logo
episode-header-image
Aug 2017
23m 28s

You 2.0: Decide Already!

Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam
About this episode
In the latest in our You 2.0 series, we bring you a favorite conversation with Harvard researcher Dan Gilbert. He tells us why we're bad at predicting our future happiness, how that affects our decision making, and why we are actually happier after making a decision that feels irrevocable. 
Up next
Oct 26
The Story of Stories
Why is my friend late? How does nuclear fission work? What can I do to help my baby sleep through the night? We all feel the need to understand why certain things happen. Some researchers think the drive to explain the world is a basic human impulse, similar to thirst or hunger. ... Show More
1h 30m
Oct 19
Do You Have Trouble Sleeping?
Millions of us move through our days without getting enough sleep. We know that sleep deprivation can affect our physical health and our mood. But sleep researcher Chris Barnes says a chronic lack of good sleep can also affect how we make decisions and even what we value. He join ... Show More
1h 30m
Oct 12
Why Am I Unhappy?
We often imagine that feelings of unhappiness come from outside us — in our circumstances or the difficult people in our lives. But what if the forces that erode our happiness come from within? Psychologist George Loewenstein joins us to explore why our minds nudge us toward the ... Show More
1h 33m
Recommended Episodes
Apr 2025
ReThinking: We’re wrong about what makes us happy with Dan Gilbert
What do you think will make you happy next year? According to Dan Gilbert’s research, your guess is probably wrong. Dan is a Harvard psychologist, bestselling author of Stumbling on Happiness, and popular TED talker, and he and Adam discuss why it’s so difficult to make accurate ... Show More
38m 21s
Oct 2019
Dan Gilbert on the surprising science of happiness
Psychologist Daniel Gilbert delves deep into the weird, counterintuitive science of happiness and explains why our minds worry about things we needn’t worry about (and fail to worry about things we really should worry about).We're doing a TED Interview survey! If you have a few m ... Show More
1h 1m
Sep 2025
(#1) Elise’s Top Ten: The psychology of your future self | Dan Gilbert
"Human beings are works in progress that mistakenly think they're finished." Dan Gilbert shares recent research on a phenomenon he calls the "end of history illusion," where we somehow imagine that the person we are right now is the person we'll be for the rest of time. Hint: tha ... Show More
9m 24s
Dec 2018
Daniel Kahneman wants you to doubt yourself. Here’s why
What shapes happiness – the experiences we have, or the stories we tell ourselves about them afterwards? When and how does our intuition reliably fail? And why is overconfidence the fatal flaw we should all watch out for? In this fascinating, far-ranging conversation, Chris digs ... Show More
41m 54s
Dec 2021
What's the best way to make a decision?
<p>Life is full of choices, from the mundane (like what to wear today) to the critical (how should we deal with the pandemic?). So how can we make the best decisions? That’s what listener David wants to know.</p><p>To investigate, Caroline Steel learns how being smarter doesn’t n ... Show More
35m 48s
Jan 2020
3 Reasons Why We Make Bad Decisions And How To Get In Control Of Our Lives
Happy 2020! I’m so excited to share that I'm kicking off my own podcast book club. We will be picking a book every single month & we will dive deep into the core messages of the book. Today you’ll learn how comparison, money and having multiple options influence our decision maki ... Show More
34m 40s
Jan 2024
It can change your year
You never know what might happen as a result of that small choice you make today. To learn more about finding true happiness, check out our bestselling book, NEW HAPPY: Getting Happiness Right in a World That's Got It Wrong! Available at www.thenewhappy.com/book 
1m 23s
Aug 2021
Make A Decision
<p>You can't forecast exactly how things are going to go. After taking into consideration a reasonable amount of details, do what feels right and allow yourself to move forward.</p> <p><em>Are you liking the short tips and practical advice on this podcast? You can find more ways ... Show More
1m 57s
Nov 2023
Best of Series: The Power of Passion and Perseverance With Angela Duckworth
In this week's episode of The Psychology Podcast, we continue the "Best of Series" with Angela Duckworth. Angela Duckworth researches self-control and grit, which is defined as passion and perseverance for long term goals. Her research has demonstrated that there are factors that ... Show More
49m 43s
Jan 2023
224 - Feelings are unreliable (Part 2) — with Chris Do
In part two of this series, we are joined again by Nidhi Tewari and Mo Ismail to continue our conversation about the role emotion plays in decision making. As a therapist, Nidhi points out the importance of processing and allowing yourself to feel strong emotions. Chris counters ... Show More
46m 1s