Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
PLoS One. 2011 Feb 10;6(2):e17018. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0017018.
Previous research has shown that spending money on others (prosocial spending) increases happiness. But, do the happiness gains depend on who the money is spent on? Sociologists have distinguished between strong ties with close friends and family and weak ties--relationships characterized by less frequent contact, lower emotional intensity, and limited intimacy. We randomly assigned participants to reflect on a time when they spent money on either a strong social tie or a weak social tie. Participants reported higher levels of positive affect after recalling a time they spent on a strong tie versus a weak tie. The level of intimacy in the relationship was more important than the type of relationship; there was no significant difference in positive affect after recalling spending money on a family member instead of a friend. These results add to the growing literature examining the factors that moderate the link between prosocial behaviour and happiness.
先前的研究表明，为他人花钱（亲社会支出）会增加幸福感。但是，幸福感的提升是否取决于花钱的对象？社会学家将与亲密朋友和家人的强关系与弱关系（关系的特点是接触频率较低、情感强度较低且亲密程度有限）区分开来。我们随机分配参与者，让他们回想自己曾经把钱花在强关系还是弱关系上。与回想自己把钱花在弱关系上相比，参与者在回忆自己把钱花在强关系上时，报告的积极情绪水平更高。关系的亲密程度比关系的类型更重要；回忆起花钱给家人而不是朋友时，积极情绪没有显著差异。这些结果增加了越来越多的研究文献，这些文献考察了调节亲社会行为与幸福感之间关系的因素。
