week 12: the art of living well

What is the definition of a “hot streak”?

A period during which an individual’s performance is substantially better than their typical performance.

According to Liu et al. (2018), what percentage of artists, directors, and scientists have at least one hot streak?

91% of artists, 82% of directors, and 90% of scientists.

True or false: A hot streak is usually triggered by a sudden increase in productivity (quantity of work).

False. There is no change in the number of works produced; it is about quality, not quantity.

In the study of hot streaks, what does “High Entropy (H)” represent?

Exploration: Working on many diverse topics, styles, or genres.

In the study of hot streaks, what does “Low Entropy (H)” represent?

Exploitation: Focusing intensely on a few specific topics or styles.

What specific sequence of work patterns is the only one that reliably predicts the onset of a hot streak?

A period of exploration followed immediately by a period of exploitation.

How does team size typically shift for scientists during the exploration phase versus the exploitation phase?

Scientists work with smaller teams during exploration (ideal for novel ideas) and larger teams during exploitation (ideal for scaling a focused idea).

What is the “random impact rule” in the context of career hits?

The idea that an individual’s best work is random and hits are scattered throughout a career (contrasted with the Matthew Effect/clustering).

What is “hedonic adaptation/treadmill”?

The tendency for people to return to a baseline level of happiness even after major positive or negative life changes.

What are the two strongest inhibitors of gratitude?

Narcissism and cynicism.

According to Sood & Gupta (2012), gratitude serves as an “antidote” to what enemy of well-being?

Rumination.

What was the main finding of Lambert, Fincham & Stillman (2011) regarding gratitude and depression?

Higher gratitude predicts fewer depressive symptoms because it enhances positive reframing and positive emotions.

In the gratitude journaling study (Cunha et al., 2019), what was the “Neutral events” group actually doing?

They were primarily listing positive events, making them an “unofficial gratitude group”.

What was the primary advantage of the gratitude intervention over the neutral task in the Cunha et al. (2019) gratitude journalling study?

It was only significantly better at increasing positive affect; for depression and life satisfaction, it worked similarly to listing neutral/daily events.

According to Kini et al. (2016), is expressing gratitude a purely emotional process?

No, it is a complex cognitive appraisal process involving brain regions associated with executive function and value-based decision-making.

What long-term neural change did Kini et al. (2016) find in subjects who practiced gratitude letter writing?

They showered greater neural sensitivity to gratitude in the perigenual Anterior Cingulate Cortex (pACC) three months later.

According to Layous et al. (2017), what is the “pathway” from gratitude to well-being?

Gratitude → Elevation → Effort (at being kind) → Well-being.

Define the emotion of “elevation”.

An other-praising emotion focused on the goodness of someone else that motivates the individual to copy that goodness.

What are the two main views of the “Good Life”?

The Virtuous Life (Moralistic View) and the Enjoyable Life (Hedonistic View).

Define the “virtuous life” view of the good life.

A life that is enjoyed, feels good, and focuses on life satisfaction.

Define the “enjoyable life” view of the good life.

A life that is enjoyed, feels good, and focuses on life satisfaction.

What are the four broad capabilities required for a happy life?

Reality control, social competence, self-knowledge, and autonomy.

What is the difference between “living pleasantly” (narrow hedonism) and “living a happy life” (broad hedonism)?

Living Pleasantly focuses on maximizing monetary pleasure or minimizing pain, while Living a Happy Life focuses on enduring life-satisfaction.

Within narrow hedonism, what is the “greedy life”?

A life aimed at maximizing pleasure through “stylish indulgence”.

Within narrow hedonism, what is the “serene life”?

A life aimed at minimizing pain; it welcomes sensory pleasure but avoids indulgence and thrills that cause dependency.

What are the three variants of a Virtuous Life?

Living up to Rules, Living up to an Ideal, and Living Deliberately.

According to Veenhoven (2003), what does the “optimal skill set” for a person depend on?

It depends entirely on their individual definition of a “good life”.

For a life focused on “life satisfaction,” what does the evidence suggest the required capability profile resembles?

It resembles positive mental health.