On Wisdom

What kind of wisdom will people need to capitalize on the positive societal and/or psychological change after the pandemic? Igor and Charles share and discuss responses from 57 of the world's leading behavioral and social scientists, collected as part of the World After Covid project. Each episode, four responses are selected. This time, the conversation covers themes of sympathy and compassion, self-distancing, perspective-taking, and learning from pandemics in the midst of the pandemic. Igor wonders what being empathetic and compassionate even looks like online, and Charles ponders lessons not learned from past global catastrophes. Featuring: Roxane Cohen Silver, Social-Personality Psychologist and Adversity Research Trailblazer Laura Carstensen, Fairleigh S. Dickinson Jr. Professor in Public Policy and Founding Director of the Stanford Center on Longevity Edouard Machery, Distinguished Professor in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science and the Director of the Center for Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh Anand Menon, Professor of European Politics and Foreign Affairs at King’s College LondonLinks:World After Covid siteIgor Grossmann's homepage — interactive visualizations and analysis on the World After Covid projectHow Life Could Get Better (or Worse) After COVID (berkeley.edu)Words of wisdom: 4 tips from experts on how to endure until the COVID-19 pandemic ends (The Conversation)Roxane Cohen Silver Interview — full interview and transcript on the World After Covid siteLaura Carstensen Interview — full interview and transcript on the World After Covid siteEdouard Machery Interview — full interview and transcript on the World After Covid siteAnand Menon Interview — full interview and transcript on the World After Covid siteExpert Predictions of Societal Change: Insights from the World after COVID Project - Grossmann, Twardus, Varnum, Jayawickreme, McLevey (2021, in press)

Which domain or aspect of social life will show the most significant positive societal and/or psychological change in response to the pandemic? Igor and Charles share and discuss responses given to the question about positive change in response to the pandemic by 57 of the world's leading behavioral and social scientists, collected as part of the World After Covid project. Each episode, four responses are selected. This time, the conversation covers themes of political cooperation, nature, solidarity, and prosocial behaviour in the midst of the pandemic. Featuring: Dagomar Degroot, Associate Professor of Environmental History at Georgetown University Shinobu Kitayama, Robert B. Zajonc Collegiate Professor of Psychology at the University of Michigan Katie McLaughlin, John L. Loeb Associate Professor of the Social Sciences at Harvard University Barry Schwartz, Emeritus Professor of Psychology at Swarthmore CollegeLinks:World After Covid siteIgor Grossmann's homepage — interactive visualizations and analysis on the World After Covid projectExpert Predictions of Societal Change: Insights from the World after COVID Project - Grossmann, Twardus, Varnum, Jayawickreme, McLevey (2021, in press)How Life Could Get Better (or Worse) After COVID (berkeley.edu)Words of wisdom: 4 tips from experts on how to endure until the COVID-19 pandemic ends (The Conversation)Dagomar Degroot Interview — full interview and transcript on the World After Covid siteShinobu Kitayama Interview — full interview and transcript on the World After Covid siteKatie McLaughlin Interview — full interview and transcript on the World After Covid siteBarry Schwartz Interview — full interview and transcript on the World After Covid site

Which domain or aspect of social life will show the most significant positive societal and/or psychological change in response to the pandemic? Igor and Charles share and discuss responses given to the question about positive change in response to the pandemic by 57 of the world's leading behavioral and social scientists, collected as part of the World After Covid project. Each episode, four responses are selected. This time, the conversation covers themes of political and structural change, care for elders, social connectedness, and reconsidering habits in the midst of the pandemic. Featuring: Ayse K. Uskul, Professor of Social Psychology at the University of Kent Michael Ross, Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Waterloo Harry Reis, Professor of Psychology at the University of Rochester James Gross, Professor of Psychology and Director of the Psychophysiology Laboratory at Stanford UniversityLinks:World After Covid siteIgor Grossmann's homepage — interactive visualizations and analysis on the World After Covid projectExpert Predictions of Societal Change: Insights from the World after COVID Project - Grossmann, Twardus, Varnum, Jayawickreme, McLevey (2021, in press)Words of wisdom: 4 tips from experts on how to endure until the COVID-19 pandemic ends (The Conversation)Ayse Uskul Interview — full interview and transcript on the World After Covid siteMichael Ross Interview — full interview and transcript on the World After Covid siteHarry Reis Interview — full interview and transcript on the World After Covid siteJames Gross Interview — full interview and transcript on the World After Covid site

What one piece of wisdom is important to give to people now to help them make it through the pandemic? Igor and Charles share and discuss responses given to this critical question by 57 of the world's leading behavioral and social scientists, collected as part of the World After Covid project. Each episode, four responses are selected. This time, the conversation covers themes of what's important, living in the moment, social connectedness, and shared humanity in the midst of the pandemic. Featuring: Yukiko Ushida, Professor of Social and Cultural Psychology at the Kokoro Research Center, Kyoto University Dacher Keltner, Professor of Psychology and Director of the Greater Good Science Center Wendy Mendes, Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at UC San Francisco Michael Bond, Cross-cultural Social PsychologistLinks:World After Covid siteIgor Grossmann's homepage — interactive visualizations and analysis on the World After Covid projectExpert Predictions of Societal Change: Insights from the World after COVID Project - Grossmann, Twardus, Varnum, Jayawickreme, McLevey (2021, in press)Words of wisdom: 4 tips from experts on how to endure until the COVID-19 pandemic ends (The Conversation)Yukiko Ushida Interview — full interview and transcript on the World After Covid siteDacher Keltner Interview — full interview and transcript on the World After Covid siteWendy Mendes Interview — full interview and transcript on the World After Covid siteMichael Bond Interview — full interview and transcript on the World After Covid site

What one piece of wisdom is important to give to people now to help them make it through the pandemic? Igor and Charles share and discuss responses given to this critical question by 57 of the world's leading behavioral and social scientists, collected as part of the World After Covid project. Each episode, four responses are selected. This time, the conversation covers themes of agency and control, long-term orientation, social connectedness, solidarity, and perspective-taking in the midst of the pandemic. Featuring: Michael Norton, Social Psychologist from Harvard Business School Robert Sternberg, Psychologist and Wisdom Research Pioneer Roxane Cohen Silver, Social - Personality Psychologist and Adversity Research Trailblazer Valerie Tiberius, Philosopher and Author Links:World After Covid siteIgor Grossmann's homepage — interactive visualizations and analysis on the World After Covid projectExpert Predictions of Societal Change: Insights from the World after COVID Project - Grossmann, Twardus, Varnum, Jayawickreme, McLevey (2021, in press)Words of wisdom: 4 tips from experts on how to endure until the COVID-19 pandemic ends (The Conversation)Michael Norton Interview — full interview and transcript on the World After Covid siteRobert Sternberg Interview — full interview and transcript on the World After Covid siteRoxane Cohen Silver Interview — full interview and transcript on the World After Covid siteValerie Tiberius Interview — full interview and transcript on the World After Covid site

After 2 and a half years of podcasting, 30+ episodes, 50,000+ downloads, and one global pandemic, it's time for an exciting announcement from the On Wisdom team...Links:World After Covid site

Does wisdom reside in particular persons, or is wisdom more about what happens between people? And if wisdom does require a social context, what are the implications of our new social distancing habits since the rise of the pandemic? Ricca Edmondson joins Igor and Charles to discuss novel ethnographic approaches to the study of wisdom, the significance of Irish funeral rituals, new lessons from old Trojan horses, and the value of framing wisdom as a social construction. Originally recorded at the start of the pandemic, Ricca returned for a retrospective at the close of the episode, to share her opinions on the meaning of wisdom in these rapidly changing times, and in our future post-pandemic society. Igor muses about big and small wisdom, and Charles asks Ricca about the world after the pandemic. Welcome to the wisdom and pandemic episode!Special Guest: Ricca Edmondson.Links:Ricca Edmondson The Self, Motivation & Virtue Project: Motivating the Self to Virtue in Western and non-Western Countries: Does Nation or Faith Matter More?Motivating the Self to Virtue in Western and non-Western Countries (2015) - video A Social Interpretation of Personal Wisdom - Book Chapter in The Scientific Study of Personal Wisdom (2013)Wisdom in Context - Igor Grossmann (2017)Why the Irish get Death Right (2017) - The Guardian

Despite the common stereotype of ‘older and crankier,’ psychologists suggest we become more positive as we age. Why? Do our aging brains become worse at detecting threats in the environment? Do we choose to focus on more positive aspects of our experience as we age? And what does the latest scientific research say about one of the major dangers of older age — Alzheimer’s disease? Mara Mather joins Igor and Charles to discuss the neuroscience of emotional aging, the role of the locus coeruleus in memory and attention, emotion-induced blindness, and the parallels between Cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer’s disease. Igor digs into the different roles of culture and the lack of good longitudinal studies of aging, Mara reveals how intense emotions can sharpen some aspects of our memories of an event while blunting others, and Charles learns that he and many others may be on the Alzheimer’s spectrum. Welcome to Episode 30.Special Guest: Mara Mather.Links:Emotion & Cognition Lab - Emotion & Cognition LabPoint-and-Shoot Memories: The Influence of Taking Photos on Memory for a Museum Tour - L. Henkel (2013)Preferences for emotional information in older and younger adults: A meta-analysis of memory and attention tasks. - PsycNETMeta-Analysis of the Age-Related Positivity Effect: Age Differences in Preferences for Positive Over Negative InformationOptimism for the Future in Younger and Older Adults - K Durbin, S Barber, M Brown, M Mather (2017)A Cultural Perspective on Emotional Experiences Across the Life Span - Grossmann, Karasawa, Kitayama (2014)The Locus Coeruleus: Essential for Maintaining Cognitive Function and the Aging Brain - M Mather, C Harley (2017)Rostral locus coeruleus integrity is associated with better memory performance in older adults - M Dahl, M Mather, S Düzel, N Bodammer, U Lindenberger, S Kühn, M Werkle-Bergner (2019)Arousal increases neural gain via the locus coeruleus–noradrenaline system in younger adults but not in older adults - T Lee, S Greening, T Ueno, D Clewett, A Ponzio, M Sakaki, M Mather (2018)Iowa Gambling TaskBalloon Analog Risk Task - Conduct Science

What is the value of wisdom in the time of the global pandemic? Does the community of behavioural scientists studying wisdom agree on anything about the nature of wisdom? Can we say what we now know about wisdom and, conversely, what do we know we don’t yet know? Howard Nusbaum joins Igor and Charles to discuss the recently assembled Toronto Wisdom Task Force and the resulting Common Wisdom Model, meta-cognition, the thorny issue of moral-grounding, and sage advice regarding how to measure wisdom in the lab. Igor stresses the importance of building solid theoretical foundations for the field in the context of the pandemic, Howard reflects on the viability of evil wisdom, and Charles learns that we had better pay close attention today to the values we program into the decision-making robots of tomorrow. Welcome to Episode 29.Special Guest: Howard Nusbaum.Links:The Science of Wisdom in a Polarized World: Knowns and Unknowns: Psychological Inquiry: Vol 31, No 2A Common Model Is Essential for a Cumulative Science of Wisdom: Psychological Inquiry: Vol 31, No 2University of Chicago Center for Practical Wisdom | Center for Practical Wisdom | The University of ChicagoWisdom in Context - Igor Grossmann, 2017Toronto Wisdom Task Force Meeting 2019 (edited) - YouTubeAI Open Letter - Future of Life Institute

Is happiness research even relevant in such times of crisis, or is focusing on our happiness simply a luxury we can no longer afford? And, while effective for many people, why does the cultivation of gratitude sometimes result in unexpectedly negative consequences? Sonja Lyubomirsky joins Igor and Charles to discuss the key components of happiness, lessons from 9-11, ‘happiness-intervention fit’, Mother Teresa’s dark side, and the unexpected psychological impact of the global pandemic to date. Igor reflects on life-under-lockdown vs life in the downfall of the Soviet Union, Sonja discusses the subtle art of balancing optimism with positive action, and Charles learns that when it comes to counting one’s blessings, it pays not to count too high.Special Guest: Sonja Lyubomirsky.Links:Sonja LyubomirskyHappiness-Enhancing StrategiesHow Do Simple Positive Activities Increase Well-Being? - Sonja Lyubomirsky, Kristin Layous, 2013The How of Happiness with Sonja Lyubomirsky, PhD, at Happiness and Its Causes 2016 - YouTubeHow to Hold on to Happiness When Your World Collapses | Psychology TodayPerforming random acts of kindness can make you happier | The Renewal Project | The Renewal ProjectThe Benefits of Frequent Positive Affect: Does Happiness Lead to Success? - Lyubomirsky, King, Diener (2005)What Good Are Positive Emotions in Crises? A Prospective Study of Resilience and Emotions Following the Terrorist Attacks on the United States on September 11th, 2001The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want: Lyubomirsky, Sonja: 8601406516991: Amazon.com: BooksThe Myths of Happiness: What Should Make You Happy, but Doesn't, What Shouldn't Make You Happy, but Does: Lyubomirsky, Sonja: 9781594204371: Amazon.com: Books