Givers vs. Takers

Are you a giver or a taker? New study found that generosity is its own reward. Medline Plus recently published an article giving some insight in the study that supports this idea. I have summed up the main points in this blog post.

Swiss Scientists used brain scans of the regions associated with socializing, decision-making and happiness. They found that even small acts of generosity — or just promising to be charitable — triggered brain changes that make people happier.

Study author Philippe Tobler, neuro-economist at the University of Zurich’s laboratory for social and neural systems research commented:

The findings mean that spending money on others rather than on oneself could be an alternative road to happiness. Helping others could increase group cohesion, and others may help the original helper in return. We as humans, function best when we feel connected to each other. – Kit Yarrow, professor emeritus of consumer psychology at Golden Gate University in San Francisco.

The study conducted enlisted 50 Swiss residents.

Half the group pledged to spend the money on others, such as by buying gifts or dinner. The second group committed to spending the money on themselves.

Under an fMRI brain scans focused on three regions:

area responsible for socializing and generosity

happiness region

decision-making region

Interestingly,relatively small acts of giving gave rise to just as big a happiness bump as bigger acts, the investigators said.

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