James Laughton on: Does Doing Good Makes You Feel Good?

10 minute read

‍Summary

Following the first article ‘The Degradation of Social Connection’, this article will expand on how prosocial behaviour can improve the well-being of benefactors (those who do things for other people). It briefly defines prosocial behaviour before explaining the origins of prosocial behaviour. Most importantly, this article explains how and when ‘doing things for others’ can offer people an opportunity to live happier, more meaningful and healthier lives. In doing so, it provides a succinct evaluation of whether ‘doing good makes you feel good’.

What is Prosocial Behaviour?

Prosocial behaviour is an academic term that simply refers to acts of helping, cooperating with and comforting other people (Schroeder & Graziano, 2015). Such behaviours can be enacted from one individual to another, indirectly or directly, or within broader group contexts. Some would argue that prosocial behaviour can be revealed even within the inner workings of the human mind (e.g. wishing someone well). More colloquially, prosocial behaviours are often referred to as acts of kindness or compassion. Kindness is often viewed as a ‘pure’ form of prosocial behaviour, whereby the benefactor’s intention is to benefit the well-being of another person (Curry et al., 2018). Acts of compassion, more specifically, refer to acts where there is a recognition of someone else’s suffering and a subsequent intention to reduce it (Strauss et al. 2016). 

These behaviours can vary in form (i.e. the actual action being carried out) and, perhaps more importantly, regarding their underlying motivation (i.e. the reason for the action being carried out). In terms of form, we may console someone, carry something for them, or provide them with something they need. In terms of motivation, we may do something for someone else in order to seem virtuous and improve our social status, or because we expect to receive something in return from that person at a later date. Such motivations are explained by evolutionary theories of mutual, competitive and reciprocal altruism (Raihani & Smith, 2015; Trivers, 1971). The basic idea is that by doing things for others, we can improve our social status, develop socially beneficial connections with others and access useful resources and information. In doing so, we increase our chance of survival and/or, propagating our genes (genes which, presumably, predict our likelihood of enacting these behaviours). While this may seem like a callous explanation for what is often seen as the pure and morally good part of human nature, it makes a lot of sense. Moreover, it would explain why people often feel psychological benefits when doing things for other people - something that has been of great interest to psychologists in recent years and that I will explain in greater detail later on in this article. Emotions and affective states can, at least in part, be viewed as positive and negative signals that indicate to us whether our behaviour is worthwhile, appropriate or beneficial (or the opposite). If you would allow me to simplify this even further for the sake of explanation, we generally experience these emotions differently - as positive or negative, pleasant or unpleasant, motivating or demotivating. Therefore, the behaviours that produce psychologically pleasant states are the behaviours which we are likely to repeat in the future. On this basis, the evolutionary process would likely have ‘wanted’ to have us associate prosocial behaviour (which can improve our likelihood of survival) with positive psychological changes. Essentially, these positive and empathic emotions may incentivise the behaviour (Goetz et al. 2010). 

This is sometimes seen as a bit of a moral conundrum, ultimately leading to the conclusion that there is no such thing as ‘a selfless good deed’, given that we often feel a ‘warm glow’ after doing something for someone else (Cutler & Campbell-Meiklejohn, 2019). However, while this may be an interesting philosophical question, I would not give it too much thought. As long as people are doing good for others, does it really matter why they are doing it? If anything, we would want people to feel motivated and encouraged to do such things; if we could, would we want to remove this positive feedback loop? Notwithstanding my opinion on the matter, there is some evidence that people still experience positive changes in their well-being when they commit actions that will positively impact those who they will never meet and would not reasonably expect anything in return from (Martela & Ryan, 2016). Perhaps such actions represent an extension or ‘mutation’  of the evolutionary beneficial mechanism that I have already described. In any case, while interesting, the origins of prosocial behaviour and its psychological impact are not the focus of this particular article. Instead, what is of interest here is how doing things for others can improve benefactor well-being in various, sometimes surprising ways. From here then, I will attempt to explain how doing good makes you feel good, and ultimately suggest that prosocial behaviour is another way in which people can improve the psychological quality of their lives, as well as the lives of those around them.

‘Doing Good Makes You Feel Good’

This statement is a more colloquial way of what academics might phrase along the lines of ‘prosocial behaviour has a beneficial impact on benefactor well-being’. I have already given a summary of what is meant by ‘doing good’ (prosocial behaviour). Briefly then, it is worth explaining what is meant by ‘feeling good’ (well-being). Firstly, there are two overarching types of well-being: physiological (e.g. within the body) and psychological (within the mind). Although they are not totally independent (think - happy body, happy mind), physiological well-being corresponds to our physical state and biological systems, while psychological well-being corresponds to our mental state. Psychologists tend to consider two subtypes of psychological well-being: hedonic and eudaimonic well-being (Keyes et al., 2002; Ryan & Deci, 2001). Hedonic well-being reflects an individual’s happiness and moment-to-moment experience. Eudaimonic well-being, on the other hand, refers to an individual's sense of meaning, purpose and fulfilment in life (Huta & Ryan, 2010). These forms of well-being are connected and correlated, but ultimately distinct. As you might expect, psychologists have long spent further dissecting and unpacking these different forms of well-being; but these will suffice for the purpose of this article.

Psychological research has presented a significant association between prosocial behaviour (doing good) and positive outcomes on the well-being of the benefactor (feeling good). First and foremost, people with an interest in helping other people appear to also be more dispositionally happy (Lyubomirsky, King, et al., 2005). Moreover, prosocial intervention studies (where participants are asked to commit acts of kindness and compassion across a given period) suggest that people report greater levels of happiness and meaning following the intervention relative to control groups who are not asked to carry out these acts (Lyubomirsky, Sheldon, et al., 2005). What’s more, is that these effects have been shown to endure over longer periods of time. For example, people reported greater happiness and self-esteem after committing compassionate acts during a one-week period, even after 6 months had passed (Mongrain et al., 2011). Meta-analyses suggest that such acts of kindness, volunteering efforts and charitable acts have been shown to produce positive changes in happiness and sense of meaning (Curry et al. 2018 Rowland & Curry, 2019). Critically, one research paper posited that people report greater psychological benefits after carrying out acts of kindness for others, relative to carrying out self-focused acts (Nelson et al., 2016).

Perhaps more surprisingly, prosocial behaviour has also been shown to contribute towards physical well-being improvements. One longitudinal study found that spending money on others can improve cardiovascular health of older adults diagnosed with high blood pressure (Whillans et al., 2016). One large study tracked the well-being of elderly care home residents. Those who had engaged in volunteering to help others had a 63%  lower mortality rate during the duration of the study, relative to those who had not volunteered (Post, 2005). Other researchers found a 22% reduction in mortality in volunteers, compared to non-volunteers, and thus recommend volunteering as an important public health intervention (Jenkinson et al., 2013).

So, how do these changes occur? The way in which an effect occurs is something referred to as ‘mediation’ in academic, whereby something (e.g. doing good) has an effect on an outcome (e.g. your well-being) via something else (a mediator/pathway). For example, sleeping well may increase your exam scores via (i) a decrease in fatigue, (ii) an increase in concentration or (iii) an improvement in general well-being. Indeed, these mediators may themselves be closely related and contingent upon one another (e.g. less fatigue and greater concentration). So let’s consider some of these mediators in the context of prosocial behaviour. There are many potential factors that could be discussed here but, in this article, I will discuss two: autonomy and perceived prosocial impact. In my previous article, I put an emphasis on how prosocial behaviour can help produce happier and more meaningful lives through its cultivation of ‘relatedness’ and social connection - something that I will not take further time to expand on here. However, relatedness, as well as competence and autonomy, are the three fundamental psychological needs according to something called self-determination theory  (Deci & Ryan, 2012). This theory suggests that our psychological well-being is underlined by whether we feel autonomous (doing things of our own volition and in a way that is in accordance with our values), competent (doing things effectively) and related to others (doing things that connect us to those around us). This applies to all behaviours, including prosocial behaviour. 

Autonomy

As mentioned earlier, our motivation for doing things for others can vary. Generally speaking, although slightly reductionist, our motivation can be in line with our values (autonomous and voluntary) or not (non-autonomous and controlled) (Weinstein & Ryan, 2010). Similarly, our motivations can be self-centred or other-oriented. Of course, our individual motivation can be somewhere in between the two. This is even reflected neurologically, seeing as different regions of the brain seem to be associated with altruistic versus strategic forms of prosocial behaviour (Cutler & Campbell-Meiklejohn, 2019). The research in this area strongly suggests that our experience of doing things for others is more likely to generate positive well-being outcomes for ourselves to the extent that we do things in accordance with our values and when we feel it is of our own volition. In regards to our physical well-being, one study found that volunteering to help others reduced mortality risk over a 4-year period, but only in cases when people were doing so due to a desire to help others rather than themselves (Konrath et al. 2012). In regard to psychological well-being, another study found that prosocial action produced positive changes in benefactor well-being, but that these improvements in subjective well-being, vitality and self-esteem were greatest when prosocial behaviour was underpinned by autonomous motivation. Similarly, another study found that people who were informed that their actions would benefit others reported greater positive affect compared to those who did not know that their action was having a positive impact on others. However, this effect was particularly strong for people with high levels of ‘eudaimonic orientation’ (values associated with seeking meaning, authenticity and personal growth) (Huta, 2016).

Prosocial Impact

This latter study also points to the importance of knowing that our action has made a difference - the second mediator between prosocial behaviour and well-being that I would like to emphasise (perceived prosocial impact). Critically, empirical research highlights that one of the most fundamental variables underlying the sense of meaning and happiness we can experience when doing things for others is the extent to which we can see the difference we have made on the well-being of the other person/s. For instance, one study found that people report greater happiness after donating money to charity when they are told how their money will be used to impact the life of others (Aknin et al., 2013). Benefactors who were not given this information reported no significant changes in their happiness and well-being. Another experimental study found that benefactors reported greater changes in felt social worth and value after receiving written statements of gratitude from their beneficiaries (those they had helped). This also motivated them to engage in more prosocial acts, not only for the person who initially expressed their gratitude, but also for new beneficiaries who they had not met before. This has far reaching implications, given that each day you live will inevitably present you with various opportunities to do things for those around you. Big or small, spontaneous or planned, for those closest to you or even for strangers. What’s more, is that we should consider prosocial impact as a key variable that can determine the extent to which we derive meaning from our actions, our work and our lives. This is something I will discuss in the third and final article of this series, named ‘Working, Meaning & Making a Difference’.

Final Remarks

My intention with this article was to shed more light on how doing things for others (prosocial behaviour) can have a positive effect on our own well-being. Although our society has changed, to our detriment, in regard to a lower sense of community and social connection, it is incumbent upon us to seek opportunities to do good in the world. Not only for the sake of others, but for ourselves. Doing things for others can provide us with greater social connection and the respective positive changes in well-being (as previously mentioned in article 1). So in short, yes - doing good does make you feel good. Or at least under certain conditions. Given the research I have mentioned above, it seems important to ensure we do things of our own accord and in line with our own values (rather than as a result of social pressure or in expectation of something in return). Perhaps most importantly, it is critical that we see the fruit of our efforts - not to gloat or point to all the good we have done in order to earn status, but in order to truly connect with the impact we have made and thus experience positive changes in our own internal sense of meaning and happiness. Given this, perhaps it is worth looking for these opportunities in our everyday lives, and putting ourselves in the position to do so in our social groups, communities and workplaces. Moreover, if we are fortunate enough to have good things done for us or on our behalf, we should not be coy. Instead, we should let benefactors know the difference they have made.

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References

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