Week 2 PDF - The Science of Happiness & Wellbeing Course

EL PT N Prof. Manas Kumar Mandal Rekhi Centre of Excellence for the Science of Happiness Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur Lecture 06 – Basic Issues  EL Why does happiness matter? PT What do we know about happiness? What are our expe...

EL PT N Prof. Manas Kumar Mandal Rekhi Centre of Excellence for the Science of Happiness Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur Lecture 06 – Basic Issues  EL Why does happiness matter? PT What do we know about happiness? What are our expected learning outcomes? N What can I read to learn & feel better?  Transdisciplinary science EL Context - Content Choice - Compulsion PT Affluence – autonomy - appreciation N Why does happiness matter? Offers us meaning and purpose in life Helps discover new passions, generate curiosity EL Builds stronger coping skill & emotional resources PT Gives us the ability to tolerate risks & anxiety Keeps us healthy – mentally & physically N Why is it important to study happiness? To develop insight about ourselves To get rid of misconceptions about happiness EL To supporting turbulent life experiences & manage failure To create happiness for others PT N The science of happiness EL A transdisciplinary science PT A context-based curricula An introspective science N A choice-based commitment Guiding philosophy… Context Life over over career EL content PT Attitude Choice over over N compulsion aptitude Great Institutions… in pursuit of happiness Yale University: Psychology & the Good Life - getting scientific strategies to be happy EL McGill University: Lessons of community & compassion - Building social connectedness through policy & program PT Stanford University: Designing life: Life design Lab - Adding ‘life’ to the college experience N University of Berkeley: Strong social ties, greater good Harvard University: Life-long happiness University of Pennsylvania: Helplessness to Hope What makes us happy…? EL ▪ affluence in bio-psycho-social resource that determine the quality of living & prosperity PT ▪ autonomy in freedom to choose or in meaningful physical & mental engagements N ▪ appreciation for life-as-a-whole that determine life satisfaction [subjective well-being] Happiness: an unknown territory Science or Practice: Does science explain happiness? EL Genotype or Phenotype: Do we have a gene for happiness? Process or Outcome: When do we feel happy? PT Thinking or Blinking: Is it a feeling or cognition? Mind or Mindset: What sort of world is this? N Conclusions … Insight (for self) & awareness (about others) Sustain (positive feeling) & adapt (to EL stressful experience) Between-ness (with interpersonal skill) & PT within-ness (to develop wisdom) Enable (the weak) & evolve (with the sense N of satisfaction)  Why do we How is happiness imagine future generated in our poorly? brains? Is there a What biological healthy EL purpose it psychological serves? immune system? PT How to attain What are the real & lasting core components experience? N of well-being? What are the Is there a Model secrets of of Happiness happiness? (PERMA)? Ted Talks: Happiness Dan Gilbert: https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_gilbert_asks_why_are_we_happy?langu age=en EL Robert Waldinger: https://www.ted.com/talks/robert_waldinger_what_makes_a_good_life_ lessons_from_the_longest_study_on_happiness?language=en PT Shaun anchor: https://www.ted.com/talks/shawn_achor_the_happy_secret_to_better_ N work?language=en Emily E Smith: https://www.ted.com/talks/emily_esfahani_smith_there_s_more_to_life _than_being_happy?language=en N PT EL  EL PT N Prof. Manas Kumar Mandal Rekhi Centre of Excellence for the Science of Happiness Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur Lecture 07 - Myths & Misconceptions 1  EL ▪ What are our misconceptions about happiness? ▪ Can money buy happiness? PT ▪ Does science explain happiness? ▪ Why are we unhappy? N 2  Money & happiness EL Freedom of choice Pain & pleasure PT Hedonic adaptation N Power of forgiveness 3 More money does increase happiness EL ▪ Behavioral economists have found that happiness begins to plateau after a decent salary PT ▪ Kahnemann studied on 4,50,000 people in USA: found N that happiness does not increase after a salary of $75,000/year 4 Happiness comes from receiving gifts ▪ Researchers have found that happiness level goes much EL higher when someone purchases a gift. Finding applied to PT 136 countries with empirical data (Dunn et al., 2008, Science) N ▪ Research has also shown a neural link (temporo-parietal region of the brain) between generosity & happiness by fMRI (Park et al., 2017, Nature) 5 Freedom of choice enhance happiness ▪ It’s better to have some choice than no choice; but having too many choices may reduce happiness EL ▪ Research by Barry Schwartz has shown that too many PT choices create burden on cognitive abilities & cripple N decision making capabilities 6 Longer vacations will make us happier ▪ Two week’s vacation is not twice as good as one EL week vacation PT ▪ In long vacation, memories mix together; it does N not make one happier 7 Negative memories prevent us from being happy ▪ Research shows that forgiving other for past misdeeds reduce long-term stress. Forgiveness has great EL unburdening effect (Zheng et al., 2014) PT ▪ The study shows that forgiving people have more physical fitness & better quality of life N 8 Pain reduces pleasure Research (Bastian et al., 2014) shows that: EL ▪ Relief from pain helps us recognize pleasure PT ▪ Pain forms social bonds ▪ Pain captures your attention N ▪ Pain is inevitable but suffering is optional 9 Getting my dream job will make me happy ▪ Research (Lyubomirsky, 2008) shows that everyone becomes EL habituated with the novelty, excitement with the new job PT ▪ We become unhappy soon with the dream job N 10 Why are we unhappy… ▪ Comparison with others (it brings discontent: B.J. Chung) ▪ Lack of gratitude (we do not wake up in the morning with EL the gains; we focus on things that we lack) ▪ Getting stuck in comfort zone (this is a beautiful zone, but PT nothing grows there) ▪ Living always in past or future (out of 60,000 thoughts that N we run each day, 95% are repeats: anxious people live in future, depressed live in the past) 11  Happiness does not always come from material gains EL It is just not a momentary feeling, it can last PT …not only meant for those who deserve it Happiness is a choice… N 12 Ted Talks: Happiness Nic Marks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CH2ys_IgV4Y&ab_channel= EL TEDxTalks PT Raj Raghunathan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIp3rHn3PiI&ab_channel=T EDxTalks N 13  N PT 14 EL  EL PT N Prof. Manas Kumar Mandal Rekhi Centre of Excellence for the Science of Happiness Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur Lecture 08 - Happiness: The unanswered questions  EL What makes us happy? Questions that remain unanswered… PT Research findings in happiness research What we may conclude… N  Choice vs Compulsion EL Affluence vs Autonomy PT Memory vs Moment Hopefulness vs Helplessness N  Happiness Unanswered questions-I Happiness: A choice or a compulsion or a chance? EL If happiness is a choice, why so many of us are PT unhappy? – Affluence vs Autonomy Shall we have more choices to become happy? – N Best, Good or Right choice  Happiness Unanswered questions-II Are we naturally happy? – Genotype or Phenotype EL Can money buy happiness? – Well-being or Ill-being What kind of happiness do people value most? PT Memory or Moment N  Happiness Unanswered questions-III Are we unhappy because of ‘hypothetical’ missed EL opportunities? – Self or Comparative choices Is it not alright to have some bad choices in life? – PT Hopefulness vs Helplessness Do failed choices prevent us from being happy? – N Forgiving vs Forgetful  Happiness Unanswered questions-IV Are we hard-wired to focus more on unhappiness? EL – Thought or Belief Why do some people choose to be unhappy? – PT Othering or Belonging N How do I get happiness then? Between-ness or Within-ness  Happiness is a choice – Some pursue it others create it EL Happy people are no different from others, they PT simply process information differently Unnecessary focus on happiness make us unhappy N  https://happyproject.in/happiness-questions/ https://www.wellandgood.com/questions-about-happiness/ EL https://worldhappiness.report/faq/ PT N N PT EL  EL PT N Prof. Manas Kumar Mandal Rekhi Centre of Excellence for the Science of Happiness Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur Lecture 09 – Evolution of Happiness  EL Are we designed for happiness? What is the evolutionary purpose of happiness? PT Is there a difference between happiness & Pleasure? N  EL Evolution of happiness Jealousy, distress, horror PT Pleasure & happiness N Evolutionary theory of emotion EL According to the evolutionary theory of emotion, our emotions exist because they PT serve an adaptive role Emotions motivate people to respond quickly N to stimuli in the environment, which helps improve the chances of success & survival Evolutionary root of happiness EL Humans are not designed to be happy, or even content. Instead, we are designed PT primarily to survive and reproduce, like every other creature in the natural world N A state of contentment is discouraged by nature because it would lower our guard against possible threats to our survival Theory of Evolution : Charles Darwin C. Darwin & A. Wallace proposed that evolution occurs because of a phenomenon called natural selection EL PT ‘Organisms arise & develop through the natural selection of small, inherited variations that increase the individual's ability to compete, N survive, & reproduce’ (Wiki) Theory of Evolution : Charles Darwin  Traits that help organisms to survive is passed to the offspring (survival of the fittest) EL  The mechanism by which this evolution takes place is natural selection PT  Organisms that possess heritable traits that enable them to better adapt will be more N likely to survive Happiness…an evolutionary perspective  Survival in early days was binary; one person’s gain EL was to other person’s loss (e.g., finding mate)  Happiness is a proximate goal (success) while anxiety https://www.cambridge.org/in/academic/subjects/life- PT sciences/darwin/expression-emotions-man-and- is a distant goal (failure) to achieve adaptation animals?format=PB  While happiness has benefits, so does discontent; N both are necessary for survival Happiness…away from evolution  Not all forms of happiness can be explained by evolution; culture, societies play a major role EL  Societies viewed happiness differently, that helped to shape their culture & survival strategies PT  While some cultures define happiness as a function of good fortune & prosperity, others N define it as personal well-being & satisfaction Happiness…Martin Seligman  ‘Happiness has a grand purpose in EL evolution. The emotion broadens our intellectual, social, physical resources’ PT  These resources we draw upon when a N threat or opportunity presents itself Happiness…Daniel Nettle  ‘We are not designed for happiness or EL unhappiness…but to strive for the goals that evolution has built us into’ PT  Happiness is not meant so much for an actual N reward but as an imaginary goal that gives us direction & purpose Why unhappiness is important for survival?  It is evolutionarily helpful since it gives rise to emotions like jealously, distress, horror to develop, & EL the tendency to return to happiness PT  Unhappiness & its cousins, misery, pain prevent starvation, & help us survive N  We are not hard-wired to stay happy all the time Happiness vs Pleasure Dopamine, associated with reward and HILARY BRUECK,SAMANTHA LEE EL MAR 24, 2018 motivation, is very different from serotonin, associated with contentment & happiness PT ‘The language difference between "happiness" N and "pleasure" is subtle, but the chemical difference is huge’. Neural pathways are different Why addictive pleasure is not same as happiness…  Pleasure is Addictive, Short-term, Visceral EL Typically experienced alone Makes the brain say ‘I want more’ PT  Happiness is N Not addictive, long-term Inspires giving, generally shared Makes the brain say ‘its enough’  Happiness has its root in evolution EL Culture, societies also play a major role in happiness PT There is a fundamental difference between happiness & pleasure N  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Origin_of_Species https://labs.la.utexas.edu/buss/files/2015/09/TheEvolutio nofHappiness.pdf EL https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_under standing_evolution_can_help_us_to_be_happy PT N N PT EL  EL PT N Prof. Manas Kumar Mandal Rekhi Centre of Excellence for the Science of Happiness Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur Lecture 10 – Belief & gene How does belief affect our happiness? EL  What does in belief mean?  How far faith & health are related? PT  Is there a biology that regulate belief? N 2  Belief EL Faith Placebo PT DNA N Gene 3 Belief: A state in which someone holds a premise to be true often unaware about the influence breeds mindset EL offers meaning to our action PT  Perceptions: beliefs about how the world seems to be  Opinions: beliefs about how I should interpret reality N  Predictions: beliefs about how I think things will end up  Meta: beliefs about beliefs 4 Primal belief …an individual’s most basic belief about the general character of the world (Clifton, 2021) EL https://ppc.sas.upenn.edu/sites/defa Unidentified beliefs shape our behavior – often ult/files/primalworldbeliefsclifton.pdf dramatically via ambiguity interpretation (McNamara, PT et al., 2006) The view that the world is a safe, good place may alter ambiguity interpretation towards seeing N situations as happier, meaningful 5 Primary Primal: Good (vs. Bad): it is belief that the world is a delightful place that is beautiful, safe, fascinating, abundant & full of meaning Secondary Primal: EL Safe (vs dangerous): that the world is typically safe, comfortable, stable, fair; there is rarely a cause for alarm PT Enticing (vs dull): that the world is brimming with opportunities, worth exploring; little room for boredom N Alive (vs mechanistic): that is world is animated by intentionality, that interacts with you & needs your help; there is a cause to listen what the world is saying 6 Some research findings…  Faith & longevity have relation: 2-3yrs of additional EL life with religious faith http://content.time.com/time/cov ers/0,16641,20090223,00.html  HIV patients who pray have higher immunity cells PT  People who believe in loving God fare better after an illness than people who believe in punitive God N  The brain is in a different state during short-term religious fast 7  EL https://www.ufrgs.br/imunovet/molecular_immunology/therapy.html PT  Believing in a cure leads to real bodily changes N  Pain reducing chemicals are released after a placebo is given 8  The biology of belief (Bruce Lipton, 2015) Premise I: The cell is like a human body & it can function without DNA EL PT  The nucleus which contains genes is viewed as the control center – the brain of the cell N  If the nucleus is removed, the cell continues of perform all its life functions 9 Premise II: DNA is controlled by the environment  DNA is coated in a protective sleeve of protein, EL opens up with environmental signals PT  If there is no perception, DNA is inactive N https://www.civilsdaily.com/biotechnology-basics-of-cell-nucleus-chromosomes-dna-genes-etc/ The biology of belief: Bruce Lipton 10 Premise III: Perception of environment is not necessarily the reality EL  Environmental signal is separate from organism’s perception of signals PT  Human perception acts as a filter in between N The biology of belief: Bruce Lipton 11 Premise IV: Human beliefs, choosing to perceive a positive or negative environment EL  Human senses are programmed in a way to determine which gene to be activated in a PT situation (growth or protection) N  Negative perception activate protection genes, triggering fight or flight response The biology of belief: Bruce Lipton 12 Premise V: Fight or Flight  Negative thoughts boost reflexes, at the cost of higher order mental functions EL  Beliefs act as a filter between real world & biology; PT therefore, our choosing of beliefs determine what N genes are to be expressed The biology of belief: Bruce Lipton 13  The common idea is that gene determines our EL physical & mental characteristics  A person’s perception, not genetic programming PT determines our behavior  Our beliefs select our genes, that determines our N behavior 14 https://ppc.sas.upenn.edu/sites/default/files/primalworldbelie fsclifton.pdf https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01145/full EL https://www.jstor.org/stable/1198728#metadata_info_tab_contents PT N 15  N PT 16 EL