By Andrew Petropulos
On Wednesday, Sept. 24, Springfield College was visited by Yale Professor of Psychology Dr. Laurie Santos for a talk on how small changes can transform our happiness. The talk was held in the Fuller Arts Center from 1:30-2:45, and was free for all students. Santos discussed behavioral and cognitive approaches to adjust habits to optimize well-being.
Santos teaches the most popular course at Yale in over 300 years, The Science of Well-Being, which is also available online. Her course focuses on using psychological literature to make better informed choices relating to mental health. As one of the leading mental health experts, Santos has spoken about happiness on the national news outlets NBC News, CBS Mornings and The Morning Show. Santos has also appeared on podcasts IMO With Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson and The Huberman Lab.
Springfield College Professor of Psychology Chris Hakala said, “Dr. Santos is one of the rare academics who is able to take complex concepts like happiness and make it accessible to all different people. She’s got a unique gift of making this kind of information engaging and interesting and fun and self-reflective. It’s one of those experiences that I think can help transform the way you think about things”
Santos is also well known for hosting The Happiness Lab podcast, a platform she uses to discuss topics like motivation, social media, and meditation, to challenge the way we think about happiness. “I suspect she’ll be looking at how Springfield College students can lean into aspects of the Springfield College experience to generate more happiness in their lives,” Hakala said.
Graduating with a Ph.D in Psychology from Harvard in 2003, Santos has spent many years using a behavioral approach to understand human cognition. Her research largely focuses on studying animals, and using the data to understand what cognitive processes make us uniquely human. Her publications range from studying punishment in cleaner fish to human-like biases in dogs.
Assistant Professor of Counseling Allie Capo Burdick said, “Springfield College, the birthplace of the Humanics philosophy, has long been committed to educating students in spirit, mind, and body for leadership in service to others. Dr. Santos’ groundbreaking work on the science of happiness aligns perfectly with our mission to empower faculty, staff, and students with evidence-based strategies to improve well-being and personal fulfillment.”
Outside of her lectures at Yale and podcast appearances, Santos communicates with the public through keynote speaking events and workshops at companies and colleges around the world. Dr. Santos has appeared on multiple TED Talks, the prestigious Aspen Ideas Festival and the globally renowned South by Southwest Festival.
“Dr. Santos agreed to do this for a severely reduced fee because she likes to especially talk with higher education faculty, staff, and students and knows that one of the keys to her happiness is spreading her knowledge. We are so grateful to have her and cannot wait to see the effect she has on the Springfield College community,” Burdick said.
Individual question and answer time was provided at the end of the talk.
Photo courtesy of Springfield College.