A Path Appears: Transforming Lives, Creating Opportunity

This chapter explores the brain science involved in acts of altruism. The authors want to explore the effects of both giving and receiving money on a person’s happiness. One study of Harvard students looked at their lives through old age: “Altruists seemed disproportionately likely to age gracefully and maintain their health, the researchers found. Indeed, a willingness to help others seemed more important to longevity than cholesterol levels” (239). In terms of receiving money, some research has shown that rising income levels lead to happiness only up to a point, while other research found no limit. At the same time, despite increasing per capita rates of income in the US, surveys of happiness did not show a corresponding increase.

The authors wonder if the brain itself could provide any insight. They both underwent fMRI scans of their brains at the University of Oregon while being asked questions about donating and receiving money. Different areas of the brain’s pleasure zones light up in each case; the amount, and proportion between the two, varies by individual. The researchers who performed the scans suggested that the pleasure derived from giving can become a habit—indeed, an addiction, as the act of giving arouses the same pleasure centers as other addictive behaviors.