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Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(1,455)
- People (5)
- News (557)
- Research (418)
- Events (3)
- Multimedia (53)
- Faculty Publications (183)
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- Article
Happiness Runs in a Circular Motion: Evidence for a Positive Feedback Loop between Prosocial Spending and Happiness
By: Lara B. Aknin, Elizabeth W. Dunn and Michael I. Norton
We examine whether a positive feedback loop exists between spending money on others (i.e. prosocial spending) and happiness. Participants recalled a previous purchase made for either themselves or someone else and then reported their happiness. Afterward, participants... View Details
Aknin, Lara B., Elizabeth W. Dunn, and Michael I. Norton. "Happiness Runs in a Circular Motion: Evidence for a Positive Feedback Loop between Prosocial Spending and Happiness." Journal of Happiness Studies 13, no. 2 (April 2012): 347–355.
- March 24, 2020
- Article
Delayed Negative Effects of Prosocial Spending on Happiness
By: Armin Falk and Thomas Graeber
Does prosocial behavior promote happiness? We test this longstanding hypothesis in a behavioral experiment that extends the scope of previous research. In our Saving a Life paradigm, every participant either saved one human life in expectation by triggering a targeted... View Details
Falk, Armin, and Thomas Graeber. "Delayed Negative Effects of Prosocial Spending on Happiness." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 117, no. 12 (March 24, 2020): 6463–6468.
- Article
Social Recycling Transforms Unwanted Goods into Happiness
By: Grant Edward Donnelly, Cait Lamberton, Rebecca Walker Reczek and Michael I. Norton
Consumers are often surrounded by resources that once offered meaning or happiness but that have lost this subjective value over time—even as they retain their objective utility. We explore the potential for social recycling—disposing of used goods by allowing other... View Details
Keywords: Disposition; Well-being; Prosocial Behavior; Pro-environmental Behavior; Happiness; Behavior; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Environmental Sustainability
Donnelly, Grant Edward, Cait Lamberton, Rebecca Walker Reczek, and Michael I. Norton. "Social Recycling Transforms Unwanted Goods into Happiness." Journal of the Association for Consumer Research 2, no. 1 (January 2017): 48–63.
- July 21, 2022
- Article
How to Build a Life: A Happiness Columnist’s Three Biggest Happiness Rules
By: Arthur C. Brooks
Brooks, Arthur C. "How to Build a Life: A Happiness Columnist’s Three Biggest Happiness Rules." The Atlantic (July 21, 2022).
- March 2016 (Revised February 2017)
- Case
Hello Alfred: Come Home Happy
By: Joseph B. Fuller and Carin-Isabel Knoop
On a mission to "automate the on-demand economy," Harvard Business School classmates Marcela Sapone and Jessica Beck launched Hello Alfred in 2013 to provide subscribers with an "Alfred" to complete various chores for a monthly fee. In early 2016, the company has built... View Details
Keywords: On-demand Economy; Sharing Economy; Technology Startup; Technology; Growth Strategy; Business Startups; Business Growth and Maturation; Entrepreneurship; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Strategic Planning; Service Industry; United States; Boston; Cambridge; New York (city, NY); California
Fuller, Joseph B., and Carin-Isabel Knoop. "Hello Alfred: Come Home Happy." Harvard Business School Case 316-154, March 2016. (Revised February 2017.)
- Article
Gross National Happiness As an Answer to the Easterlin Paradox?
By: Rafael Di Tella and Robert MacCulloch
The Easterlin Paradox refers to the fact that happiness data are typically stationary in spite of considerable increases in income. This amounts to a rejection of the hypothesis that current income is the only argument in the utility function. We find that the... View Details
Di Tella, Rafael, and Robert MacCulloch. "Gross National Happiness As an Answer to the Easterlin Paradox?" Journal of Development Economics 86, no. 1 (April 2008).
- 2017
- Article
True Happiness: The Role of Morality in the Concept of Happiness
By: Jonathan Phillips, Julian De Freitas, Christian Mott, June Gruber and Joshua Knobe
Recent scientific research has settled on a purely descriptive definition of happiness that is focused solely on agents' psychological states (high positive affect, low negative affect, high life satisfaction). In contrast to this understanding, recent research has... View Details
Phillips, Jonathan, Julian De Freitas, Christian Mott, June Gruber, and Joshua Knobe. "True Happiness: The Role of Morality in the Concept of Happiness." Journal of Experimental Psychology: General 146, no. 2 (2017): 165–181.
- 15 Aug 2023
- Research & Ideas
Why Giving to Others Makes Us Happy
that people did not express as much happiness thinking back on helping people compared to when they had just completed the act of giving. “If you’ve just finished enacting a helping behavior, that action tends to be associated with... View Details
Keywords: by Michael Blanding
- 16 Mar 2018
- Working Paper Summaries
Amount and Diversity of Digital Emotional Expression Predicts Happiness
- March 2017
- Teaching Note
Hello Alfred: Come Home Happy
By: Joseph B. Fuller and Carin-Isabel Knoop
Teaching Note for HBS No. 316-154. View Details
- Article
Spending Money on Others Promotes Happiness
By: Elizabeth W. Dunn, Lara B. Aknin and Michael I. Norton
Dunn, Elizabeth W., Lara B. Aknin, and Michael I. Norton. "Spending Money on Others Promotes Happiness." Science 319, no. 5870 (March 21, 2008): 1687–1688.
- December 2011 (Revised October 2015)
- Case
K&N's: Health and Happiness for Pakistan
By: David E. Bell, Damien P. McLoughlin and Mary Shelman
Keywords: Family Business; Growth and Development Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Pakistan
Bell, David E., Damien P. McLoughlin, and Mary Shelman. "K&N's: Health and Happiness for Pakistan." Harvard Business School Case 512-002, December 2011. (Revised October 2015.)
- May 2018
- Article
The Amount and Source of Millionaires' Wealth (Moderately) Predicts Their Happiness
By: Grant Edward Donnelly, Tianyi Zheng, Emily Haisley and Michael I. Norton
Two samples of more than 4,000 millionaires reveal two primary findings. First, only at high levels of wealth—in excess of $8 million (Study 1) and $10 million (Study 2)—are wealthier millionaires happier than millionaires with lower levels of wealth, though these... View Details
Donnelly, Grant Edward, Tianyi Zheng, Emily Haisley, and Michael I. Norton. "The Amount and Source of Millionaires' Wealth (Moderately) Predicts Their Happiness." Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 44, no. 5 (May 2018): 684–699.
- March 2024
- Teaching Note
Sensing (and Monetizing) Happiness at Hitachi
By: Ethan Bernstein and Cara Mazzucco
Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 418-019. View Details
- 16 Jul 2018
- Research & Ideas
Kids of Working Moms Grow into Happy Adults
wind up just as happy in adulthood as the children of moms who stayed home. Harvard Business School Professor Kathleen McGinn hopes the findings bring a big sigh of relief for guilt-ridden mothers who either have to hold down a job to... View Details
Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman
- Article
Some Uses of Happiness Data in Economics
By: Rafael Di Tella and Robert MacCulloch
Di Tella, Rafael, and Robert MacCulloch. "Some Uses of Happiness Data in Economics." Journal of Economic Perspectives 20, no. 1 (Winter 2006): 25–46.
- 27 Oct 2002
- Research & Ideas
Want a Happy Customer? Coordinate Sales and Marketing
To other functional departments such as finance and operations, the sales and marketing functions look alike. After all, they are both "outward looking," focused on the customer and the market. But, creating a strong marketing and sales team has proven... View Details
Keywords: by Benson Shapiro
- 2008
- Book
Gross National Happiness: Why Happiness Matters for America—and How We Can Get More of It
By: Arthur C. Brooks
Who are the happiest Americans? Surveys show that religious people think they are happier than secularists, and secularists think they are happier than religious people. Liberals believe they are happier than conservatives, and conservatives disagree. In fact, almost... View Details
Brooks, Arthur C. Gross National Happiness: Why Happiness Matters for America—and How We Can Get More of It. New York: Basic Books, 2008.
- October 2024
- Case
Lanco Medical Group: Fostering Happiness for Growth
By: Susanna Gallani, Jenyfeer Martínez Buitrago and Katherine Sonnefeldt
This case describes how Lanco Medical Group, a fast-growing pharmaceutical distributor serving Latin America, approached the design of their employee benefits and incentives program. After learning about gaps between what leadership believed motivated employees and... View Details
- Article
Getting the Most Out of Giving: Concretely Framing a Prosocial Goal Maximizes Happiness
By: Melanie Rudd, Jennifer Aaker and Michael I. Norton
Across six field and laboratory experiments, participants assigned a more concretely-framed prosocial goal (e.g., making someone smile or increasing recycling) felt happier and reported creating greater personal happiness after performing a goal-directed act of... View Details
Keywords: Prosocial Behavior; Goal Framing; Affective Forecasting; Goals and Objectives; Happiness; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving
Rudd, Melanie, Jennifer Aaker, and Michael I. Norton. "Getting the Most Out of Giving: Concretely Framing a Prosocial Goal Maximizes Happiness." Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 54 (September 2014): 11–24.