Opinion Science
A show about the psychology of opinions, where they come from, and how they change. Interviews with experts and deep dives into areas of research uncover the basic psychology of persuasion, communication, and public opinion. Hosted by social psychologist, Andy Luttrell.
Opinion Science
#88: Studying Happiness with Liz Dunn
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Andy Luttrell
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Season 6
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Episode 9
Elizabeth Dunn studies the psychology of happiness. One of her major research areas has looked at generosity's effects on well-being. We're happier when we spend money on other people. But studying happiness has its challenges, especially if we want to build strategies that help people feel happier. So, she shared a snapshot of her research on happiness and a new paper with Dunigan Folk looking at how strong the evidence is for different happiness-boosting strategies.
Things that come up in this episode:
- A big social experiment through the TED organization to see what people do when they receive $10,000 (Dwyer & Dunn, 2022; Dwyer et al., 2023)
- The benefits of generosity for our well-being (see Dunn et al., 2020; also see Episode 23 with Lara Aknin)
- Digging deep into the research on happiness to see how strong the evidence is for happiness-boosting strategies (Folk & Dunn, 2023; also Folk & Dunn, 2024)
For a transcript of this episode, visit this episode's page at: http://opinionsciencepodcast.com/episodes/
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