They claims that achieving goals give us a far greater sense of satisfaction that abstract concepts of helping others.
The team even admit that chasing happiness without clearly defined goals could make us unhappy, resulting in 'helper burnout'.
Givers are likely to experience greater happiness if they frame acts of benevolence in concrete rather than abstract terms, according to the new study.
'Although the desire for personal happiness may be clear, the path to achieving it is indefinite,' said Jennifer Aaker at Stanford University, who led the research.
'One reason for this hazy route to happiness is that although people often think they know what leads to happiness, their predictions about what will make them happy are often inaccurate.'
The team say one path to happiness is through concrete, specific goals of benevolence – like making someone smile or increasing recycling – instead of following similar but more abstract goals – like making someone happy or saving the environment.
The reason is that when you pursue concretely framed goals, your expectations of success are more likely to be met in reality.
On the other hand, broad and abstract goals may bring about happiness' dark side – unrealistic expectations.