Happycast: The Science of Happiness

Strangers, maybe just friends you've never met

Happycast: The Science of Happiness

Show Notes

Those small interactions you have with strangers have quite a few hidden benefits! A Happier Year is now available — an illustrated calendar with 366 science-based actions. Use the code "happycastlistener" for 10% off at checkout on ahappieryear.com [00:42] Talk to strangers on your commute, it'll make you happier [07:15] Little social interactions make us happier [09:19] Introverts still need to talk [11:45] Affective forecasting, the reason we don't think we'll enjoy eating spaghetti [13:28] Smile at strangers, it makes them feel included [14:18] Put your phone down, you'll smile more

References Epley, N., & Schroeder, J. (2014). Mistakenly Seeking Solitude, Journal of Experimental Psychology, 143(5), 1980–1999. Sandstrom, G. M., & Dunn, E. W. (2014). Is Efficiency Overrated?: Minimal Social Interactions Lead to Belonging and Positive Affect, Social Psychological and Personality Science, 5(4), 437–442. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550613502990 Zelenski, J. M., Whelan, D. C., Nealis, L. J., Besner, C. M., Santoro, M. S., & Wynn, J. E. (2013). Personality and Affective Forecasting : Trait Introverts Underpredict the Hedonic Benefits of Acting Extraverted, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 104(6), 1092–1108. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0032281 Wesselmann, E. D., Cardoso, F. D., Slater, S., & Williams, K. D. (2012). To Be Looked at as Though Air : Civil Attention Matters. Psychological Science, 23(2) 166 –168. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797611427921 Kushlev, K., Hunter, J. F., Proulx, J., Pressman, S. D., & Dunn, E. (2019). Computers in Human Behavior Smartphones reduce smiles between strangers. Computers in Human Behavior, 91, 12–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018.09.023

Huge thanks to Ashley for suggesting this week's topic! :)

More from Happycast: The Science of Happiness

Apr 22, 2021

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Oct 28, 2020

Today we are going to talk about three different papers assessing: healthy selfishness, optimism, and acceptance. These three papers provide the basis for three actions in A Happier Year. Let's dive into these papers and get a sneak peek of what's in A Happier Year. [00:00] Intro [02:36] Healthy Selfishness [06:25] Looking forward to tomorrow [09:25] Is anything bugging you right now?

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Today we are learning about active leisure! Why do we feel so "blah" after watching Netflix and what can we do instead? What psychological needs are we missing out on? [00:30] Something exciting! [02:30] Active leisure vs passive leisure [04:35] The benefits of active leisure [06:25] How does active leisure benefit us (vs passive leisure) [11:10] An example of active leisure: Rock climbing [13:05] Finding active leisure that suits you [14:06] What are you actually tired of? [15:54] A Happier Year is on Kickstarter! bit.ly/ahappieryear

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