The Positive Pod: Your Weekly Fifteen Minutes of Positivity

Why are we so vulnerable to misinformation?How do we make better choices?Do we react to the immediacy of information or the quality of that information?Turns out, immediacy carries the day.  Worse yet, if that misinformation confirms our previously held biases or beliefs, we are even more susceptible to its influence.It all has to do with Nudge Theory; a breakthrough in Behavioral Economics that was based on the pioneering research of  two Israeli psychologists:  Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky in the 1970's that examined why people make the choices that they do.Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein developed the human bahevior patterns discovered by Kahneman and Tversky and formed them into a cohesive theory that attempts to explain human decision making in a more complete way than other theories of choice-making.In 2017, Richard Thaler won the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for Nudge Theory.Let's look at how we can use the best of what Nudge Theory has to offer to make sure we protect ourselves from misinformation and make the decisions that enhance the quality of our lives.Where to learn more:Thaler, Richard H. 2018. "From Cashews to Nudges: The Evolution of Behavioral Economics." American Economic Review,  108 (6): 1265-87.

How do we help ourselves to enhance our overall sense of effectiveness and autonomy?  What if I told you that there is data that supports the idea that helping others helps us to do just that?  In this episode, we will take a deeper dive into what Autonomy is and what it isn't.  We'll also look at the idea that Autonomy might be the single basic human need to rule them all.  Finally, we'll examine a number of theoretical connections to autonomy and the larger behavioral research in order to grab a Three Step Method for enhancing our own Autonomy.  Stick around!  It will be a fun ride!This episode continues our exploration of Eudaimonia and its six basic constructs.  The first one, Autonomy, is our subject today!References:Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2008). Hedonia, eudaimonia, and well-being: an introduction. Journal of Happiness Studies, 9(1), 1–11. https://doi-org.pallas2.tcl.sc.edu/10.1007/s10902-006-9018-1 Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-Determination Theory and the Facilitation of Intrinsic Motivation, Social Development, and Well-Being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68. https://doi-org.pallas2.tcl.sc.edu/10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.68 Ryff, C. D. (2013). Psychological Well-Being Revisited: Advances in the Science and Practice of Eudaimonia. Psychotherapy & Psychosomatics, 83(1), 10–28. https://doi-org.pallas2.tcl.sc.edu/10.1159/000353263

Just a brief episode on how and why I developed the Positive Pod, and a preview of Season Two!  Check it out!

The ancient Greeks were good for a lot of things.  Who knew that they had coined a term for living our best and most fulfilled life?!  That whacky Aristotle and is crazy ideas!  Unfortunately, our modern psychological science has been preoccupied for hundreds of years with the opposite question:  Why people don't do what is best for them?  By looking at the most current research into Quality of Life, and utilizing Aristotle's concept of Eudaimonia, Carol Ryff has developed an evidentiary base of the factors that lead to living our most fulfilled life.  In this episode, we look at an overview of her research, and the key ideas.  In subsequent episodes, we'll look at each factor in turn and see what we can learn about living our best lives.  Stick around!References:Ryff, C. D. (2013). Psychological Well-Being Revisited: Advances in the Science and Practice of Eudaimonia. Psychotherapy & Psychosomatics, 83(1), 10–28. https://doi-org.pallas2.tcl.sc.edu/10.1159/000353263

Ever wonder why people don't just do what is best for them?  Ever wonder why you don't?  Turns out, human beings have a tendency towards something called Loss Aversion in decision making.  Yep.  You read that right!  The human behavior data shows us very clearly that we tend to act first "not to lose" and only secondarily to gain something!  Learn more about that here and what you can do to counter that tendency and make sure that your decisions are your own...and in your own best interest!As always, we base our show in empirical data.  Here is the article we referenced as well as another source to learn more from a Behavioral Economics perspective about this fascinating quirk of human behavior:Articles:Solway, A., Lohrenz, T. & Montague, P.R. (2019) Loss Aversion Correlates with the Propensity to Deploy Model-Based Control. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 13:915. doi: 10:3389/fnins.2019.00915Behavioral Economics in Action:Ariely, D. (2010) Predictably Irrational:  The Hidden Forces that Shape our Decisions-Revised and Expanded.  Harper Perenial, NY.  ISBN:  978-0061353246

Ever been in a spot where you have to learn new information, but ya just can't seem to retain it?  Do you learn new things all of the time, but you're looking for ways to more efficiently and effectively recall that info?  Maybe you teach and you want to pick up some tips to give to students.  The good news is that, by using a little Adult Learning Theory and a dash of the latest neuroscience, you can build a way of learning that maximizes what you understand and what you remember.  Tune into this episode of the Positive Pod as we explore how to boost your learning when you just gotta get it done!This week's episode's References:Garthe, A., Roeder, I., & Kempermann, G. (2016). Mice in an enriched environment learn more flexibly because of adult hippocampal neurogenesis. Hippocampus, 26(2) 261-171.Knowles, M. (1988). The modern practice of adult education: From pedagogy to andragogy. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Cambridge.Taylor, K. & Marienau, C. (2016). Facilitating learning with the adult brain in mind. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.Yuan, Z., Wang, M., Yan, B., Gu, P., Jiang, X., Yang, X. & Cui, D. (2012). An enriched environment improves cognitive performance in mice from the senescence-accelerated prone mouse 8 strain: Role of upregulated neurotrophic factor expression in the hippocampus. Neural Regeneration Research, 7(23), 1797-1804.Check out Allison Friderichs's excellent article on these ideas here:  https://unbound.upcea.edu/innovation/contemporary-learners/how-the-adult-brain-learns-the-importance-of-creating-enriched-environments-when-teaching/

Have you ever found yourself bogged down?  Feeling like the hits just keep on coming?  Turns out, we can get as much, if not more, "bang for the buck" out of our negative experiences as we do out of our positive experiences.  The secret seems to be two things:  Finding meaning and finding significance.  In this episode, we'll take a look at some recent data that suggests a few "To Do's" in order to maximize the benefit of our experience and maybe even help us with the emotional impact of those experiences we wish we hadn't had.  Tune in and check it out!Debuting this episode: The Positive Pod has new theme music from the incomparable Bessie Smith and her Thinkin' Blues.  Bessie will join us in future episodes as well.  Enjoy!Here is the article that we're pulling from for this episode:William Tov, Weiting Ng & Soon-Hock Kang (2019) The facets of meaningful experiences: An examination of purpose and coherence in meaningful and meaningless events, The Journal of Positive Psychology, DOI: 10.1080/17439760.2019.1689426

Have you ever been watching or listening to the news and found yourself frustrated and depressed?  Some would suggest you should watch less, and that's an option.  The good news is, you can use some cognitive science to get your news fix while keeping yourself well.  Want to know more?  Tune in to this week's Positive Pod as we look at two research articles, one that explores our reaction to negative news, and one that explores the ways in which we can balance those reactions with the way we process that news.  Along the way, we'll take a peek at behavioral economics and the specific Positive Psychology principles we can use to keep our perspective balanced as we get informed.  Great to have you with us!Learn more here:Ariely, D. (2008). Predictably irrational: The hidden forces that shape our decisions. New York, NY: Harper.Fredrickson BL, Branigan C. (2005) Positive emotions broaden the scope of attention and thought-action repertoires. Cognition and Emotion. 19(3):313‐332. doi:10.1080/02699930441000238Soroka, S., Fournier, P., & Nir, L. (2019). Cross-national evidence of a negativity bias in psychophysiological reactions to news. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 116(38), 18888–18892. https://doi-org.pallas2.tcl.sc.edu/10.1073/pnas.1908369116

Have you ever heard about Positive Thinking or Positive Psychology and thought "Sure, but what does that really look like?"  Or "How could I even use that in a way that makes sense for me?"  If you have, or if you've ever wondered if there is an evidence-based way to make positive thinking work for you, this is the episode for you.  In this episode we explore one way, taking just ten minutes per day, that you can employ the principles of Positive Psychology outlined by Martin Seligmann in his latest book, Flourish.  We'll look at the structure of a Randomized, Placebo-Controlled study that found significant evidence that folks who intentionally paid attention to, and wrote about, the principles of Pleasure, Engagement, Positive Relationships, Meaning and Accomplishment (PERMA) for just ten minutes each night reported higher happiness scores and much lower rates of depression.  Best of all, we can do this ourselves with a pen, a notebook and just ten minutes each night.  Want to learn more?  Tune in!Want to read more about the theory and science?  See below:Original research article:Gander, F., Proyer, R., & Ruch, W. (2016) Positive Psychology Interventions Addressing Pleasure, Engagement, Meaning, Positive Relationships, and Accomplishment Increase Well-Being and Ameliorate Depressive Symptoms: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Online Study. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 2016, Article: 686  Retrieved from:  https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00686More on Seligman's Positive Psychology:Seligman, M. (2011).  Flourish: A visionary new understanding of Happiness and Well-being.  New York, Atria Paperback.

Did you know that true Positive thinking isn't just thinking happy thoughts?  Did you know that it is OK to say "This sucks!" when it really does?  What we're talking about in this episode is acceptance and how we can use mindful acceptance to make our lives better.  We've all heard the terms "mindfulness" and "acceptance", and sometimes we even practice them:)  In this episode, we'll explore what that really means and we'll also take a look at some scientific data that seems to suggest that they could even make us more healthy.  Join us as we explore mindful acceptance on this week's Positive Pod!This week, we'll draw inspiration from the following article from the Journal of Psychoendocrinology:Daubenmier, J., Hayden, D., Chang, V., & Epel, E. (2014). It's not what you think, it's how you relate to it: Dispositional mindfulness moderates the relationship between psychological distress and the cortisol awakening response. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 48, 11–18. https://doi-org.pallas2.tcl.sc.edu/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2014.05.012

We hear a good deal about the importance of building good relationships.  We also hear about the importance of identity development.  What if there were a way to encourage those around you while helping them to build their own esteem without using praise all of the time?  What if you could strengthen your own social and support network by learning to use the skills of encouragement?  Years worth of research into child development, human motivation and human behavior might have some hidden gems for us!  Tune in this week as we look at the ways we can use what we know about identity development and encouragement to strengthen and reinforce the world around us.In this episode, we'll look at three different sources.  The first piece is an interview with Carol Dweck, a phenomenal author and researcher perhaps best known for her work into the Growth Mindset.  Two are academic articles; both from the Child Development literature.  Here are the pieces that we're pulling from today:Anderson, J. (2016, January 12). Interview with Carol Dweck-Stanford Professor Who Pioneered Praising Kids for Effort Says We've Totally Missed The Point.  Retrieved from: https://qz.com/587811/stanford-professor-who-pioneered-praising-effort-sees-false-praise-everywhere/Bryan, C. J., Master, A., & Walton, G. M. (2014). “Helping” Versus “Being a Helper”: Invoking the Self to Increase Helping in Young Children. Child Development, 85(5), 1836–1842. https://doi-org.pallas2.tcl.sc.edu/10.1111/cdev.12244Gunderson, E. A., Gripshover, S. J., Romero, C., Dweck, C. S., Goldin, M. S., & Levine, S. C. (2013). Parent Praise to 1- to 3-Year-Olds Predicts Children's Motivational Frameworks 5 Years Later. Child Development, 84(5), 1526–1541. https://doi-org.pallas2.tcl.sc.edu/10.1111/cdev.12064

In this debut episode, we take a look at the ways in which Trait Optimism (thinking positively and having positive expectations about your world and your future) can actually enhance the areas of our brains known to help us deal with anxiety and, ultimately, become more resilient.  Turns out, that in as little as one session of learning to think positively, we can begin to have structural brain effects.  This has huge implications for our long term happiness!  It would appear that if we develop the habit of thinking positively, there is very good evidence that our brains will respond by developing in ways that will further reinforce our happiness and resilience.  How about that?!  By the way, this is our very first episode and it is hosted and edited by yours truly, so you'll know what I mean by: Good Help is hard to find!  So, please forgive any editing or atmosphere errors.  I am learning as I go and I am thinking positively that we'll get better and better as we go along:).  As an old boss of mine once said in response to my nervous questioning on whether he thought his restaurant was truly ready to open:  "Mike, sometimes, you just gotta (language edited for all audiences--you're welcome:) open."  In that spirit, here is our very first episode:  What Positive Thinking Can Do for our Brain.This article is based on original research done by:Dolcos, S., Hu, Y., Iordan, A. D., Moore, M., & Dolcos, F. (2016). Optimism and the brain: trait optimism mediates the protective role of the orbitofrontal cortex gray matter volume against anxiety. Social cognitive and affective neuroscience, 11(2), 263–271. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsv106Special Thanks to Maxie Walsh for the original artwork!!!