Three weeks of doing favors did not lift mood
Among more than a thousand participants, those who intentionally helped others ended with well-being similar to that of the others.
The key idea
The main comparison did not show that helping improved well-being compared with treating yourself or doing a neutral task.
The study, in plain language
It seems intuitive that helping someone might also make us feel better. To test that idea during the pandemic, the team randomly assigned adults in the United States and Canada to perform helpful acts, choose rewarding activities for themselves, or record neutral activities over three weeks.
The prespecified comparison showed no differences in happiness, life evaluation, anxiety, or depression. An additional, unplanned look only at those who said they made more effort showed small signals in anxiety and life evaluation compared with the neutral group, smaller than the authors themselves expected. Helping and feeling better were not linked in the same way in every analysis.
What they found
- The researchers compared helping other people with treating yourself and with recording neutral activities.
- The main comparison showed no advantage for helping in happiness, anxiety, depression, or life evaluation.
- Among those who said they made more effort, small signals appeared in anxiety and life evaluation compared with the neutral group.
How they studied it
A trial whose analysis plan was announced in advance randomly assigned 1,234 adults in the United States and Canada to three activity groups for three weeks. The analysis included 1,052 participants, with follow-up measurement two weeks later.
What the study cannot show
- Adherence varied, and some people stopped taking part.
- People who completed more acts may have differed from others from the start.
- The sample was online, and the study did not examine the activities as clinical treatment.
Something to think about
The idea that helping makes us feel better may sound logical, but that does not guarantee a measurable effect. You could ask yourself what you expect to feel when you help and what you actually feel.
The original study
Using prosocial behavior to safeguard mental health and foster emotional well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic: A registered report of a randomized trial
Source under CC BY 4.0. English adaptation and explanation by PaperFlow, with AI assistance. The text has been reorganized for a general audience; it is not the complete paper and does not imply endorsement by its authors.
One study alone does not represent a field's consensus. Educational content does not replace professional advice. Report a possible error.
