VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 20 (UPI) -- If you think a large-screen TV will buy you happiness, think again -- U.S. and Canadian researchers say money can't buy happiness, but giving to others can.

The study, published in Science, finds that people report significantly greater happiness if they spend money "pro-socially" -- that is, on gifts for others or charitable donations -- rather than spending on themselves.

University of British Columbia Professor Elizabeth Dunn and graduate student Lara Aknin and Michael Norton of the Harvard Business School looked at a nationally representative sample of more than 630 Americans. They asked participants to rate their general happiness; report their annual income; and provide a breakdown of their monthly spending -- including bills, gifts for themselves, gifts for others and donations to charity.

The researchers gave the participants $5 or $20 and told them to spend it that day. Those who spent the windfall on others reported feeling happier at the end of the day than those who spent the money on themselves.

In another experiment, the researchers measured the happiness levels of employees at a firm before and after they received a bonus of $3,000 to $8,000. What affected the employees' happiness, was not so much the size of the bonus but how it was spent, Dunn said.