Things Could Be Better

Short Wave

NPR

Daily News, Nature, Life Sciences, Astronomy, Science, News

4.7 • 6K Ratings

🗓️ 13 January 2023

⏱️ 13 minutes

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Summary

Are humans ever satisfied? Two social psychologists, Ethan Ludwin-Peery and Adam Mastroianni, fell down a research rabbit hole accidentally answering a version of this very question. After conducting several studies, the pair found that when asked how things could be different, people tend to give one kind of answer, regardless of how the question is asked or how good life felt when they were asked. Short Wave's Scientist in Residence Regina G. Barber digs into the research—and how it might reveal a fundamental law of psychology about human satisfaction.

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to shortwave from NPR.
0:06.3	I just moved.
0:07.5	So I spent a lot of time evaluating my living situation, thinking about whether to be in
0:12.0	a house, an apartment, and how it could be different.
0:18.0	Like it'd be nice to have a bathtub.
0:20.8	How can my living space be different?
0:24.2	Now that my wife and I are empty nesters, we could make our lower level, maybe put a
0:30.5	little office there, maybe a listening space.
0:32.8	I would love to have a bigger living room to like to art night in and host people.
0:39.0	I remake and have heat in her room.
0:41.0	That's a big one.
0:44.0	What do you notice in here?
0:45.4	Any patterns?
0:46.8	I asked two social psychologists this question.
0:49.4	Ethan led when Peary at Hampshire College.
0:51.7	Oh man, I mean the bathroom and my apartment could be bigger.
0:54.5	It's a great apartment, but my bathroom is a closet.
0:57.4	And Adam Mastrionny at Columbia Business School.
1:00.4	What about Adam?
1:01.4	How can your living space be different?
1:02.8	Well, I mean, given that I'm speaking to you on a laptop that's precariously perched
1:07.3	on two boxes.
	...

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