Description

Sonja Lyubomirsky (AB Harvard, summa cum laude; PhD Stanford) is Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Riverside, and author of the best-selling The How of Happiness and The Myths of Happiness (published in 39 countries). Lyubomirsky’s research—on the possibility of lastingly increasing happiness via gratitude, kindness, and connection interventions—have been the recipients of many grants and honors, including Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Basel, the Diener Award for Outstanding Midcareer Contributions in Personality Psychology, the Christopher Peterson Gold Medal, a Positive Psychology Prize, and the Faculty of the Year Award (twice). She has four kids, ages 12 to 26, and lives in Santa Monica, California.

Abstract

Happiness not only feels good; it is good. Happy people are relatively more creative, productive, and helpful; have more stable marriages and higher incomes, and boast stronger immune systems. Furthermore, it appears that feeling socially connected is the key to happiness. Fortunately, experiments have shown that people can intentionally increase their happiness and connectedness. In this presentation, Sonja Lyubomirsky will describe both classic and brand new research revealing when and why such practices as expressing gratitude, doing acts of kindness, and engaging in more social interactions work “best.” Specifically, motivated by the “positive activity model,” she will describe the critical factors that bolster the likelihood of success – for example, how to determine the right “dosage” or “type" of gratitude or kindness and how to have conversations that make you feel loved. Finally, she will propose several ways by which engaging in presumably happiness-increasing activities may backfire.