The Relationship Between Prosociality, Meaning, and Happiness in Everyday Life

Abstract Prosocial behaviors benefit others, but what benefits do they hold for those who enact them? Prosociality can enhance the actor’s well-being, yet whether it is one’s sense of happiness or meaning that impacted, and how this plays out in everyday life, has received limited attention. We address gap knowledge by examining prosociality related to daily across two large diary studies countries. Study 1 ( N = 1140) revealed changes subjective was uniquely associated with both happiness. 2 217) found self-reported prosocial behavior also clearly linked increases meaning, modestly Altogether, our findings suggest happiness, performing acts may be particularly relevant experiencing meaning.