Helping and Happiness Lab

  • Jan and Scarlett present their research posters at the 2023 Connecting Minds Conference at KPU in Richmond.

  • Tiara presents her poster at the Happiness and Well-Being Preconference at SPSP 2023 in Atlanta: "Examining whether prosociality predicts greater well-being during life transitions: Evidence from two pre-registered studies"

  • Our Spring 2023 Lab Party! With a very special furry guest, Ruthie.

  • Anurada presents her data blitz at the Authenticity Pre-Conference (Virtual) at SPSP 2023: “How well can people predict the authentic happiness of others?”

  • Anurada with her honours research poster at the 2022 SFU Undergraduate Research Symposium.

  • "It's been a challenging time for so many with the COVID-19 crisis. I find it helpful to try to maintain my same work routine from home to normalize the situation and stay focused. I also remind myself that work can be something to be grateful when wading through a crisis.⁣ ⁣ I have found meditation, regular exercise, and keeping online contact with friends and family to be particularly helpful. For meditation, I use the Calm app on my phone; I have always found it to be very therapeutic. For exercise, an isolated walk or run in the trails behind my house keeps my energy up and keeps me connected to nature. Finally, checking in and supporting my friends and family is always a priority. Many people are struggling and it is important for us to be there for one another. Socializing is a powerful source of well-being, and as an academic role model of mine at Stanford, Jamil Zaki, reminds us, in a time when we have to practice social distancing, it is critical to leverage our technology to practice "distant socializing."⁣ ⁣ -Jason

Contact Information

Lab Director, Dr. Lara Aknin (laknin@sfu.ca)

Lab Manager, Tori Kazemir (tori_kazemir@sfu.ca)

The Helping and Happiness Social Psychology Lab is located at AQ 3135, Simon Fraser University

8888 University Dr, Burnaby,
BC V5A 1S6

 

In the Helping and Happiness Lab, we are interested in the study of what makes people happy, the emotional consequences of kind or generous behavior, and the well-being outcomes of specific spending choices.

Recent Publications

Proulx, J. D., Albert, K., Anderson, E., Helliwell, J. F., & Aknin, L. B. (2026). Meaningful intergenerational connections and social-emotional well-being: A pre-registered and community-engaged daily diary investigation of the intergenerational classroom (iGen). The Journal of Positive Psychology, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2026.2671398

Tan, E., Van de Vondervoort, J., Dhaliwal, J., Aknin, L. B., & Hamlin, J. K. (2026). Toddlers are happier giving to others than to themselves. Developmental Science, 29(3). https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.70171

Helliwell, J. F., Layard, R., Sachs, J. D., De Neve, J., Aknin, L. B., & Wang, S. (2026). Why single-item measures of wellbeing are best. Nature Human Behaviour. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-026-02401-y

Patel, J., Castaneto, K. K., & Aknin, L. B. (2026) Can saying "thanks" hinder social contact? Encouraging people to express gratitude to an old friend undermines reconnection efforts. Motivation and Emotion. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-026-10199-5 

Castaneto, K. K. & Aknin, L. B. (2025) Who reaches out to old friends and what do they say? Collabra: Psychology, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1525/collabra.143319 

Amarasekera, A. U., Travis, K. L., Castaneto, K. K., Cash, T. A., & Aknin, L. B. (2025) What types of gratitude expressions promote prosocial behavior?: A registered report. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 121(104805). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2025.104805

Amarasekera, A.U., Cash, T.A., MacPherson, S.R.C., Human, L.J., & Aknin, L.B. (2024). Predicting others' happiness from brief personal memories. Journal of Research in Psychology 111(104498). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2024.104498

Aknin, L.B., & Sandstrom, G.M. (2024). People are surprisingly hesitant to reach out to old friends. Commun Psychol 2(34). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44271-024-00075-8

Park, L. E., Aknin, L. B., Gaither, S. E., Impett, E. A., & Whillans, A. V. (2024). Starting and sustaining fruitful collaborations in psychology. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, e12950. https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12950

Sachs, J. D., Karim, S. S. A., Aknin, L., Allen, J., Brosbøl, K., Colombo, F., ... & Michie, S. (2022). The Lancet Commission on lessons for the future from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Lancet, 400(10359), 1224-1280. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(22)01585-9

Aknin, L. B., Dunn, E. W., & Whillans, A. V. (2022). The Emotional Rewards of Prosocial Spending Are Robust and Replicable in Large Samples. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/09637214221121100

Cash, T. A., Aknin, L. B., & Proulx, J. D. E. (2022). Which Features of Prosocial Spending Recollections Predict Post-Recall Happiness? A Pre-registered Investigation. Collabra: Psychology, 8(1), 33958. https://doi.org/10.1525/collabra.33958

Proulx, J. D. E., Aknin, L. B., & Barasch, A. (2022). Let’s Give Together: Can Collaborative Giving Boost Generosity? Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1177/08997640221074699

Sachs, J. D., Karim, S. A., Aknin, L. B., Allen, J., Brosbøl, K., Barron, G. C., ... & Bartels, J. (2021). Priorities for the COVID-19 pandemic at the start of 2021: Statement of the Lancet COVID-19 Commission. The Lancet. doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00388-3

Croft, A., Atkinson, C., Sandstrom, G., Orbell, S., & Aknin, L. B. (Accepted). Loosening the GRIP (Gender Roles Inhibiting Prosociality) to promote gender quality. Personality and Social Psychology Review. 1088868320964615

Sachs, J. D., Karim, S. A., Aknin, L. B., Allen, J., Brosbøl, K., Barron, G. C., ... & Bartels, J. G. (2020). Lancet COVID-19 Commission Statement on the occasion of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly. The Lancet, 396(10257), 1102-1124.

Wiwad, D., Mercier, B., Piff, P. K., Shariff, A., & Aknin, L. (2020). Recognizing the impact of COVID-19 on the poor alters attitudes towards poverty and inequality. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 93. 104083. (OSF Page)

Thornton, E., & Aknin, L. B. (2020). Assessing the validity of the Self versus Other Interest Implicit Association Test. PLoS ONE. 15(6): e0234032. (OSF Pages: Study 1; Study 2)

Mercier, B., Wiwad, D., Robinson, A., Aknin, L. B., Piff, P. K., Shariff, A. F. (2020). Free will and inequality. Collabra: Psychology, 6(1), 25. (OSF Page)

Wiwad, D., Piff, P. K., Robinson, A. R. Aknin, L. B., Mercier, B., Shariff, A. (2020). Shifting attributions for poverty motivates opposition to inequality and enhances egalitarianism. Nature Human Behaviour. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-020-0835-8. (OSF Page

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