ADAM MASTROIANNI: Do we need to make the world great (and kinder) again?

Adam Mastroianni (experimental psychologist, Substacker) recently published a study in Nature that hit headlines. The paper, co-published with happiness expert Daniel Gilbert, demonstrated that everyone (literally) thinks the world is in moral decline, that we are less honest, and less kind, and that we need to return to the golden days of yore. The controversial bit? Everyone has ALWAYS thought this. And ALL of us are wrong.Adam and I talk through the mad cognitive biases that steer us to this error and cover a bunch more that explain why being smart doesn’t make you happy, why we forget what we've learned and why we all (again) think the general public is stupider than us (we can’t all be right!?). I was overdue for a confrontation on my biases and my moral despair…you?SHOW NOTES Follow Adam's Substack - Experimental HistoryRead The illusion of moral declineIf you need to know a bit more about me… head to my "about" pageFor more such conversations subscribe to my Substack newsletter, it’s where I interact the most!Get your copy of my book, This One Wild and Precious LifeLet’s connect on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.