Positive vibe fuels generosity: study IF you're feeling positive about 2014, chances are your family and friends will be getting plenty of presents this Christmas. A US study published in the international journal Cognition has found that people who anticipate more personal change over time give more to others than those who believe their lives will remain at a standstill. And with a steady unemployment rate (5.8 per cent), a positive retail outlook and a predicted pick-up in economic growth, Australians may be particularly prone to lavish gift giving this festive season. The study's authors, Daniel Bartels, Trevor Kvaran and Shaun Nichols, used online surveys and real monetary rewards to test 668 American adults' sense of self and willingness to give. The participants beliefs, values, life goals and generosity were measured and manipulated over four different experiments. "When people come to believe that the self changes significantly, they are more generous to others," the authors said. When people feel disconnected from the future self, this reduces their concern about the future self, allowing for the welfare of others to take a more prominent role in their decision making. In the first study, participants completed an online questionnaire assessing their personal beliefs and then were told they had been entered into a lottery in which they had a 25 per cent chance of winning $6. They were also asked how much of their potential winnings they would like to donate to a charity, Save the Children. Those participants who regarded themselves as less connected to their future self, or thought their lives would change in the upcoming year, gave more generously when deciding what money to contribute.