Buying Happiness

Listen

12/25/2009

Dec. 25, 2009

Buying Happiness

Psychologists at San Francisco State University say people reported feeling happier when they spent their money on experiences -- spending on a meal out or theater tickets, perhaps -- rather than buying material objects. The study was presented recently at the annual meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology. It is scheduled for publication later this year in the Journal of Positive Psychology. In this segment, Ryan Howell, psychologist and head of SFSU's Personality and Well-Being Lab, talks with Ira about the study results and speculates on whether they extend to gift-giving as well.

Produced by Annette Heist, Senior Producer

Guests

Ryan Howell
Quantitative Psychologist

Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, California

Dec. 25, 2009