Prosocial behavior and well-being in everyday life: an intensive longitudinal perspective

The present thesis explores the role of prosocial behavior on hedonic, eudaimonic well-being, and loneliness with intensive longitudinal data, to explore the within-person relations among these variables, which have received little attention in everyday life. The first study utilized ecological momentary assessments to examine the role of prosocial behavior on hedonic (life satisfaction and happiness) and eudaimonic (close to other people and meaning in life) well-being in two samples, consisting of 166 British adults and 82 Scottish adolescents. Data were collected three times a day across 28 days. Dynamic Structural Equation Modeling revealed positive relations between prosocial behavior and hedonic and eudaimonic well-being at both between and within-person levels across the samples. The second study investigated the role of prosocial behavior on hedonic well-being in Italian and Spanish young adults over two-time intervals: daily (10 days, N=388) and weekly (5 weeks, N=260). Using hedonic balance as a measure of emotional well-being, Random Intercept – Cross Lagged Panel Models revealed that daily prosocial behaviors improved only life satisfaction from one day to the next, though this effect did not persist weekly. However, we found no significant effects of prosocial behavior on hedonic balance in any sample. The third study examined the putative causal effects of randomized encouragement of prosocial behavior on transient loneliness and well-being among young adults. Over 21 days, 55 participants reported daily prosocial behavior, loneliness, and well-being. On 14 random mornings, they received a message encouraging them to enact prosocial behaviors. Results showed that while encouraged prosocial behavior did not reduce loneliness or increase well-being, spontaneous prosocial behavior was associated with decreased loneliness and improved well-being. Overall, the results of the three studies presented in this thesis support the large literature on the beneficial effects of prosocial behavior on people's well-being. These results might provide useful insights for psychologists working with adolescents and adults, encouraging the adoption of an approach focused on strengthening such behaviors in everyday life.