviors are associated with consequences for health. Engaging in volunteer work is good for longevity. So why is that? Well, we are beginning to see that cortisol may play a role.
—Christie Nicholson
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6 Comments
Add CommentI hope Liz does some more in depth studies on this...could have something....
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis is a very interesting experiment indeed and indicates that ultimately, people can be caring and compassionate. However, may I suggest that a variation on this theme be considered? In this variant, select a group of people, with the proviso that they consider $10 of their own money with which to part. I would suspect that generosity would also result in positive feelings for all concerned. However, I wonder how generous people would be, especially as a function of their financial strata in society. On the one hand, it may be more difficult to part with hard-earned discretionary money (perhaps, not the entire $10) if one is on the cusp of making ends meet. Similarly, those at the opposite end of the spectrum may also be reluctant to part with their earnings, but this time, perhaps, owing to the greed factor. Finally, as yet another consideration, for those who did not part with the $10 in your study, it may have been embarrassing (and, hence, somewhat uncomfortable) to hold onto "found" money, which was provided to the group. Nonetheless, I truly hope that your findings are valid, given the resultant positive experiences for all concerned!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIf every man is unique how can we draw a conclusion from statistical survey?. This is a weakness of western thinking process.They are so eager to study any subject with statistical survey and blindly believed that their conclusion is final.How can you say generosity keep us healthy?How can you blame greed people living unhealthy life?. Can you check each and every person?Living happily is responsibility of that man let him decide how to be happy.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHypothesis: a sociopath would not be affected by being greedy.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBe an interesting experiment to see if their cortisol levels rise as well.
it might not be called "generous" if one give away 10 dollars that he or she received from others by free...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisTry doing this experience with money that the subjects had earned, thru their normal work, and then we'll see. People are rarely ashamed of keeping money that they had coming.
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