Stumbling on Happiness
By Daniel Gilbert, Professor of Psychology at Harvard University. People want to be happy. To achieve this they must do two things. First, they must predict how they will feel in a variety of possible futures, and second, they must act to bring about the best of these and avoid the worst. Although it seems that knowing what will make us happy is easier than getting it, research in psychology and behavioral economics tells a different story. People not only have trouble predicting the future, they have trouble predicting how much they will like it when they get there.
I will describe what science has to teach us about why we seem to stumble on (and not "upon") happiness.
(from royalsociety.org)
| Stumbling on Happiness |
| Related Links |
| The Pursuit of Happiness What makes us happy? Is it a genetic trait that we are stuck with, or a product of events unfolding in our living? Does it help to be rich? What can be done to overcome set-backs and improve our sense of well being? |
| Living Longer, Living Better This series explores steps we can take to promote our long-term health, including nutrition and exercise, the value of sleep, the importance of finding meaning, and healthy aging and aging mechanisms. |
| Science of the Mind: How the Brain Works to Regulate Mood, Emotions, Stress and Sleep Scientific understanding of the brain is increasing at a dramatic rate, but how can we use this information to improve our psychological wellness? |
| Introduction to Psychology Providing a comprehensive overview of the scientific study of thought and behavior, this course explores topics such as perception, communication, learning, memory, decision-making, religion, persuasion, love, lust, hunger, art, fiction, and dreams. |