Affiliation:
1. Department of Psychology Sapienza University of Rome Rome Italy
2. Division of Psychology Communication and Human Neuroscience (L5) University of Manchester Manchester UK
3. Department of Psychology Arizona State University Tempe Arizona USA
4. School of Social and Environmental Sustainability University of Glasgow Glasgow UK
Abstract
AbstractIntroductionExisting research highlights the significance of prosocial behavior (voluntary, intentional behavior that results in benefits for another) to people's well‐being. Yet, the extent to which this expected positive relation operates at the within‐person level (e.g., is more prosocial behavior than usual related to a higher than usual level of well‐being?) while taking into account stable interindividual differences, remains a research question that deserves further investigation. In this study, we aimed to explore the relations between prosocial behavior and hedonic (HWB; subjective assessment of life satisfaction and happiness) and eudaimonic (EWB; actualization of human potential in alignment with personal goals, including concepts like meaning in life and closeness to others) well‐being in daily life.MethodUsing ecological momentary assessment for 4 weeks, data were collected from two British samples, comprising 82 adolescents and 166 adults.ResultsDynamic Structural Equation Modeling revealed a positive relations between prosocial behavior and HWB/EWB at both between and within‐person levels across the samples.ConclusionIn summary, these findings further support the positive link between prosocial behavior and well‐being in everyday life. Notably, this association was consistent across different age groups (adolescent and adults) at both between and within‐person levels.