Today we welcome Robert Waldinger to the podcast. Robert is a psychiatrist, psychoanalyst and Zen priest. He is Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, where he directs the Harvard Study of Adult Development. His TEDx talk on this subject has received nearly 44 million views, and is the 9th most watched TED talk of all time. He is the co-author of The Good Life with Dr. Marc Schulz.

In this episode, I talk to Robert Waldinger about the secret to a happy life. Robert shares with us the recent findings of The Grant Study, which is the longest scientific study of happiness ever conducted. It’s been ongoing for more than 80 years now, and has had high profile participants like US President John F. Kennedy. Robert and I get into the details of how they continue to conduct research and how to make sense of both the new and old data. Sure enough, what the study has found consistent is the power of connection. We also touch on the topics of psychodynamic therapy, defense mechanisms, attachment, and psychological research.

Website: www.robertwaldinger.com/
Twitter: @robertwaldinger

Topics

02:05 Robert’s background and expertise

05:02 The Grant Study’s methodology

10:30 Happiness is messy

13:17 Alcoholism and depression

17:25 Psychoanalysis

19:57 Psychodynamic therapy

25:35 Continuity of research

29:04 Engagement and avoidance

36:13 The power of connection

38:18 Cross sample comparisons

47:58 Measures of meaning

52:15 Social fitness


Subscribe to The Psychology Podcast:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/p...

https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-...

See past episodes and join in the Discussion:

https://scottbarrykaufman.com/podcast/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/thepsycholog...

Twitter:

  / psychpodcast  

#ThePsychologyPodcast