What’s the secret to happiness?

Hundreds of people attended activities, debates and workshops in Hove, Sussex as part of International Day of Happiness. The Get Happier event at the British Engineerium brought together members of the public, academics and policymakers and was an initiative of the Lifetime Wellbeing Cooperative, which aims to build happier communities. ITV reports.

Perspectives on the Use of Subjective Wellbeing in Policy

Paul joined Professors Diane Coyle, Lord Layard and Jan-Emmanuel De Neve at the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford for this panel discussion. Paul addressed how policy needs to minimise suffering (using experience-based measures not satisfaction evaluation). Watch from 1hr 29.

How the Light Gets In interview

Happiness is located in what we do and feel, who we're with and what we think about, says Paul in this interview at How the Light Gets In festival in June. He also discusses whether and how happiness can be promoted by public policy.

BBC 1 Morning Live

Paul joined hosts Gethin Jones and Sam Quek on June 28 to talk about what makes us happy (from 17 minutes). You can watch the video here.

Faculti interview

Paul explains how no one behaviour sits in a vacuum, and one behaviour can greatly affect the next - and it might not be in the way we think it will. You can read the academic paper here and watch the video here.

Talk Radio and GB News

Paul was interviewed on Talk Radio and GB News this week as the UK government considered an increase in restrictions due to the Omicron variant. “Sage has been consistently and pessimistically wrong about transmission numbers, which has led to measures that have caused considerable harm which are still not being evaluated,” said Paul. Social distancing isn't a soft touch policy, nor is human contact a luxury. Human interaction is a fundamental part of what makes us humans, and impacts our quality - and quantity - of life. The GB News video is below, and the Talk Radio video is here.

Collateral Global

As Collateral Global continues to gather more research into the effects of policies put in place during Covid, Paul joined other team members in commenting on the importance of the research. He said: “There’s no such thing as a free lunch. The measures we put in place in response to Covid may have been worth it, but they have undoubtedly come at a cost. So where were the people measuring and evaluating these costs?”

BBC Reel

We can all improve our happiness with some simple steps. First we have to understand that when it comes to happiness, there's a difference between what we want and what we like. We also need to understand that society influences our perception of what it means to be happy, as Paul and other happiness researchers explain. You can watch Part 1, an expert’s guide to finding happiness, here, and Part 2, the key to a more satisfying and happy life, here.

GB News interview

Paul appeared on GB News with Liam Halligan and Gloria De Piero. They discussed covered the wellbeing effects of the policy responses to pandemic, and the impact of loneliness and isolation.

Talk Radio interview

Paul was interviewed by Mark Dolan (no relation) about the social contract the public had with the government over lockdown, and how we haven’t measured the full impact of restrictions on people’s lives. He was also interviewed by Julia Hartley-Brewer for Talk Radio in the second clip.

Duck-Rabbit: what drives our polarised culture?

Why do we respond to the world in one way and not another? What makes us want to be, or feel, part of a group? What drives our judgements, choices and assumptions? To celebrate the launch of the second series of the Duck-Rabbit podcast, Paul explored some of the key issues that divide us and tries to work out what it would take for us to be a bit more understanding of others. He was joined by fellow academics Lasana Harris, Anil Seth, Jennifer Sheehy Skeffington, Tiffany Watt Smith, and the event was chaired by Simon Hix.

How to be happy: a behavioural science perspective

Do you feel like you’re on a treadmill and happiness is always just around the corner? Are you disappointed that the things you buy don’t bring you lasting happiness? Paul explains why this happens and what to do to improve the way you feel. “If we are going to understand what makes us happy, we first of all need to understand what happiness is.”

Making wellbeing a measurement for policy decisions

Leading academics authored a white paper that called for a broader approach that includes measuring policy responses against both life expectancy and life experience. The academics, led by Paul Dolan, Professor of Behavioural Science, LSE, recommended the creation of a wellbeing impacts agency and a wellbeing commission. You can read the full white paper and Paul’s accompanying blog post. Paul discussed the findings with Steve Baker MP, Deputy Chairman of the COVID Recovery Group, in this video conversation.

LSE event: A Decade of Behavioural Science

Paul Dolan will be reflecting on ten years of behavioural science at LSE, in conversation with Grace Lordan, associate professor of behavioural science at LSE. They discussed biases, narratives, happiness, resilience, policymaking in a pandemic and more.

Prof. Dolan on Euronews: Good Morning Europe

Prof. Paul Dolan on New Year's resolutions, why they don't work and how to make them work.

Prof. Paul Dolan on Sky News Breakfast

Prof. Paul Dolan on the easing of lockdown over Christmas.

All copyrights held by Sky News. With kind permission for reproduction.

TEDxGlasgow - Conversations worth having - What is the Future of Society?

Join our host, former BBC presenter, journalist and current affairs specialist Clare English, and our panel of esteemed speakers as we consider whether our current experience of the coronavirus crisis can make for a better society in the future. We’ll be discussing what kind of society we want and how we can create and maintain it. We’ll question what made us adapt to kinder ways during this pandemic and whether we are likely to revert back to our previous, everyday way of life as the new reality kicks in. What good things should we keep if anything and can we - without changing the basis of our economy and society? Join speakers Andy Haldane, Chief Economist of the Bank of England; Professor Paul Dolan, author and Behavioural Scientists from the London School of Economics, and Iman Amrani from The Guardian live on Zoom as we gather virtually to ask: What is the future of society?

Assessing the Impact of COVID-19: from mortality to misery?

In the current crisis, government policies, such as physical distancing, are paying enormous attention to the mortality risks of COVID-19 to the exclusion of the wellbeing hits borne elsewhere (e.g. mental health, loneliness, domestic violence, child welfare, physical health, and addiction). Is this as it should be when lives are at stake? If not, what can be done to ensure that misery is placed on a more equal footing with mortality?

Behavioural Science in the Context of Great Uncertainty.

The impacts of COVID-19 and how we deal with them hinge on how politicians, firms and the public respond. What lessons can we learn from behavioural science about how we act in a time of crisis characterised by great uncertainty? What lessons can behavioural science learn about how it can be best placed to provide guidance in an uncertain world?

Prof. Paul Dolan on LSE CHOICE

Prof. Paul Dolan being interviewed by Ross Twinn and Ana-Maria Anghel from LSE CHOICE on his critically acclaimed books, Happiness by Design and Happy Ever After.

LSE CHOICE is an enrichment scheme aimed at identifying the most talented Year-12 students from London state schools and colleges and giving the tools they need to successfully apply to LSE and other competitive universities.

For more information on LSE CHOICE please click here (there will be a hyperlink on the word ‘here’)

(https://www.lse.ac.uk/study-at-lse/Undergraduate/widening-participation/Sixth-form-college/lse-choice-years-12-13)

See the full interview here.

Prof. Paul Dolan in conversation with Dr Rangan Chatterjee

March 20, 2019

Prof. Paul Dolan on the World Government Summit 2018: What makes people happy?

March 5, 2019

Prof. Paul Dolan on Resolution Foundation: Happy now? Wellbeing lessons for policy makers

March 4, 2019

At an event at its Westminster offices, the Resolution Foundation presented the key findings of new research into the lessons for economic policy makers from a broader focus on wellbeing.

Prof. Paul Dolan, joined a panel of experts, including former Cabinet Secretary Lord Gus O’Donnell, then debated how policy makers should think about economic wellbeing, before taking part in an audience Q&A.

Visit the event page here.