Giving really is better than receiving!
People get more joy from bestowing gifts than being bought presents as the pleasure lasts for longer
That warm fuzzy feeling of giving a loved one a treasured gift at Christmas really is better than being bought presents, according to new research.
A study suggests the happiness we feel after an event or activity reduces each time we experience it - this is known as 'hedonic adaptation'. But giving to others might be an exception to this rule, according to the research.
Results from two American studies found people's happiness did not decline - or declined much slower - if they kept giving presents to others, compared with when they repeatedly received the same gifts.
Dr Ed O'Brien, of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, said: 'If you want to sustain happiness over time, past research tells us that we need to take a break from what we're currently consuming and experience something new.
'Our research reveals that the kind of thing may matter more than assumed - repeated giving, even in identical ways to identical others, may continue to feel relatively fresh and relatively pleasurable the more that we do it.'
In one experiment, 96 university students received £4 every day for five days which they had to spend on the same thing each time.
Some were told to treat themselves with the money while others had to spend it on somebody else - such as leaving money in a tip jar at the same cafe or donating to the same charity online every day.
Researchers asked the students - who started off with similar levels of happiness - to reflect on their happiness levels and a clear pattern emerged.
Those who spent money on themselves said their happiness gradually went down over a five-day period.
Whereas those who gave their money to somebody else said the feel good fac- tor did not seem to fade away - the joy of giving for the fifth time in a row was just as strong as it was at the start.
A second experiment allowed researchers to keep tasks consistent, where 502 people played ten rounds of a word puzzle game and described how happy and elated they felt from winning.
They won 4p per round which they either kept or donated it to a charity of their choice. Those who gave their winnings away said their happiness declined far slower than those who kept the cash for themselves.
Samantha Kassirer, a researcher from Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management, United States, said: 'We considered many such possibilities, and measured over a dozen of them.
'None of them could explain our results - there were very few incidental differences between 'get' and 'give' conditions and the key difference in happiness remained unchanged when controlling for these other variables in the analyses.
'Adaptation to happiness-inducing experiences can be functional to the extent that it motivates us to pursue and acquire new resources - why doesn't this also happen with the happiness we feel when we give?'
The researchers noted when people focus on an outcome, such as getting paid, they can easily compare them which lowers their sensitivity to each experience.
But when focusing on an action, such as donating to charity, people may focus less on comparison and instead experience each act of giving as a 'unique happiness-inducing event.'
The researcher added: 'We may also be slower to adapt to happiness generated by giving because giving to others helps us maintain our prosocial reputation, reinforcing our sense of social connection and belonging.'