Dacher Keltner: UC Berkeley psychology professor, emotion scientist, founder of the Greater Good Science Center, and author of Awe and The Power Paradox.
What this episode covers
Dacher Keltner explains the emerging science of positive emotions and their measurable effects on health and longevity. He details how everyday awe, gratitude, compassion and physical touch calm the nervous system, reduce inflammation, and can add roughly ten years of life expectancy. He shares the personal grief over his brother's death that drove him to write his book on awe. The conversation also covers his research showing that rising wealth and social class tend to erode compassion and empathy, the loneliness and meaning crises driving declining life expectancy, and why men especially suffer from the suppression of these pro-social emotions.
The guest's own work
Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life
Dacher Keltner
“this book is absolutely fantastic um it's very challenging but it's this this concept of all so I highly recommend everybody goes and gives it a try”— Steven Bartlett
The Power Paradox: How We Gain and Lose Influence
Dacher Keltner
“so that was part of my power Paradox book was that story about the class”— Dacher Keltner
Also referenced (named, not recommended)
The Selfish Gene
Richard Dawkins
“in 1978 I think Richard Dawkins published selfish Gene massive book right you know if you read that”— Dacher Keltner
Lie to Me
“worked with Paul Ekman as a postdoc who's kind of a Pioneer in the study of facial expression uh and inspiration for the show lie to me”— Dacher Keltner
Wall Street
“you think about the movie Wall Street being iconic greed is good and that truly that was the idea”— Dacher Keltner
Big reveals from this episode
- Premature babies given skin-to-skin contact survive and gain 47% more weight versus being left in warming units alone.
- Berkeley students taken up a tower or asked to look up into tall trees stopped feeling stressed, showing awe's measurable calming effect.
- Keltner's younger brother died of colon cancer, plunging him into profound grief that became the impetus for writing his book on awe.
- Research shows wealthier people show less vagus-nerve activation to images of suffering and feel less compassion as they rise in class.
- Rich high-school kids are more likely to shoplift than poor ones despite having access to money.
- Wealthier US politicians more strongly advocate regressive economic policies that hurt the poor.
- Giving money away boosts happiness more than spending it on yourself, and kindness is contagious across multiple downstream interactions.
- Japanese studies show that looking into your dog's eyes triggers a mutual surge of oxytocin in both dog and owner.
Worth remembering
- Strong social ties add about 10 years to life expectancy.
- The feeling of awe reduces activation of the cytokine inflammation system, benefiting the heart and diabetes risk.
- Breathing in and out to a count of four increases neural density in the prefrontal cortex that handles stress.
- The 'awe walk' study with participants aged 75+ led to less distress, less pain, and more awe and joy over eight weeks.
- Divorce rates near 50%, and half of marriages that stay together are fairly unhappy, suggesting lifelong monogamy often isn't working.
- Human skin weighs about eight pounds, contains billions of cells, and houses much of the immune system, registering touch into the brain.
- About 50% of US healthcare expenses are spent in the last five years of life, often on people living alone and lonely.
- When you treat someone badly, people gossip that bad treatment to an average of 2.5 others.