Episode 25 - Living the Dream

Jeff and Darron debut a new episode format for the show, which is something they hope will be more manageable while still maintaining the spirit in which they began this endeavor 3 years ago. Starting with this episode many of the new releases will feature shorter, relatively unplanned conversations that build on some of the ideas they've explored in their first 24 episodes, as opposed to the typical longer format. Rather than doing a lot of prior research and working off extensive quote-laden outlines, they will discuss whatever might be rattling around in one or both of their minds in the days leading up to recording. Today they riff on the phrase “living the dream” as they try to figure out what this statement might mean in our modern context.

Notes:

• 7:28 - See “Negativity Bias” (The Decision Lab) and the abstract of “Not all emotions are created equal: The negativity bias in social-emotional development” (Psychological Bulletin, 2008)

• 8:52 - For the 2021-2022 school year the average teacher salary in Connecticut was just over $79,000, which was the 5th highest in the nation. The average starting salary for a Connecticut teacher is $47,447 and the average top salary is $95,823. For comparison, the 2021 median household income in the United States was just under $71,000. On a related note, an oft-cited 2010 study by noted psychologist Daniel Kahneman et. al found that while emotional well-being does appear to rise with income this effect peaks at around $75,000, which is actually under the average teacher salary in Connecticut. Although this has been somewhat disputed by a more recent study by Wharton School of Business Senior Fellow Matthew Killingsworth, who was actually trying to confirm the 2010 Kahneman study, and found that increasing income above $75,000 continues to increase experienced well-being - that higher earners are happier in part due to an increased sense of control over life, as more money manifests itself as more choices over how to live life. Notably though, according to Killingsworth, he found that while increasing income does appear to increase happiness, even beyond $75,000, overall income is still only a modest determinant of happiness. For more see “Teacher Salary Benchmarks” (National Education Association), “Ranking all 50 states on highest teacher pay shows the pinch of inflation” (District Administration, 2022), “Connecticut Teacher Income” (Teach Connecticut), “Income in the United States: 2021” (United States Census Bureau), “High income improves evaluation of life but not emotional well-being” (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2010), “Experienced well-being rises with income, even above $75,000 per year” (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2021), and “Money matters to happiness—perhaps more than previously thought” (Penn Today, 2021)

• 21:00 - See “Positive attitude toward math predicts math achievement in kids” (Stanford Medicine, 2018)

• 21:24 - See “A Brief Guide to Embodied Cognition: Why You Are Not Your Brain” (Scientific American, 2011) and the “Embodied cognition” Wikipedia entry

• 22:20 - See “What is the FISH! Philosophy?” 

• 27:20 - See “The Bright and Dark Side of Gossip for Cooperation in Groups” (Frontiers in Psychology, 2019)

• 28:05 - See “How to Respond to Negativity” (Harvard Business Review, 2012)

• 28:19 - Toxic positivity (Wikipedia)