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Downward Social Comparison Increases Life-Satisfaction in the Giving and Volunteering Context

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  • Yunhui Huang

Abstract

Using samples of U.S. residents recruited from an online subject pool, this research confirms that charitable behavior is associated with higher life-satisfaction based on a retrospective survey (Study 1). Adopting experimental manipulation, we also find that participants report higher life-satisfaction after volunteering for a downward comparable target (i.e., the poor) than helping a non-comparable target (i.e., Wikipedia). But the above effect exists only among high social-comparison individuals (Study 2). Moreover, among people high in social comparison, comparing oneself with a downward comparable target without helping can lead to a similar level of life-satisfaction as helping the target. In contrast, participants who are low in social comparison achieve higher life-satisfaction when comparing themselves to rather than helping the target (Study 3). These findings suggest that charitable giving and volunteering contributes to life-satisfaction through allowing for downward social comparison. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2016

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  • Yunhui Huang, 2016. "Downward Social Comparison Increases Life-Satisfaction in the Giving and Volunteering Context," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 125(2), pages 665-676, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:125:y:2016:i:2:p:665-676
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-014-0849-6
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    Cited by:

    1. Xiaoting Zheng & Jiayue Chen & Yipeng Li, 2021. "The association between charitable giving and happiness: Evidence from the Chinese General Social Survey," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 55(6), pages 2103-2138, December.
    2. Wenyi Lin & Jianxin Cheng, 2024. "Online volunteering and subjective well-being in China," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-6, December.
    3. Fang-Hua Jhang, 2018. "The Five Dimensions of Money Attitudes and Their Link to Changes in Life Satisfaction Among Taiwanese Adolescents in Poverty," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 13(2), pages 399-418, June.

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