329. Marc Schulz — The Good Life: Lessons from the World’s Longest Scientific Study of Happiness

The Michael Shermer Show

Michael Shermer

Dialogue, Science, Reason, Michaelshermer, Natural Sciences, Skeptic

4.4 • 921 Ratings

🗓️ 4 March 2023

⏱️ 111 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Shermer and Schulz discuss: an operational definition of the “good life” or “happiness” or “well being” • the reliability (or unreliability) of self-report data in social science • relative roles of genes, environment, hard work, and luck in how lives turn out • personality and to what extent it can be scientifically measured and studied • factors in early childhood that shape mental health in mid and late life • generational differences: • the impact of loneliness • misconceptions about happiness • what social fitness is and how to exercise it • what most people get wrong about achievement, and more…

Marc Schulz is the associate director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development and the Sue Kardas PhD 1971 Chair in Psychology at Bryn Mawr College. He also directs the Data Science Program and previously chaired the psychology department and Clinical Developmental Psychology PhD program at Bryn Mawr. Dr. Schulz received his BA from Amherst College and his PhD in clinical psychology from the University of California at Berkeley. He is a practicing therapist with postdoctoral training in health and clinical psychology at Harvard Medical School. His new book, co-authored with Robert Waldinger, is The Good Life: Lessons from the World’s Longest Scientific Study of Happiness.

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to theurmer Show.
0:17.0	Hi everyone, it's Michael Schurmer. It's time for another episode of the Michael Schurmer Show.
0:20.0	I am your host, as you were called,
0:22.0	the publisher of Skeptic magazine. If you want to support the magazine the society educational projects and the podcast you can go to Skeptic.com under magazine you could subscribe under donate or just go to Skepic.com
0:33.4	slash donate and that supports all of our activities including this
0:36.9	podcast. My guest today is Mark Schultz is the
0:40.3	Associate Director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development and the Sue
0:45.0	Cardus PhD 1971 chair in Psychology at Brenmar College. He also directs the
0:52.2	Data Science Program and previously chaired the Psychology
0:55.3	Department and Clinical Developmental Psychology PhD program at Brynmar.
1:00.3	Dr Schultz received his BA from Amherst College and his PhD in Clinical Psychology from
1:05.6	UC Berkeley. He's a practicing therapist with postdoctoral training and health
1:10.6	and clinical psychology at Harvard Medical School. His new book
1:14.6	co-authored with Robert Wildinger is The Good Life, Lessons from the
1:19.4	world's longest scientific study of happiness.
1:24.0	Well, happiness, okay, let's get into it, Mark, happiness.
1:28.0	It says the good life doesn't necessarily mean the happy life, right?
1:32.0	Absolutely right, so we can't aspire to be happy all the time. It's not possible.
1:37.0	So we talk a lot in the book about the good life is a life filled with certainly joy and happiness but it also with the challenges that
1:44.8	engaging in life brings along with it.
1:47.5	So absolutely right.
1:49.5	Happiness is part of it but can't be all of it.
	...

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