Ep.75: Reflective Happiness: David Myers on Self Perception, Fear, Money and Micro-Friendships

Bounce! Conversations with Larry Weeks

"To know thyself is the beginning of wisdom." - Socrates This podcast is about understanding ourselves a bit better. We'll be exploring insights into what makes us happy as it relates to self-perception, and the various intricate connections between our minds, bodies, and social interactions. My guest on the show is social psychologist David Myers, known for his extensive work in communicating psychological science to both students and the general public. His academic contributions, supported by National Science Foundation have been published in prestigious journals like Science and American Psychologist. David has made psychological research accessible through articles in magazines such as Scientific American and through seventeen books, including both general interest and textbooks. David is best known for his textbook on psychology which is one of the most widely used psychology textbooks in the world. He is also the author of several popular books, including one of the first on happiness called The Pursuit of Happiness: Discovering the Pathway to Fulfillment, Well-Being, and Enduring Personal Joy published in 1993 David’s newest book, "How Do We Know Ourselves?: Curiosities and Marvels of the Human Mind" is the topic of this show. Our conversation covers a wide array of psychology topics including:

• A bit about David’s background.
• We revisit happiness and the latest findings in that field.
• The relationship between happiness and income.
• Goal setting and the material trap
• The benefits of religion and religious engagement paradox.
• Self-Perception Theory.
• Body-mind effects.
• Micro-Friendships: The significant mood boost from brief, positive interactions with strangers.
• We touch on fear Misplaced Fears: How we skew risk perceptions.
• The power of reframing and its effectiveness in Brief Interventions.

Enjoy For show notes and more visit larryweeks.com