How to Make a Difference: Part 2
Psychologist Martin Seligman joins Shankar Vedantam to explore the psychology of human agency and how optimism, efficacy, and imagination can be cultivated. They discuss why humans reflexively catastrophize, how small graded tasks and signature strengths build confidence, and how emerging technologies like generative AI can expand rather than diminish human agency.
- Agency requires three distinct psychological components: optimism about the future, immediate efficacy in the present, and imagination to generate alternative paths. Read →
- Martin Seligman argues artificial intelligence expands human agency rather than stripping people of autonomy or creative choice. Read →
- Human brains evolved during the Ice Ages to anticipate disaster because expecting floods, ice, and disease kept our ancestors alive. Read →
- In Ellen Langer and Judith Rodin's nursing home experiment at Shady Grove, giving residents small choices, such as watering their own plant or picking movie nights, reduced mortality. Read →
- Agency grows faster when you direct natural character traits at daily obstacles rather than forcing raw willpower. Read →