In this book, Tali Sharot delves into the psychological and neuroscientific aspects of optimism, explaining how it is hardwired into our brains and essential for human survival. She discusses how optimism affects our perceptions, decisions, and well-being, including its role in financial, professional, and emotional choices. The book also examines the differences between the brains of optimists and pessimists and how emotions influence our ability to recall and anticipate events. Sharot presents a balanced view, highlighting both the adaptive and destructive aspects of the optimism bias.
In *The Influential Mind*, neuroscientist Tali Sharot explores the nature of influence, revealing that many of our instincts, such as relying on facts or control, are ineffective because they clash with how people's minds operate. She shows how to avoid these pitfalls by aligning influence strategies with core brain functions, highlighting the roles of emotion, curiosity, and social factors. The book provides insights into the complex power of influence, drawing on neuroscience, behavioral economics, and psychology.
This book, based on decades of research in psychological and biological sciences, explores the phenomenon of habituation where people stop noticing significant aspects of their lives. Sharot and Sunstein provide insights on how to 'dishabituate' by disrupting routines, changing environments, and interacting with different people. This approach helps in reigniting joy, innovating, and recognizing areas that need improvement. The authors use various examples, including how people adapt to negative and positive stimuli, to illustrate how temporary changes can restore sensitivity and enhance appreciation for both the good and the bad in life.
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It’s so easy, especially these days, to numb out. To get bored. To move through life on autopilot. There is even a scientific term for this: habituation.
Today we’re talking to a researcher who co-authored a new book about the neuroscience of habit and how to wake up again. To make things exciting. Or as she says, to “re-sparkle”.
Tali Sharot is a professor of cognitive neuroscience at University College London and MIT. She’s written several books including The Optimism Bias and The Influential Mind. Her latest, co-written with Cass Sunstein, is called Look Again: The Power of Noticing What Was Always There.
In this episode we talk about:
- What habituation is and what’s going on in the brain when it happens
- How it negatively impacts the joy we feel in life – and inversely – how it can make us stop noticing the bad stuff
- Key strategies for disrupting habituation and introducing change and variety into your life
- The interesting relationship between creativity and people who habituate slowly
- How habituation impacts our relationships
- Why it’s important to break up the good experiences, but swallow the bad whole.
- How to wake up from a “technologically induced coma”
- How people emotionally habituate to dishonesty and lying
- And lastly, we talk about the dangers of habituating to a slow, incremental rise in tyranny – and how dis-habituation entrepreneurs can help
Related Episodes:
#345 How to Change Your Habits | Katy Milkman
How Turning Habits Into Rituals Can Help You At Home, At Work, And When You’re Anxious | Michael Norton
Making and Breaking Habits, Sanely | Kelly McGonigal
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Full Shownotes: https://happierapp.com/podcast/tph/tali-sharot-828
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