The Science of Giving

Season 3, episode 7

The Science of Giving

Host, David Morley, speaks to a university professor and expert on human happiness about the link between giving and increased joy.

Producer: Victoria Ptashnick

Composed and Mixed by: Chandra Bulucon

Episode Transcript: 

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[00:00:06.81] Hello, For Every Child Podcast listeners. As you may have noticed, we've taken a short break over the summer months, but we're now back and with an exciting new development. We've decided to change the format of our podcast.

[00:00:22.32] So going forward, you can expect the episodes to sound a bit different than they did before. They still tell the same impactful stories of the work UNICEF does around the world to support children, but the episodes will be shorter and more interview-driven.

[00:00:38.67] Allowing us to be more nimble in our storytelling in these rapidly changing times. I hope you enjoy the new sound and please stay with us, as we have a fascinating guest on the show today. I'm David Morley, and this is For Every Child Podcast.

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[00:01:11.02] If you're like most people, the last year has been a challenging one. The COVID-19 pandemic has created obstacles for all of us, some larger than others. The need for moments of happiness and joy are so important during these difficult times, and we have someone on the show today who knows a thing or two about that.

[00:01:31.00] Dr. Elizabeth Dunn is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of British Columbia. She studies how time, money, and technology shape human happiness. In particular, her research has shown how giving to others and happiness, are more connected than you might have thought. I'd like to welcome Dr. Dunn to our show today. Let's start at the beginning. What made you want to study happiness?

[00:02:00.36] Well, I've always been pretty fascinated by happiness. I mean, to me, this is one of those things that just naturally captures the imagination. And I was fortunate enough as an undergraduate, to get to work with one of the world's leading experts on happiness, Dan Gilbert. So he really sucked me in. And from there, that point forward, my curiosity was sparked and I just couldn't learn enough about happiness.

[00:02:28.29] Through your work, I take it you've learned a thing or two about happiness. What's been one of the most interesting learnings so far?

[00:02:36.51] I would say one of the most interesting things that I've learned through my work, is that people actually seem to get more happiness from helping others than helping themselves. So in one of the first studies we ever did on this topic, we actually sent our research assistants out on our campus at UBC, armed with cash.

[00:02:58.21] So they literally walked up to people in the morning, and handed them a $5 or $20 bill, which the people were asked to spend by the end of the day. Now, there was this one catch, which was that half the people were told they had to use this money to benefit somebody else.

[00:03:12.91] Meanwhile, half the people were told they had to use this money to benefit themselves. And then we just called people back at the end of the day. Asked them how their day had been, how happy they'd been feeling, and we found out how exactly they'd used the money.

[00:03:24.72] And what we discovered, was that people who had been assigned to spend this money to benefit somebody else, actually ended up feeling happier that day, compared to people who'd been assigned to spend the money on themselves. Now, that was a pretty small study. Just conducted on our campus at UBC. But since then, we've expanded this research.

[00:03:43.06] We've conducted studies all over the world. And we've been able to replicate this effect not only in wealthy countries like Canada, but also, in countries where many of our participants were actually struggling to meet their own basic needs.

[00:03:56.22] And even among people who were really struggling to make ends meet, people actually were happier when they used their money to benefit others rather than themselves. And so that was a pretty striking early finding that has spurred on a lot of my curiosity, and helped me to dig deeper into when and why people get happiness out of giving to others.

[00:04:19.80] What advice would you give to people who want to be happier?

[00:04:23.79] Yeah, so I think one great way to get happier-- I mean, there's a lot of ways to do this, but one particularly nice way, because it can help you and also help the broader society, is to think about a way that you could give back.

[00:04:39.96] So it turns out that people for example, who give money to charity are happier than those who don't, even after taking into account their income. And this is true in countries around the world. We've looked at this in over 100 countries. And this is what we see just over and over again.

[00:04:55.18] So that suggests then, that finding a way to give can be a really great way to promote your own happiness. And I would say what we've discovered in our research is that, giving doesn't necessarily always automatically lead to greater happiness for everyone.

[00:05:12.41] It matters how you give. So it's important to find a cause that you really connect with, where you can really envision how your donation is making a difference. And so finding that kind of cause, I think can make a real difference for your happiness.

[00:05:28.77] What have you learned about the relationship between gratitude, generosity, and happiness?

[00:05:34.98] Yeah, so there's some really interesting work on gratitude by my friend Sara Algoe and other researchers, that has shown that gratitude is this really powerful emotion that doesn't just feel good, it also makes us want to do good. So some researchers have argued that gratitude is a of adaptation for altruism.

[00:05:59.16] It's this emotion that pushes us to want to help others. So we feel gratitude when something good has come our way, because of something that someone else has done for us. And so when we've experienced this benefit from somebody else, it makes us want to not just necessarily pay that one person back, but actually pay it forward.

[00:06:22.68] To want to do some good for others. And so gratitude is an emotion that can spur feelings of happiness, but it can also spur people to want to engage in generosity. So I would argue that gratitude is a really important emotion at this moment in history, because so many of us have been the very lucky recipients of incredible science and hard work.

[00:06:48.55] When I got my vaccine, I felt this just incredible sense of gratitude to all of the scientists, not only who had been working so hard over the past year or so to develop this vaccine, but actually really over the past decade to develop the technology that made this vaccine possible in the first place.

[00:07:07.68] I also feel a lot of gratitude for the logistics people. The people that are figuring out, how do you get shots into millions of Canadians' arms? I mean, that's just an incredible puzzle. And then I got my second vaccine at the Vancouver Convention Center, and it was a pretty onspiring sight.

[00:07:26.16] Just seeing thousands of people there getting their vaccines, and just the incredible operation. Like each person, right down to the person at the door, helping make sure that people got into the right line, that they got to the right place. The nurse who put the shot in my arm, and made me a fully vaccinated person.

[00:07:46.77] I just feel so, so much gratitude for that. And that gratitude really spurred me to want to think about how I could give back, and help people that were not as fortunate as those of us in Canada, who've been able to get vaccinated relatively quickly.

[00:08:00.69] You're a UNICEF Canada monthly donor, thank you. How has giving impacted your own happiness on a personal level?

[00:08:09.63] Yeah, I mean, I think it's so easy to feel overwhelmed by negative emotions right now, especially with the increase in infections stemming from Delta. It's just easy to give into frustration. By being a monthly donor to UNICEF-- and I'm also planning to do another donation to the Give a Vax campaign as well.

[00:08:33.12] I'm doing something positive to help bring these vaccines to others around the world, and to actually bring us closer to ending this pandemic. And to me, there's so much that we can't control. There's so much that we can't fix, but this is something I can do.

[00:08:51.61] It's something that I can help fix. And I think I try to really focus on how the donation that I'm making-- I don't get to see these people, but I know that there are individuals getting shots in their arms because of these donations. And so I really try to think about that, and that gives me some hope and some light in this time of great challenge.

[00:09:16.11] Thank you, Dr. Dunn.

[00:09:17.79] Thank you, David. Speaking with Dr. Dunn is a good reminder that here in Canada, we can be grateful for access to effective COVID-19 vaccines. As we continue to work together to bring the pandemic to an end, it's so important to think about Dr. Dunn's research on happiness and giving.

[00:09:39.44] No one is safe, until everyone is safe. That's why each of us must play our part now, in ensuring the world is vaccinated against COVID-19. UNICEF Canada is urgently calling on Canadians who are vaccinated, to pay it forward and donate to the Give a Vax fundraising campaign.

[00:10:00.98] For every donation made by individual Canadians to UNICEF's COVID-19 vaccination efforts, the Government of Canada will match the donation up to $10 million until September. Working together to vaccinate the world, is one of the most effective ways to help children, their families, and their communities move beyond the pandemic.

[00:10:25.89] Together, we can save lives, and protect children's futures. And maybe even become a little happier in doing it. You can learn more by visiting our website at unicef.ca. That brings us to the end of our episode. Thanks for listening.

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