TED Talks
Richard Seymour: How beauty feels
A story, a work of art, a face, a designed object -- how do we tell that something is beautiful? And why does it matter so much to us? Designer Richard Seymour explores our response to beauty and the surprising power of objects that...
SciShow
Why Do You Want to Squeeze Cute Things?
The aggressive urges you might have when you see adorable things are probably related to the way you handle strong emotions.
TED Talks
Rick Warren: A life of purpose
Pastor Rick Warren, author of "The Purpose-Driven Life," reflects on his own crisis of purpose in the wake of his book's wild success. He explains his belief that God's intention is for each of us to use our talents and influence to do...
TED Talks
TED: My journey to thank all the people responsible for my morning coffee | AJ Jacobs
Author AJ Jacobs embarked on a quest with a deceptively simple idea at its heart: to personally thank every person who helped make his morning cup of coffee. More than one thousand "thank yous" later, Jacobs reflects on the...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: Would winning the lottery make you happier? - Raj Raghunathan
Imagine winning a multi-million dollar lottery tomorrow. If you're like many of us, you'd be ecstatic, unable to believe your good luck. But would that joy still be there a few years later? Raj Raghunathan describes a phenomenon called...
SciShow
Homophobia and Consumerism
Hank discusses some new research that studied what makes us unhappy with ourselves and with other people, focusing on homophobia and consumerism.
TED Talks
TED: The radical, revolutionary resilience of Black joy | Miracle Jones
In the face of trauma, happiness is resilience: a revolutionary act of thriving despite all odds, rather than wilting or surrendering. Community organizer and activist Miracle Jones offers a heart-to-heart meditation on the role of joy...
TED Talks
TED: How to raise successful kids -- without over-parenting | Julie Lythcott-Haims
By loading kids with high expectations and micromanaging their lives at every turn, parents aren't actually helping. At least, that's how Julie Lythcott-Haims sees it. With passion and wry humor, the former Dean of Freshmen at Stanford...
TED Talks
TED: Confessions of a recovering micromanager | Chieh Huang
Think about the most tired you've ever been at work. It probably wasn't when you stayed late or came home from a road trip -- chances are it was when you had someone looking over your shoulder, watching your each and every move. "If we...
TED Talks
TED: Why you should treat the tech you use at work like a colleague | Nadjia Yousif
Imagine your company hires a new employee and then everyone just ignores them, day in and day out, while they sit alone at their desk getting paid to do nothing. This situation actually happens all the time -- when companies invest...
TED Talks
Laura Carstensen: Older people are happier
In the 20th century we added an unprecedented number of years to our lifespans, but is the quality of life as good? Surprisingly, yes! Psychologist Laura Carstensen shows research that demonstrates that as people get older they become...
TED Talks
TED: My secret to creating real magic | Christina Tosi
In an infectiously joyous talk, Milk Bar founder Christina Tosi shares the sugary jolt of her first food memory and behind-the-scenes stories of her bakery's famously inventive cakes, cookies and treats. This talk may make you hungry --...
SciShow
The Science of Happiness!
Laughter, love, and happiness are some of the best aspects of being human, and we've looked into the science behind it more than a few times. Here are a few videos that we hope will make you happy!
SciShow
3 Ways Money Could Buy You Happiness
Money can’t directly buy happiness, but there are ways you can spend it that might help.
TED Talks
TED: My failed mission to find God -- and what I found instead | Anjali Kumar
Anjali Kumar went looking for God and ended up finding something else entirely. In an uplifting, funny talk about our shared humanity, she takes us on a spiritual pilgrimage to meet witches in New York, a shaman in Peru, an infamous...
SciShow
Why You Probably Can’t Predict Your Own Happiness
Humans generally have a good idea of whether something will make us happy or unhappy, but it turns out we’re not great at knowing exactly how much.
SciShow
Why More Choices Don’t Make You Happy
We're surrounded by choices in life, but psychologists have found that having those choices doesn't necessarily make us happy.
TED Talks
TED: Lessons from the longest study on human development | Helen Pearson
For the past 70 years, scientists in Britain have been studying thousands of children through their lives to find out why some end up happy and healthy while others struggle. It's the longest-running study of human development in the...
TED Talks
TED: Could a drug prevent depression and PTSD? | Rebecca Brachman
The path to better medicine is paved with accidental yet revolutionary discoveries. In this well-told tale of how science happens, neuroscientist Rebecca Brachman shares news of a serendipitous breakthrough treatment that may prevent...
TED Talks
Laura Trice: Remember to say thank you
In this deceptively simple 3-minute talk, Dr. Laura Trice muses on the power of the magic words "thank you" -- to deepen a friendship, to repair a bond, to make sure another person knows what they mean to you. Try it.
TED Talks
TED: For parents, happiness is a very high bar | Jennifer Senior
The parenting section of the bookstore is overwhelming -- it's "a giant, candy-colored monument to our collective panic," as writer Jennifer Senior puts it. Why is parenthood filled with so much anxiety? Because the goal of modern,...
TED Talks
Lisa Bu: How books can open your mind
What happens when a dream you've held since childhood ... doesn't come true? As Lisa Bu adjusted to a new life in the United States, she turned to books to expand her mind and create a new path for herself. She shares her unique approach...
TED Talks
Elizabeth Dunn: Helping others makes us happier -- but it matters how we do it
Research shows that helping others makes us happier. But in her groundbreaking work on generosity and joy, social psychologist Elizabeth Dunn found that there's a catch: it matters how we help. Learn how we can make a greater impact --...
SciShow
Is Psychology a Science?
Psychology research can be tricky, because brains are complicated. But does that mean it isn't a science?