Money buys happiness when you spend on others

It is possible to buy happiness after all: when you spend money on others, according to researchers at the University of British Columbia and the Harvard Business School.

Individuals report significantly greater happiness if they spend money “pro-socially” — that is on gifts for others or charitable donations — rather than spending on themselves UBC Asst. Prof. Elizabeth Dunn found in a series of studies reported in the journal Science. “We wanted to test our theory that how people spend their money is at least as important as how much money they earn,” says Dunn. The researchers looked at a nationally representative sample of more than 630 Americans, of whom 55 per cent were female. They asked participants to: rate their general happiness; report their annual income; and provide a breakdown of their monthly spending, including bills, gifts for themselves, gifts for others and donations to charity. “Regardless of how much income each person made,” says Dunn, “those who spent money on others reported greater happiness, while those who spent more on themselves did not.” Read more

Our best and worst moments are with others

In the first study of its kind, researchers have found compelling evidence that our best and worst experiences in life are likely to involve not individual accomplishments, but interaction with other people and the fulfillment of an urge for social connection.

Researcher Shira Gabriel, PhD, associate professor of psychology at University of Buffalo, says, "Most of us spend much of our time and effort focused on individual achievements such as work, hobbies and schooling.

"However this research suggests that the events that end up being most important in our lives, the events that bring us the most happiness and also carry the potential for the most pain, are social events — moments of connecting to others and feeling their connections to us."

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Cleanliness is next to godliness

People are unconsciously fairer and more generous when they are in clean-smelling environments, according to a soon-to-be published study led by a Brigham Young University professor. The research found a dramatic improvement in ethical behavior with just a few spritzes of citrus-scented Windex.

The researchers see implications for workplaces, retail stores and other organizations that have relied on traditional surveillance and security measures to enforce rules.

"Companies often employ heavy-handed interventions to regulate conduct, but they can be costly or oppressive," said lead researcher Katie Liljenquist from Brigham Young University, whose office smells quite average. "This is a very simple, unobtrusive way to promote ethical behavior."

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Freeze or run? Our responses to fear.

Fear can make you run, it can make you fight, and it can glue you to the spot.

Scientists have identified not only the part of the brain but the specific type of neurons that determine how mice react to a frightening stimulus. In a study published in Neuron, they combined pharmaceutical and genetic approaches with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in mice.

Their findings show that deciding whether or not to freeze to fear is a more complex task for our brains than we realised. The scientists used an innovative technique to control the activity of specific cells in the brain of mice that were experiencing fear. The mice were genetically engineered so that only these cells contain a chemical receptor for a specific drug. When the scientists inject the mouse with that drug it acts on the receptor and blocks the electrical activity of those cells allowing the researchers to find out how these cells are involved in controlling fear.

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