A Little Good Goes an Unexpectedly Long Way: Underestimating the Positive Impact of Kindness on Recipients

Prosociality promotes happiness for givers and receivers, but we find in field and laboratory settings that givers systematically undervalue their positive impact on recipients. Miscalibrated expectations create a barrier to prosociality—to the detriment of one’s own, and others’, wellbeing—because expected value guides choices to engage in prosocial behavior.