PSYC 298: Living the Good Life: The Psychology of Happiness

This video explores how sensory receptors neurotransmitters and various brain structures work together to detect and react to pain all within a fraction of a second. Dive deep into the role of the sensory cortex spinal cord thalamus amygdala and endocrine system in our immediate and automatic response to potential harm.

Examine the concepts of groupthink and group polarization in group decision-making. Learn how the drive for harmony can overshadow critical thought, and how group discussions can intensify biases. Discover ways to maintain diverse thought and prevent extreme views.

Discover various psychological interpretations of dreams, from Freud's repressed desires to cognitive processes. Learn about the activation-synthesis model that attributes dreams to random neural activity. Understand how the mind crafts narratives from seemingly random dream sequences.

Explore persuasion techniques such as Door-in-the-face, Foot-in-the-door, That's-not-all, and Not-so-free sample, commonly used in psychology, marketing, and sales, where only Foot-in-the-door initiates with a small request to enhance compliance with a larger one later based on the consistency principle.

Explore different psychological schools and their approaches to introspection, from Darwinism and Empiricism to Structuralism and Behaviorism. Discover which school used self-reflective introspection to understand the elements of human experience.

Discover the complexities of the prisoner's dilemma, a cornerstone scenario in game theory. Delve into the tensions between mutual cooperation and individual self-interest, and the consequences that emerge from these decisions. Grasp the inherent conflict between pursuing personal advantages and the broader benefits of collaboration.