Want to be happy? Make others smile

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ANI Washington
Last Updated : Apr 28 2014 | 12:55 PM IST

A new study has revealed one can be happy by making others smile.

Researchers at Stanford University have claimed that making someone smile is as good for the giver as it is for the receiver and if one sets out to make someone happy, instead of just smile, then they will probably fail, ABC News reported.

According to the study, as happiness is a vague, abstract condition and in the end one won't know if the other person is really happy, it can cause frustration and thus unhappiness.

Psychologist Jennifer Aaker, lead author of the study said that a prosocial act can not only boost the happiness of the recipient, but it can boost the happiness of the giver as well, and that making someone smile is a concrete goal, they said, so it's easier to achieve.

The study was published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology.

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First Published: Apr 28 2014 | 12:40 PM IST

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