October 25, 2018: Nicholas Epley

(University of Chicago Booth School of Business)

https://www.chicagobooth.edu/faculty/directory/e/nicholas-epley

Nicholas Epley

Undersociality

Being connected to others increases health and happiness, and yet people routinely forgo opportunities for prosocial connections with friends, family members, neighbors, and even strangers. This raises a broad question: Are people social enough for their own wellbeing? In experiments asking participants to connect with strangers, reconnect with old friends, express gratitude, perform random acts of kindness, give compliments, and engage in constructive confrontation, we find consistent evidence that people underestimate the positive impact of prosocial interactions on both themselves and others. Systematically underestimate the positive impact of prosocial actions may diminish people’s interest in engaging with others, to the detriment of both one’s own and others wellbeing.

The colloquium will be held in Psychology Building 035.