Flourish FM Episode #77: How Psychological Richness Helps Us Flourish, with Dr. Shigehiro Oishi
Shigehiro Oishi, Ph.D., is the Marshall Field IV Professor of Psychology at the University of Chicago, and a leader in the study of happiness, psychological well-being, the experience of a meaningful life and cultural psychology. He has published over 200 journal articles and book chapters with over 100,000 citations. He is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and won the 2017 Society of Experimental Social Psychology Career Trajectory Award, the 2018 Carol and Ed Diener Award from the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, and the 2021 Outstanding Achievement Award for Advancing Cultural Psychology.
Shigehiro’s research focuses on culture, social ecology, and well-being. His most recent book is Life in Three Dimensions: How Curiosity, Exploration, and Experience Make a Fuller, Better Life (Penguin Random House, 2025). His research lab is particularly interested in investigating questions about the concept of well-being, such as “What is a good life?”, the predictors of well-being, such as “What are the predictors of a good life?”, and the consequences of well-being, such as “Are there benefits to a happy/meaningful/psychologically rich life?”. He is also interested in how the concepts, predictors, and consequences of well-being might differ across cultures.
Shigehiro’s research also explores socio-ecological conditions that are detrimental or conducive to well-being, such as income inequality, residential mobility, and walkability. Currently, he is focusing on the effects of economic inequality and residential mobility on the well-being of individuals and communities.
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Links:
- University of Chicago webpage
- Book: Life in Three Dimensions: How Curiosity, Exploration, and Experience Make a Fuller, Better Life (Penguin Random House, 2025)
- Article: “A Psychologically Rich Life: Beyond Happiness and Meaning” (Psychological Review, 2021, with Erin Westgate)
- Google Scholar
- Twitter (X)
Timestamps:
00:01:00 - Anticipation for the Conversation
Hosts express their excitement about the conversation and discuss the relevance of psychological richness.
00:02:09 - Defining a Good Life
Dr. Oishi discusses the empirical consensus on what constitutes a good life, including subjective well-being and meaningful life.
00:07:11 - Psychological Richness Defined
Dr. Oishi defines psychological richness and provides examples of experiences that contribute to it.
00:08:49 - Distinguishing Meaning from Richness
Discussion on how psychological richness differs from a meaningful life and the role of perspective-changing experiences.
00:11:34 - Personal Experiences and Psychological Richness
Hosts share personal experiences that resonate with the concept of psychological richness.
00:13:10 - Values and Psychological Richness
Dr. Oishi explains how different value orientations can lead to the pursuit of psychological richness.
00:19:05 - Biological Predispositions and Values
Discussion on the role of biological predispositions and upbringing in shaping values and the pursuit of psychological richness.
00:26:39 - Flourishing and Its Relationship with Happiness, Meaning, and Richness
Dr. Oishi's perspective on flourishing and how it can be achieved through happiness, meaning, or psychological richness.
00:30:08 - Obituary Study on Flourishing Lives
Findings from a study analyzing obituaries to identify lives that were happy, meaningful, and psychologically rich.
00:32:00 - Regrets and Psychological Richness
Research findings on how undoing life's biggest regrets could lead to a more psychologically rich life.
00:36:22 - Preference for Security Over Adventure
Discussion on why people might prefer security and stability over the adventurous pursuit of psychological richness.
00:41:35 - Criteria for Psychological Richness
Dr. Oishi explains the threshold for an experience to be considered psychologically rich.
00:43:35 - Emotional Complexity in Psychological Richness
The relationship between psychological richness and the experience of both positive and negative emotions.
00:44:17 - Practical Steps for a Psychologically Rich Life
Dr. Oishi shares practical advice for living a more psychologically rich life, including being playful and saying yes to new experiences.
00:48:24 - Flourishing Question
Dr. Oishi's advice on flourishing, emphasizing the importance of saying yes to new experiences.
00:49:00 - Conclusion and Contact Information
Closing remarks, where to find more about Dr. Oishi's work, and current research focus.