If You're Given Either $5 or $20, and Can Use the Money On Yourself or on Other People, Which Way Would You Expect You Being Happier Afterwards?

- Happier to have $5 or $20? Happier to use the money for yourself or for others? And the accuracy of your predictions.

The questions in the title above were actually what a team of Harvard researchers wanted to find out. And they did a survey on that among many random people on a campus.

The answers showed that, people predicted they would be the happiest when getting $20 and using it on themselves; and the least happy would be getting $5 and being asked to use on others.

How accurate were these predictions?

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To find out, the researchers carried out the scenarios. That is, the researchers actually gave the money ($5 or $20) to participants and asked half of them in each group to use the money on themselves, and the other half to use it on other people.

Then all participants were surveyed afterwards on how happy they were.

This time, the results showed that people were actually happier after they have used the money on others than on themselves; and surprisingly, in either case it did not make a difference whether it was $5 or $20.

So when people were just asked to predict their happiness on getting money in a certain amount and using it in a certain way, their predictions were not accurate at all.

They basically got it all wrong comparing to what actually happened when the scenarios were carried out.

This research not only demonstrated that people were actually happier when doing something to benefit others than to benefit themselves.

It also showed that we could be quite inaccurate in predicting our happiness at a future time or in a future scenario(s), especially when it comes to having and using money.

Many of us tend to imagine (just like those in the second paragraph making predictions), that if we have extra money for our own use, we will be happier; and the more, the merrier.

But when we actually have the money and use it, we may, just like after the real thing has happened above, feel quite differently than we have predicted (i.e., actually be happier to use it for others, and the amount may not make such a difference).

So, in terms of happiness predictions especially about money, once we get to the time point or situation we have made predictions about, we may find ourselves being surprised.

Very similar results were found in another research, on employee bonus. “The dollar amount of the bonus had no impact on happiness over time,” concluded the lead researcher. “People were just as happy whether they received $3,000 or $8,000. All that mattered [to their happiness] was the percent spent on other people.”

These partially explain why wealth does not give us nearly as much happiness as many may predict. Research has shown that time and again.

Unless, of course when it would be used for others or the greater good, which does reliably increase happiness.