Determinants of Human Happiness
Dr. Matt Killingsworth
In this talk, I'll share empirical evidence from my research on the determinants of happiness. We'll examine how happiness is shaped by two key domains: (a) our remarkable and important but sometimes dangerous ability to think about what isn't happening (also known as mind-wandering or task-unrelated thought), and (b) our interactions with our friends, partners, children, co-workers and the other humans we see in our daily lives, what properties of those interactions add to our happiness, and how our social experiences are shaped by our personalities. I hope you'll find it interesting, and useful in advancing your understanding of happiness and its causes.
Speaker:
Matt's research focuses on understanding human happiness. He is a Senior Fellow at Wharton People Analytics at the University of Pennsylvania and the creator and director of trackyourhappiness.org, a global research project that uses smartphones to collect real-time happiness data and track the lives of people around the world. Matt's research investigates many aspects of people's lives, including happiness at work, the relationship between money and happiness, the impact of social connection on happiness, how a person's thinking affects their experience and productivity, and other topics. The goal of his research is to create an integrated statistical model of human happiness and its causes, with insights that can guide the measurement and improvement of happiness at personal, organization, societal levels.
His scientific research has been widely covered in the national and international media, including the New York Times, Good Morning America, NPR Science Friday, Time Magazine, the BBC, and many other outlets. His TEDx talk on the relationships between mind-wandering and happiness has over 3,000,000 views. Matt earned his doctorate in psychology from Harvard University, where his dissertation on human happiness was awarded a university-wide prize for scientific excellence and originality. He also holds degrees in Engineering and Economics from Duke University.
Registration is free for Supporting and Lifetime members of the MAPP Alumni Association.
Registration for Basic members costs $20. Want to get this webinar for free? If you are a Penn MAPP graduate, you can pay the $49.95 dues now to become a supporting member. You'll get free registration for this webinar and for other continuing education webinars coming up in the next 12 months.
Registration for the general public costs $25.
