How spending decisions shape happiness in everyday life
Abstract This study examines the emotional consequences of spending choices in everyday life across a diverse multinational sample. Based on a dataset of 200 participants across 7 countries who received $10,000 USD, we analyzed how happy they felt from different types of purchases made with that mon...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Communications Psychology |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s44271-024-00166-6 |
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| _version_ | 1850134511182938112 |
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| author | Säde Stenlund Yingchi Guo Jason Rights Ryan Dwyer Elizabeth Dunn |
| author_facet | Säde Stenlund Yingchi Guo Jason Rights Ryan Dwyer Elizabeth Dunn |
| author_sort | Säde Stenlund |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract This study examines the emotional consequences of spending choices in everyday life across a diverse multinational sample. Based on a dataset of 200 participants across 7 countries who received $10,000 USD, we analyzed how happy they felt from different types of purchases made with that money. Participants derived high levels of happiness from some types of purchases that have been examined in past research (e.g., buying experiences), but also from other purchases (e.g., education) that have not been the focus of previous work. We found some evidence that the emotional benefits of spending choices varied depending on whether participants lived in higher vs. lower-income countries; specifically, we found differences in the benefits of spending on gifts, housing, debt, and time-saving services. Around the world, people who spent money in ways that made them happy experienced greater improvements in overall subjective well-being 3 and 6 months later. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a833af857a4d4d86ab3cf75970e666b5 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2731-9121 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Communications Psychology |
| spelling | doaj-art-a833af857a4d4d86ab3cf75970e666b52025-08-20T02:31:41ZengNature PortfolioCommunications Psychology2731-91212024-12-01211610.1038/s44271-024-00166-6How spending decisions shape happiness in everyday lifeSäde Stenlund0Yingchi Guo1Jason Rights2Ryan Dwyer3Elizabeth Dunn4Department of Psychology, University of British ColumbiaDepartment of Psychology, University of British ColumbiaDepartment of Psychology, University of British ColumbiaDepartment of Psychology, University of British ColumbiaDepartment of Psychology, University of British ColumbiaAbstract This study examines the emotional consequences of spending choices in everyday life across a diverse multinational sample. Based on a dataset of 200 participants across 7 countries who received $10,000 USD, we analyzed how happy they felt from different types of purchases made with that money. Participants derived high levels of happiness from some types of purchases that have been examined in past research (e.g., buying experiences), but also from other purchases (e.g., education) that have not been the focus of previous work. We found some evidence that the emotional benefits of spending choices varied depending on whether participants lived in higher vs. lower-income countries; specifically, we found differences in the benefits of spending on gifts, housing, debt, and time-saving services. Around the world, people who spent money in ways that made them happy experienced greater improvements in overall subjective well-being 3 and 6 months later.https://doi.org/10.1038/s44271-024-00166-6 |
| spellingShingle | Säde Stenlund Yingchi Guo Jason Rights Ryan Dwyer Elizabeth Dunn How spending decisions shape happiness in everyday life Communications Psychology |
| title | How spending decisions shape happiness in everyday life |
| title_full | How spending decisions shape happiness in everyday life |
| title_fullStr | How spending decisions shape happiness in everyday life |
| title_full_unstemmed | How spending decisions shape happiness in everyday life |
| title_short | How spending decisions shape happiness in everyday life |
| title_sort | how spending decisions shape happiness in everyday life |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s44271-024-00166-6 |
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