Behavioral Grooves Podcast - Money Does Boost Happiness, But Not The Way We Think It Does | Daniel Crosby

Money Does Boost Happiness, But Not The Way We Think It Does | Daniel Crosby

10/03/21 • 57 min

3 Listeners

The clearest indicators of our financial solvency are based on the behaviors we exhibit with our investments. Dr. Daniel Crosby PhD is a psychologist, behavioral finance expert, asset manager and bestselling author of four books including “The Behavioral Investor”: https://amzn.to/3Bl4s3t. We examine with him the question of whether financial success ultimately brings us happiness? Surprisingly it can, but not in the ways that we think it does.

Having studied the growing list of 200 odd behavioral biases and heuristics, Daniel has whittled them down to what he describes as the four “Big Daddy” biases: ego, emotion, attention and conservatism. We learn about why these matter so much and interestingly what Coke Zero can teach us about our biases!

Daniel touches on his other bestselling book “You’re Not That Great”: https://amzn.to/3ifiRFC which refreshingly embraces the fact that we are in fact all fairly average! That self esteem is built not by awarding prizes for participation, but by taking a risk, working hard and acknowledging that occasionally we will fall flat on our face along the way!

In our Grooving Session with Kurt and Tim, following our interview with Daniel we talk about the ways that we can apply Daniel’s insights to improve our wellbeing and our relationships. [Tim quotes the infamous “Man in the Arena '' quote from Theodore Roosevelt but apologies, we incorrectly credited the quote to Eisenhower, not Roosevelt in the episode.]

If you would like to invest in the work that Behavioral Grooves does to bring you interviews like Daniels every week, please support our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/behavioralgrooves thank you.

Topics

(3:09) Welcome and speed round.

(5:51) Why understanding people is vital to understanding markets.

(8:20) Daniel's journey into behavioral finance.

(11:02) What behavioral finance can help with beyond your bank balance.

(15:17) Can money really boost our happiness?

(20:05) The benefits of embracing our mediocrity.

(24:30) How stress impacts performance.

(26:58) Meta-biases: ego, promotion, attention, conservatism.

(31:09) What Coke Zero can teach us about conservatism bias.

(36:51) Ethics and behavioral finance.

(41:09) What music does Daniel invest in?

(48:44) Grooving Session on how to apply Daniel’s work in our own lives.

Books by Daniel Crosby

The Laws of Wealth: Psychology and the secret to investing success: https://amzn.to/36NsbuJ

The Behavioral Investor: https://amzn.to/3Bl4s3t

You're Not That Great: https://amzn.to/3ifiRFC

Personal Benchmark: Integrating Behavioral Finance and Investment Management https://amzn.to/3h5TjM1

Links

Van Leeuwen Ice Cream Honeycomb: https://vanleeuwenicecream.com/

“Subjective Well-Being and Income: Is There Any Evidence Of Satiation?” Betsy Stevenson and Justin Wolfers (2013): https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/subjective-well-being-income.pdf

“The Psychology of Money: Timeless lessons on wealth, greed, and happiness” by Morgan Housel: https://amzn.to/3onc5C2

Daniel Crosby TEDx: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXUh3wNnFrw

“Nudge: The Final Edition” by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein: https://amzn.to/2ZqQn5O

Barry Ritholtz, Episode 47. How to Reduce Evolutionary Panic: https://behavioralgrooves.com/episode/barry-ritholtz-reducing-panic/

The Rocket City Trash Pandas: https://www.milb.com/rocket-city

“Sludge: What Stops Us from Getting Things Done and What to Do about It” by Cass Sunstein: https://amzn.to/3CNQJ4X

At Uber, a New C.E.O Shifts Gears, The New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/04/09/at-uber-a-new-ceo-shifts-gears

Trevor Foulk episode (publishing at the end of Oct 2021)

Seth Stephens-Davidowitz, Episode 246. Are You More Honest with Google or Your Friends?

Topics

(3:09) Welcome and speed round.

(5:51) Why understanding people is vital to understanding markets.

(8:20) Daniel's journey into behavioral finance.

(11:02) What behavioral finance can help with beyond your bank balance.

(15:17) Can money really boost our happiness?

(20:05) The benefits of embracing our mediocrity.

(24:30) How stress impacts performance.

(26:58) Meta-biases: ego, promotion, attention, conservatism.

(31:09) What Coke Zero can teach us about conservatism bias.

(36:51) Ethics and behavioral finance.

(41:09) What music does Daniel invest in?

(48:44) Grooving Session on how to apply Daniel’s work in our own lives.

Books by Daniel Crosby

The Laws of Wealth: Psychology and the secret to investing success: https://amzn.to/36NsbuJ

The Behavioral Investor: https://amzn.to/3Bl4s3t

You're Not That Great: https://amzn.to/3ifiRFC

Personal Benchmark: Integrating Behavioral Finance and Investment Management https://amzn.to/3h5TjM1

Links

Van Leeuwen Ice Cream Honeycomb: https://vanleeuwenicecream.com/

“The Psychology of Money: Timeless lessons on wealth, greed, and happiness” by Morgan Housel: https://amzn.to/3onc5C2

Daniel Crosby TEDx: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXUh3wNnFrw

“Nudge: The Final Edition” by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein: https://amzn.to/2ZqQn5O

Barry Ritholtz, Episode 47. How to Reduce Evolutionary Panic: https://behavioralgrooves.com/episode/barry-ritholtz-reducing-panic/

The Rocket City Trash Pandas: https://www.milb.com/rocket-city

“Sludge: What Stops Us from Getting Things Done and What to Do about It” by Cass Sunstein: https://amzn.to/3CNQJ4X

At Uber, a New C.E.O Shifts Gears, The New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/04/09/at-uber-a-new-ceo-shifts-gears

Trevor Foulk episode (publishing at the end of Oct 2021)

Seth Stephens-Davidowitz, Episode 246. Are You More Honest with Google or Your Friends?

Previous Episode

Why You Don‘t Need to be Powerful to be Influential | Vanessa Bohns

To be influential you do not require power, but wielding your influence is powerful. Vanessa Bohns, social psychologist and professor of organizational behavior at Cornell University, joins us to discuss her enticing new book “You Have More Influence Than You Think”: https://amzn.to/39vCDIN. She draws from her research to illustrate why underestimating our influence can lead us to miss opportunities or worse yet, to misuse our power.

Vanessa challenges us to examine our powers of persuasion and to recognize that we have more influence than we even realize. We learn exactly why it’s so hard for us to say no, even when we’re uncomfortable with saying yes. And why we should focus on communicating more with people face-to-face.

As with all of our episodes, we leave you with a Grooving Session discussion focusing on how we can use Vanessa’s research to improve our lives, our relationships and our workplaces. Maybe this episode will influence you more than you realize? If it does, please support our ongoing work by contributing to our Patreon page at www.patreon.com/behavioralgrooves (just imagine, if we asked you in person, would you say yes?).

Topics

(3:19) Welcome to Vanessa Bohns.

(5:46) How your enjoyment of chocolate is influenced by others.

(8:15) The spotlight effect; is everyone really looking at me?

(12:34) How can we influence people more than we think?

(17:20) How Vanessa discovered people are likely to help, if you ask.

(23:34) Why it’s so much harder to say no than we think.

(26:50) How power amplifies your influence.

(29:22) Why we need to recognize white privilege as a position of power.

(32:47) Communication: why our choice of words matter.

(34:13) Robert Cialdini’s Influence.

(36:30) What are the most common misconceptions about influence?

(41:07) What are the 2 biggest takeaways from the book?

(43:52) How music has influenced Vanessa.

(49:13) Grooving Session discussing how to apply Vanessa’s research.

Links

“You Have More Influence Than You Think: How We Underestimate Our Power of Persuasion, and Why It Matters” Book by Vanessa Bohns: https://amzn.to/39vCDIN

John Bargh, Episode 248: Do We Control Situations or Do Situations Control Us? With John Bargh: https://behavioralgrooves.com/episode/control-situations-with-john-bargh/

Shankar Vedantam, Episode 222: How Delusions Can Actually Be Useful: Shankar Vedantam Reveals How: https://behavioralgrooves.com/episode/shankar-vedantam-useful-delusions/

Cristina Bicchieri, Episode 102: Social Norms are Bundles of Expectations: https://behavioralgrooves.com/episode/cristina-bicchieri-social-norms-are-bundles-of-expectations/

“Shared Experiences Are Amplified” Erica J. Boothby, Margaret S. Clark, John A. Bargh (2014): https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0956797614551162

“Good Lamps Are the Best Police: Darkness Increases Dishonesty and Self-Interested Behavior” Chen-Bo Zhong, Vanessa K. Bohns, Francesca Gino (2010): https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0956797609360754

Robert Frank on the Power of Peer Pressure in Fighting Climate Change: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmOUNgXKd0c&ab_channel=Rare

Robert Cialdini, Episode 226: The Power Of Unity: Robert Cialdini Expands His Best Selling Book Influence: https://behavioralgrooves.com/episode/cialdini-unity-in-influence/

How to Start a Movement | Dan Sivers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V74AxCqOTvg

Musical Links

Bronksi Beats “Smalltown Boy”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88sARuFu-tc

Sleigh Bells “Locust Laced”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzLOcmRRUfg

The National “Light Years”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FQtSn_vak0

Vampire Weekend “This Life”:

Next Episode

The 5 Healthy Brain Habits Of A Neuroscientist | Dr Daniel Almeida

What life habits keep our brain healthy? How does our mind respond to trauma? And why does the way we talk about suicide and mental health make such a difference to those who are struggling? We discuss all these topics with neuroscience researcher Dr Daniel Almeida.

To mark World Mental Health Day on Sunday, Oct 10, 2021, we decided to delve into the science behind mental health. And who better to help us with this topic than Daniel who has been named as one of Forbes 30 under 30 in science. His incredible work as a neuroscience researcher in the Douglas Research Centre at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, involves psychological autopsies to understand the molecular impacts of severe childhood abuse on the brains of individuals who died by suicide.

As you can imagine, this episode is full of difficult yet important topics. But what struck us most about Daniel was how upbeat and positive he is about his work and the difference it’s making to people’s lives. Daniel kindly shares his top 5 healthy brain habits that we can all adopt to improve our mental wellbeing.

If you, or someone you know needs help with their mental health, please use one of the resources in the links below.

Mental Health Support

Suicide Prevention Lifeline (US):https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention: https://afsp.org/suicide-prevention-resources

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration: National Helpline (US): 1-800-662-HELP (4357). SAMHSA’s National Helpline is a free, confidential, 24/7, 365-day-a-year treatment referral and information service (in English and Spanish) for individuals and families facing mental and/or substance use disorders. https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/national-helpline

The Canada Suicide Prevention Service: https://www.crisisservicescanada.ca/en/

Samaritans (UK): https://www.samaritans.org/

United for Global Mental Health (List of support networks around the world): https://unitedgmh.org/mental-health-support

For those looking for information on how to support others: National Institute of Mental Health: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/suicide-prevention For the general public looking to be trained in mental health first aid and/or suicide prevention: Living Works (US): https://bit.ly/3oKgsaS Mental Health First Aid Canada: https://mhfa.ca/ Topics

(6:29) Speed round.

(10:14) Does talking about suicide help?

(14:15) Why it’s very important to talk about “dying by suicide” instead of “committing suicide”.

(16:17) About Daniel’s work as a neuroscientist.

(17:47) What are the links between childhood trauma and suicide?

(25:16) What age are children most sensitive to the effects of trauma?

(31:19) How the type of trauma experienced by a child matters.

(33:36) How resilience is more like a sword than a shield.

(35:29) What are the 5 best brain health habits?

(41:57) What is a brain bank and how are psychological autopsies used?

(44:30) What music isn’t noise pollution for Daniel?

(46:24) Music and the brain.