The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos Archiv

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

'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.

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.

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.

We talk a lot about psychopaths - but rarely discuss their polar opposites, super altruists. These are people who go to extreme lengths to help others - even though their acts of kindness might cost them time, money or expose them to physical danger. These folk are also happier than the rest of us.

A super altruist once saved the life of psychology professor Abigail Marsh - so she devoted her career to understanding what drives these amazing and happy people and how we call all learn to be more like them.

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.

Do you want to be happier? Complain less? Enjoy your work more? Find time for the things that matter to you?

Yale's Dr. Laurie Santos has studied the science of happiness and found that many of us do the exact opposite of what will truly make our lives better. Based on her Ivy League psychology course, Laurie returns with a new season of shows that will change the way you think about becoming happier.

The Happiness Lab from Pushkin Industries returns April 27.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The pandemic has us all glued to our screens. Smartphones, tablets, laptops, and TVs provide vital information, social connection, and distractions—but excessive or unstructured screen use can increase anxiety, reduce focus, and worsen stress. Catherine Price, founder of Screen/Life Balance and author of How To Break Up With Your Phone, shares her tips to develop healthy screen habits, set digital boundaries, and make sure our devices ehance our happiness, not our anxiety.

Resources Mentioned:

- "How to Create Screen-Life Balance When Life Has Shifted to Screens," (The New York Times, 2020)

Related episodes of "The Happiness Lab":

- "Dial D for Distracted"

- "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.

The heaviest burden of Covid-19 has fallen on the shoulders of medical staff, first responders and others who care for the sick and vulnerable. These people are saving lives, while putting their own health and mental wellbeing at risk.

Several doctors and nurses have written asking for advice on the small ways they can make their daily lives a little easier to bear. So we asked cardiologist and wellbeing expert Dr Michael Rocha to explain the ways he's preparing for shifts on a Covid ward.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Many people seek Laurie's advice on how to be happier despite this awful pandemic. Prof Katy Milkman invited Laurie to appear on the Choiceology podcast to talk about the things she is doing personally to optimise her happiness amid the fear and stress. We thought we'd share Katy's interview with you so you can hear Laurie on the other side of the microphone for a change.

(Choiceology is an original podcast from Charles Schwab. Dr Laurie Santos and The Happiness Lab are not affiliated with Schwab and the views expressed may not necessarily reflect those of The Charles Schwab Corporation or its affiliates.)

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.