Hidden Brain Staff

Would you consider yourself to be prejudiced against people who are different from you? Most of us would say no. But in the late 1990s, researchers created a test to measure biases that may be hidden from our conscious minds. Millions of people have taken it since, and not everyone likes what they’ve discovered. This week, we launch a two-part look at implicit bias with psychologist Mahzarin Banaji. We ask how is it that we can hold negative stereotypes — without being aware of them.

Many of us rush through our days, weeks, and lives, chasing goals, and just trying to get everything done. But that can blind us to a very simple source of joy that’s all around us. This week, in the fourth and final installment of our Happiness 2.0 series, psychologist Dacher Keltner describes what happens when we stop to savor nature,  art, or simply the moral courage of those around us.

It’s natural to want to run away from difficult emotions such as grief, anger and fear. But what happens when these feelings catch up with us? This week, in the second installment of our Happiness 2.0 series, psychologist Todd Kashdan looks at the relationship between distress and happiness, and how to keep difficult emotions from sabotaging our wellbeing.

If you think about the people in your life, it’s likely that they share a lot in common with you. Maybe they like the same kinds of food, or enjoy the same hobbies. But, if you dig a little deeper, you may find that they share much more: they might make the same amount of money as you, or share the same race. This week, we talk with economists Luigi Pistaferri and Matthew Jackson about why we often surround ourselves with people who are just like us — and how we can transform our lives by pushing back against this phenomenon.  

People in every country and culture mark important milestones, such as births, marriages and deaths with intricately choreographed scripts. We even appeal to supernatural forces when to give our favorite sports teams an extra advantage. This week on the show, anthropologist Dimitris Xygalatas explains the psychological power behind the sacred and secular rituals that structure our lives.