People Are Happier When They Give Voluntarily

When people are forced to do something, it kind of takes the enjoyment out of the experience; especially when it comes to helping other people.

When obligatory circumstances arise that place pressure on us to give to others, like when holidays come around, some have an easier time than others coping with the social pressure of needing to spend or risk looking like they don't care about their loved ones.

When an occasion of giving is forced upon someone, it's no surprise that people wouldn't get as much enjoyment out of the experience than if they had given to someone voluntarily.

And a new recent study that was reported in Frontiers in Psychology confirms this simple notion.

A recent study investigated the nature of gift-giving with preschool kids in China and it was found that when the kids give according to their own free will they are much happier; as opposed to when they are obliged to give to another person.

When we give to others voluntarily, it is more emotionally rewarding.

There are many motivations as to why someone might give to someone else, and researchers suggest that one of the main reasons that we do engage in voluntary giving is because it makes us happy. And in-return when we are happier we want to share even more.

When it comes to giving when we are obligated to do so, are we still reaping emotional rewards? Well, researchers sought to investigate this with the preschool children in China. They put children into two different groups, one that was designed to have them share stickers voluntarily and one that felt obligated to do so.

Interestingly, the study found that when obligated to do the sharing, the children would share more; but it didn't make them happy to be doing it. When they gave away stickers on their own accord, they were much happier. The results of this study are said to be the first evidence that voluntary sharing is superior to pressured giving, as far as the emotional reward or benefit gained.

Down The Road...

Perhaps one day researchers will investigate the receiving end of the giving as well. Are people happier when they receive unexpected gifts that were given by the giver of their own free will? Or, are they just the same/or happier when they are given gifts because of the social pressure or expectation of doing so?

Researchers suggest that the findings from this present study in China need to be replicated in the future with more controls. They also suggest that further research should be done in the way of investigating the positive feedback loop and how an act of generosity might lead to reaping emotional rewards and happiness for the giver. And how this feedback loop prompts even more acts of giving, fueling an overall habit of giving and generosity.

Pics:
Pixabay

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Sources:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170531094857.htm
http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/life/811365/Sharing-caring-happiness-benefits-social-life-resarch