12 Jun Happiness and giving
The happiness relevant article below appears in Science Daily (click here).
Two University of Missouri-Columbia researchers — Professor Glen Cameron and doctoral student Jiyang Bae — found when companies with good reputations give money to charitable causes, attitudes toward those companies are positive. However, when companies with bad reputations give to charitable causes, negative attitudes are heightened.
“People trigger a sophisticated and active attribution process when they become suspicious of something, causing them to judge the corporation’s real motivation,” Cameron said. “Public suspicion cued by prior corporate reputation influences people’s attitudes toward corporate giving and makes them suspicious of the reason for corporate giving.”
Bae said corporate giving doesn’t produce unconditional positive impacts on the corporate side.
“Corporate public relations managers who plan to give money to ‘save face’ after severe reputation damage should reconsider their giving because the public is diligent about interpreting the real motivation for why a company gives money to social causes.” said Bae.
The study appears in the journal Public Relations Review.
So for happiness, do good things BUT remember that these good things will probably only create happiness for you and for others if you really mean what you’re doing and if you’re doing them for the right reasons.