In the Long Run, Other-Focused Happiness-Boosting Activities Are More Effective Than Self-Focused Activities

In this paper, we examine the effectiveness of self- and other-focused happiness-enhancing strategies over time. In a six-week study, we found that both strategies were both successful in the short-term. However, compared with self-focused strategies, other-focused happiness strategies more effectively enhanced levels of happiness in the long term.



Citation:

Maria Sääksjärvi, Katarina Hellen, Pieter Desmet, and Hans Ruitenberg (2013) ,"In the Long Run, Other-Focused Happiness-Boosting Activities Are More Effective Than Self-Focused Activities ", in E - European Advances in Consumer Research Volume 10, eds. Gert Cornelissen, Elena Reutskaja, and Ana Valenzuela, Duluth, MN : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 204-205.

Authors

Maria Sääksjärvi, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands
Katarina Hellen, University of Vaasa, Finland
Pieter Desmet, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands
Hans Ruitenberg, IceMobile



Volume

E - European Advances in Consumer Research Volume 10 | 2013



Share Proceeding

Featured papers

See More

Featured

Globalizing from the Periphery: The Role of Consumer Paratextual Translation

Angela Gracia B. Cruz, Monash University, Australia
Yuri Seo, University of Auckland, New Zealand
Itir Binay, Monash University, Australia

Read More

Featured

To Touch or Not to Touch?: How Touch Influences Decision Confidence

Sang Kyu Park, University of Florida, USA
Yang Yang, University of Florida, USA

Read More

Featured

When Small Predicts Large: The Effect of Initial Small Contributions on Subsequent Contributions in a Crowdfunding Project

Tingting Fan, Chinese University of Hong Kong, China
Leilei Gao, Chinese University of Hong Kong, China
Yael Steinhart, Tel Aviv University, Israel

Read More

Engage with Us

Becoming an Association for Consumer Research member is simple. Membership in ACR is relatively inexpensive, but brings significant benefits to its members.