The Effect Of Money And Time Helping On Subjective Well-being-the Moderating Effect Of Social Connection

Based on the different effects of money and time on happiness, this research devotes toexplore the different impacts of helping otherswith money and time on happiness. Meanwhile,our research take the social connection as the moderator variable in the process of helpingbehaviors’impact on happiness, and then exam whether high social connection between helpersand recipients is more helpful to enhance helpers’ happiness than low social connection. Lastlydiscover whether there is a difference between the influences of helping behaviors (money vstime) on happiness under the mediation of social connection. The study adopts questionnairesurvey, interview and laboratory experiments to obtain the following results:(1) Helping others with money and time both are available to improve happiness.(2) High social connection between helpers and recipients is more helpful to improvehappiness than low social connection.(3) Social connections play a moderating effect during the impacts of different helpingbehaviors (money vs time) on happiness.In low social connection context, helping others with time can experience more happinessthan money. Because time primes our emotional mindset which makes us more emotional andpay more attention on experience, and all these are good for enhancing happiness.In high social connection context, helping with money or time make no difference on ourhappiness. Because high social connection during the helping behaviors not only meet our needsof belonging, but also increase helping efficacy which can help to improve our happiness.The innovations in our study lie in two aspects: First one is that choosing the socialconnection as the moderator variable and exam that high social connection between helpers andrecipients is more effective to enhance happiness than low social connection. Second one is thatverified the different impacts of helping with money and time on happiness under the regulationof social connection. In low social connection context, helping other with money is happier thanmoney. The findings are valuable to promote a positive feedback loop between helpingbehaviors and happiness which can benefit the long development of helping behaviors.