William J. Chopik, PhD

Assistant Professor of Psychology at the Michigan State University

The Dyadic Mechanisms Linking Generosity to Health among Older Couples

There is a robust link between generosity and improved health across the lifespan. However, the factors for why people act generously and how these factors impact health and well-being have been understudied. The proposed project examines the dyadic origins of generosity within couples. Individual and partner personalities were used to predict volunteering, physical activity, and health in a dyadic mediation model in two cohorts of nearly 2,000 couples each. The current study sheds light on how aspects of the social environment increase generosity, which can improve the health and happiness of older adults.

Publications
  • Chopik, W. J., & O’Brien, E. (in press). Happy you, healthy me? Having a happy partner is independently associated with better health in oneself. Health Psychology.
  • Bach, R., Defever, A. M., Chopik, W. J., & Konrath, S. H. (in press). Geographic variation in empathy: A state-level analysis. Journal of Research in Personality.
  • Chopik, W. J., O’Brien, E., & Konrath, S. H. (in press). Differences in empathic concern and perspective taking across 63 countries. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology.