It might happen to you with Christmas presents.
If you’re happy to receive something, such as a gift, that feeling is likely to diminish as that experience repeats itself.
It’s a phenomenon known as “hedonic adaptation”.
However, there seems to be an exception to the rule: give rather than receive.
In experiments conducted by researchers in the United States, the joy of repeated giving did not diminish or do much more slowly than the satisfaction of receiving.
Give repeatedly
The studies were conducted by psychologists Ed O’Brien of the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago and Samantha Kassirer of Northwestern University’s Kellog School of Management, both in the United States.
“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,” O’Brien said.
Give or receive dollars
In one experiment, about 100 students each received $5 for five days to spend on exactly the same item.
Some students were told to spend the money on themselves, and the rest to donate it or buy something for someone else.
Some students used the money to leave tips, others donated it to the same charity every day.
Students who participated in the experiments had to save money for themselves or donate it to others.
Participants also filled out questionnaires about their level of satisfaction at the end of each day.
The results of the experiment were clear. All students started with similar levels of joy and satisfaction, but those levels were continually reduced for the participants who spent the money on themselves.
In the case of the group that made donations, satisfaction levels at the end of each day remained constant or decreased much less.
Mental health
It is unclear why giving has such a different impact to receiving, and researchers hope to conduct new experiments.
Volunteer work can help mental health, according to some studies
There are other questions pending for future studies. Would the results be maintained if there were larger amounts of money, or if what we give or receive is not money but social experiences?
The results of the experiments appear to support other past research on the beneficial effect of giving.
Suzanne Richards conducted a review of studies on the impact of voluntary work at the University of Exeter in England in 2012.
The findings, published in the journal BMC Public Health, were that volunteer work can reduce symptoms of depression and have a positive impact on mental health.
