The Science of Personality & Philosophy of Well-Being with Professor Colin DeYoung

“I think that we can boil down well-being to two basic questions: How successful are you in moving towards your goals? And how well integrated are your various goals?”

In this episode of the Mindspace podcast, Dr. Joe speaks with professor Colin DeYoung.

The purpose of the Mindspace podcast is to inspire well-being: to help us all move toward a healthier, more joyful, and more meaningful life, for ourselves and our communities. We are convinced that a scientific understanding of well-being provides a strong foundation for this pursuit and Colin is an exceptional guide to this area of science.

Colin DeYoung is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Minnesota. He specializes in the study of personality and its biological bases. He is well-known for his Cybernetic Big Five Theory, which provides a unifying theory for personality psychology and personality neuroscience. More info on Colin’s research can be found at deyoung.psych.umn.edu/.

This episode is particularly relevant at this time of the year - it’s the beginning of 2019 and for many of us, it is a period of reflection - a moment to clarify our hopes and dreams for the next 12 months. The podcast today should align nicely with this state of mind as Colin talks a fair bit about the philosophical bases of well-being science. The conversation also addressed the impact of the following variables on well-being:

- Personality
- Habits
- Values
- Goals
- Mindfulness meditation

Colin and Joe speak about the Big 5 theory of personality and how it has surpassed the Myers Briggs approach to become the dominant model in personality science. If that discussion makes you curious about your own personality, you could get a report on your Big 5 profile by filling in a simple questionnaire. Which will soon be available on the Mindspace website.