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    Education

    The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos

    The Happiness Lab is serving up scientifically-backed takes this summer that are so hot, even your SPF 50 won’t protect you.

    With the help of behavioral scientists, historians, and cultural critics, Yale psychologist Dr. Laurie Santos challenges some of our biggest assumptions about what it takes to live a good life. Dr. Laurie explores topics like why we should forget about TMI and lean into oversharing, how dumping small talk makes for better conversations, why the kids these days are actually doing just fine, and how men can establish strong bromances. Each episode unpacks a bold, counterintuitive claim — using research, data, and expert insight to question the conventional wisdom around happiness and wellbeing.

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    Latest Episodes:
    Happiness Lessons of The Ancients: Plato Sep 21, 2020
    Show notes

    Plato likened us all to charioteers trying to control two wayward horses. The steeds represent the competing wants and desires that constantly pull us off course and away from a happier life.

    Yale professor Tamar Gendler joins Dr Laurie Santos to examine how the ancient Greek philosopher didn't only diagnose the internal tensions we all face, but also offered a cure. The horses can be made to pull in the direction you command... but each must be coaxed in the right way.

    Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.


    Happiness Lessons of The Ancients: Aristotle Sep 14, 2020
    Show notes

    He gave us biology, physics and drama... but Greek philosopher Aristotle also thought deeply about how humans can flourish and live happy lives of virtue.

    Yale professor Tamar Gendler tells Dr Laurie Santos about Aristotle's wellbeing insights and how he recommended taking daily "baby steps" towards becoming the sort of happy, moderate person we aspire to be. A kind of ancient "fake it, 'til you make it" ethos.

    Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.


    How to Be a Better Ally Jun 29, 2020
    Show notes

    You might detest bigotry and injustice, but have you done anything to address these problems? There are many reasons we stay silent and inactive when we know we should intervene to defend the rights of others. We look at the psychology underpinning our reluctance to act and the ways in which we can match our moral beliefs with concrete actions.

    Featuring James Barr and Dan Hudson, co-hosts of the podcast 'A Gay and a Non-Gay'.

    WARNING: This episode talks frankly about discrimination, hate crimes and sex.

    For an even deeper dive into the research we talk about in the show visit happinesslab.fm

    Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.


    The War For Kindness Jun 22, 2020
    Show notes

    Feeling you belong to a group can be great - but it also has a darker side, leading us down an unhappy path of hatred and violence towards people with different identities and backgrounds.

    Dr Laurie Santos talks to Mina Cikara - whose homeland descended into a bloody civil war - and Jamil Zaki about how we can fight hatred with empathy, kindness and difficult conversations.

    (Deep canvassing clips courtesy of The Leadership Lab https://leadership-lab.org/ at the Los Angeles LGBT Center.)

    For an even deeper dive into the research we talk about in the show visit happinesslab.fm

    Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.


    Why Experiences Make You Happier Than Things Jun 15, 2020
    Show notes

    Cait Flanders went deep into debt to buy all the clothes, books and gadgets she was convinced would make her happier. But she soon realized that doing things—rather than having things — was a much more fulfilling way to spend her hard-earned income. Dr. Laurie explains the psychology of material vs. experiential spending and why investing in experiences like concerts, vacations, and dining out creates longer-lasting joy.
    Experts Mentioned:
    - Bruce Hood, Professor of Developmental Psychology in Society, University of Bristol
    - Amit Kuman, Assistant Professor of Marketing, University of Texas Austin

    Resources Mentioned:
    - The Year of Less by Cait Flanders (2018)
    - Possessed, Why We Want More Than We Need by Bruce Hood (2019)
    - "Does Economic Growth Improve the Human Lot? Some Empirical Evidence," (Nations and Households in Economic Growth, 1974)
    - Diderot Effect

    Related episodes of "The Happiness Lab":
    - "The Unhappy Millionaire"
    - "Let Slip the Dogs of More Happiness"
    - "Nerd Out! The Happiness of Being a Fan"
    - "Move to Your Happy Place"
    - "Sight and Sound: How to Joyfully Awaken Your Senses"
    - "Smell, Taste, and Touch: How to Joyfully Awaken Your Senses"
    - "Can Spiritual Experiences and Psychedlics Make Us Happy? (Live from Boston)"
    - "How to Lead the Richest Life Possible "

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.


    How to Kick Bad Habits (and Start Good Ones) Jun 08, 2020
    Show notes

    We all have bad habits - things we eat, drink, do or say that cause us unhappiness. We repeat these behaviours over and over again - almost as if we are on autopilot. But we can break free from them, and use the mechanics of habit formation to make doing good things feel effortless.

    Dr Laurie Santos meets a scientist who sleeps in her running gear and a former army doctor who went to Vietnam to fight a wave of heroin abuse in the military and discovered something startling about habits.

    For an even deeper dive into the research we talk about in the show visit happinesslab.fm

    Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.


    The Science of Attention and Distraction Jun 01, 2020
    Show notes

    Your smartphone might be making you miserable and you might not even realize it. These machines are technological marvels, but our addiction to them is causing us to miss out on the things happening all around us. Dr. Laurie explores the science of in-attentional blindness—our brain's remarkable ability to miss things that are right in front of us—and how our phones impact our already limited attention. Psychologist Liz Dunn, whose research shows that even the mere presence of a phone during social gatherings can reduce our enjoyment of them, and science journalist Catherine Price, founder of Screen/Life Balance and author of How To Break Up With Your Phone, explain the science of attention and distraction, and provide useful tips for mindfully using technology.
    Experts Mentioned:
    - Christopher Chabris, Professor & Director of Decision Sciences, Geisinger Research Institute
    - Daniel Simons, Professor of Psychology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
    - Brian Scholl, Professor of Psychology, Yale University
    - Brian's Lab Research Projects
    - Elizabeth Dunn, Professor of Psychology, University of British Columbia

    Resources Mentioned:
    - The Inivisble Gorilla: How Our Intuitions Deceive Us by Chrisopher Chabris and Daniel Simons (2010)
    - "Gorillas in our Midst: Sustained Inattentional Blindness for Dynamic Events," (Perception, 1999)
    - "A Wandering Mind Is an Unhappy Mind," (Science, 2010)
    - "No Time to Kill: How Smartphone is Pushing Chewing Gum out of Fashion," (The Economic Times, 2017)
    - "Cell Phone Use Latency in a Midwestern USA University Population," (Journal of Technology in Behavioral Science, 2017)
    Related episodes of "The Happiness Lab":
    - "Good Screens and Bad Screens"
    - "Tame Those Devices: 10 Tips to Achieve Digital Balance"
    - "How to Kick Bad Habits (and Start Good Ones)"
    - "Reconnect with the Moment"

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.


    For Whom the Alarm Clock Tolls May 25, 2020
    Show notes

    'Time famine' is when you just don't feel you have a spare moment... and it can make you miserable. It's a feeling Dr Laurie Santos knows only too well, so she seeks help from her time affluence hero, Idler author Tom Hodgkinson.

    Tom lives life to the full, but he ensures he carves out time to wander around, think, chat with friends and even take naps. He argues that 'idling' is vital to leading a happy, creative and productive existence. Is he right? And if so, what can we all do to break free from the tyranny of time?

    For an even deeper dive into the research we talk about in the show visit happinesslab.fm

    Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.


    Working Your Way to Happiness May 18, 2020
    Show notes

    Marty kills rats... but if you asked him what his job is he'd say it was "solving problems" and "helping people". How we view our work can contribute greatly to our daily levels of happiness - far more than money or status.

    Dr Laurie Santos examines how we all came to ignore the importance of job satisfaction and hears from Professor Amy Wrzesniewski about "job crafting" - the reframing skill that happy people like Marty use to see their careers as more than just a way to make money.

    For an even deeper dive into the research we talk about in the show visit happinesslab.fm

    Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.


    PJ and Alex Love to Gripe May 04, 2020
    Show notes

    Reply All hosts PJ and Alex love to trade gripes. Their complaints about the minor annoyances of modern life make for great audio, but are the podcasters making a classic mistake?

    We all like to complain - thinking that venting does us good - but Dr Laurie Santos explains to PJ and Alex that they should gripe less if they want to be happier, and sets them a task to say something nice.

    For an even deeper dive into the research we talk about in the show visit happinesslab.fm

    Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.


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