63. How Contagious Is Behavior? With Laurie Santos of “The Happiness Lab.” (Replay)
No Stupid Questions
The Concept of Change in Maximizing Happiness
Change is necessary for noticing and maximizing happiness, as staying consistently at a high level of happiness causes diminishing sensitivity to positive changes. The need for change arises because individuals do not notice their absolute objective status and appreciate positive changes only when they occur. Pushing for constant happiness can be costly, leading to detrimental behaviors as in the case of clinical disorders like mania. The concept of the 'middle road' suggested by Aristotle indicates the importance of change. Maximizing happiness involves optimizing the derivative and appreciating small positive changes, rather than constantly being at the peak. Prospect theory demonstrates that individuals evaluate happiness in terms of changes, leading to diminishing sensitivity where additional gains do not proportionally increase happiness. Thus, maximizing the positive impact of change involves experiencing both positive and negative changes to fully appreciate and derive happiness.
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