Across seven preregistered studies with 1,362 participants, people judged meaningfulness more by benefits to society than by benefits to themselves, whereas judgments of happiness weighed self-benefits equally or more heavily. This pattern held when evaluating jobs, other people's lives, advice, and one's own experiences, though self-benefits played a larger role in first-person meaning judgments than in third-person ones. The findings indicate that meaning perceptions are more self-transcendent than happiness perceptions.
People judge meaningful experiences by how much they benefit society, not just themselves. Across 7 preregistered studies with 1,362 participants, benefits to society weighed more heavily than benefits to the self when evaluating the meaning of jobs, other people's lives, and advice. In contrast, happiness judgments weighed benefits to the self similarly to or more than benefits to society. The same pattern appeared in participants' own experiences, though self-benefit played a larger role in first-person meaning judgments than in third-person ones. The findings suggest meaning perceptions are more self-transcendent than happiness perceptions.