November 14, 2018 Wednesday,12:00 PM

DEH Speaker Series Event ~ The Science of Well-Being & How to Be Happy: Debbie Epstein Henry Interview of Dr. Laurie Santos

November 14, 2018 from 12-2:00 PM EST and by webcast

Location:  Shearman & Sterling LLP, 599 Lexington Avenue (Between East 52^nd & 53^rd Streets), New York, NY

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TOPIC:  The Science of Well-Being & How to Be Happy.

There’s no shortage of advice on how to build a happier life.  Yet Dr. Laurie Santos’ exploration of the topic is particularly compelling and sets her apart.  Indeed, she has struck such a chord that her course, Psychology and the Good Life, has become the most popular class taken in Yale University’s history.  At this event, Laurie will present scientifically-validated strategies for living a more rewarding and happier life.  She will introduce misconceptions we have about what makes for a satisfying life.  She will reveal how our minds lie to us about what will make us happy, suggesting that some of the things we think matter most for our happiness simply don’t.  With probing questions posed by author and workplace expert Debbie Epstein Henry, Laurie will share some of the psychological biases and features of our mind that lead us astray.  She will uncover how such biases make it hard for us to see what makes us happy and cause us to seek out the wrong sorts of things — a phenomenon she refers to as miswanting.  Laurie will leave us inspired, after imparting the psychology research that shows what we really should strive for to live a happier and more fulfilling life.

DISTINGUISHED GUEST 

Dr. Laurie Santos is Head of Silliman College and is Professor of Psychology at Yale University.  She is an expert on human cognition, its origins, and the evolutionary biases that influence our all-too imperfect life choices.  Laurie is also knowledgeable in how behavioral change through positive psychology can lead to a happy and fulfilling life.  Currently, Laurie’s big project is to positively influence the culture of Yale University by teaching happiness and well-being.  She created a course so meaningful that it became the most popular class taken at Yale in over 316 years.  In her course, Psychology and the Good Life, Laurie teaches her students about behavioral change through positive psychology.  She wants her students to be more grateful, procrastinate less and increase social connections.  Laurie believes that those positive habits will decrease mental health issues on campus and create happier and more motivated students.  She was named one of Popular Science Magazine’s “Brilliant 10″, and a TIME magazine “Leading Campus Celebrity”; her TED Talk has over a million views.  Laurie’s numerous awards for science, teaching, and mentorship include the Stanton Prize from the Society for Philosophy and Psychology for outstanding contributions to interdisciplinary research.  She obtained her Ph.D. in Psychology from Harvard University.

Please note that for in-person attendees, we expect this event will close out so RSVP early if you would like to attend.  We will also keep a waiting list to enable last minute seating due to cancellations.  Along these lines, please be sure to let Renee Green know as soon as possible if you no longer plan to attend so that someone else can attend in your place.  In-person RSVPs must be received by October 31^st.  If you RSVP for the webcast, Renee will be in touch with login instructions as the date approaches.  To minimize transmission problems, please convene colleagues to participate in conference rooms for the webcast rather than login individually.