Asking one simple question can entirely change how you feel
Positive and negative emotions respond differently to ‘affect labelling’ – the act of giving a name to your feelings
by Christian Waugh
Happiness
How to laugh more
You don’t have to wait to be amused, there are ways to train yourself to enjoy the ‘cheap medicine’ of laughter every day
by Freda Gonot-Schoupinsky
How to be a happy nihilist
Exhausted by the modern pressure to squeeze meaning out of every moment? Here’s a radical way to reset your priorities
by Wendy Syfret
The fascinating science of pleasure goes way beyond dopamine
Pleasure and happiness are too important for our mental health to be reduced to the single brain chemical dopamine
by Dean Burnett
What makes ‘toxic positivity’ different from a healthy attitude
Influencers and self-help gurus are preaching a form of positive psychology that risks doing more harm than good
by Lucas Dixon
To improve your life, consider changing your personality
New research supports the idea that intentionally developing certain traits is not only possible, but comes with benefits
by Christian Jarrett
As a psychiatrist, I’ve seen how chasing happiness leads to misery
My clinical work has shown me that happiness is a ghost that’s not worth pursuing – there are far wiser goals in life
by Rafa Euba
A love for thinking brings benefits way beyond school and work
Having a passion for mental effort – a trait that’s distinct from being intelligent – has some wide-ranging upsides
by Josephine Zerna
Is it better to have friends who are like you or different from you?
Studies of longterm friends offer surprising insights as to whether friends who are more or less alike tend to endure
by Christian Jarrett
How your attitudes to money could be affecting your relationship
Do you see money as a way to gain freedom or status? If your partner takes a different view, there could be consequences
by Johanna Peetz
If smiles are so easy to fake, why do we trust them?
Smiles can be a way to dupe people because they’re easy to fake – but we’ve figured out which smiles can be trusted
by Alexander Danvers
Relationships are important, but so is feeling free to end them
Comparing ‘relational mobility’ and people’s average happiness across different cultures reveals some intriguing patterns
by Thomas Talhelm & Liuqing Wei
For Lucy, surviving on a remote island was hard, but returning was harder
Directed by Jesper Wachtmeister
There’s something in my eye: why we happy-cry and what it does for us
Happy tears are often neglected in emotion research. But there are many types, and they have an important function
by Janis Zickfeld
There’s transcendence in skating – just ask the man they call ‘Slomo’
Directed by Josh Izenberg