Should we be optimistic?

LSE IQ | Intelligent questions with social science answers

To subscribe on Apple podcasts please visit apple.co/2r40QPA or on Andriod subscribeonandroid.com/www.lse.ac.uk…unesStore.xml or search for 'LSE IQ' in your favourite podcast app or visit lse.ac.uk/iq Welcome to LSE's award-winning podcast, LSE IQ, where we ask leading social scientists - and other experts - to answer an intelligent question about economics, politics or society. Despite our growing collective pessimism about the state of the world, when it comes to our own lives, research suggests we are generally optimistic. After a year that will remain synonymous with anxiety, isolation, endless devastating news reports, and for too many – loss, this episode of LSE IQ asks: is optimism is good for us? And, beyond the effects on our wellbeing, is optimism an accurate lens through which to view the world? Addressing these issues are: Dr Tali Sharot, Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at UCL; Dr Joan Costa-Font, Associate Professor in Health Economics at LSE; Dr David de Meza, Professor of Management at LSE; and Dr Chris Kutarna, author of Age of Discovery: Navigating the Risks and Rewards of our New Renaissance. Contributors Dr Tali Sharot Dr Joan Costa-Font Professor David de Meza Dr Chris Kutarna Research The Optimism Bias: Why we're wired to look on the bright side by Tali Sharot. Neither an Optimist Nor a Pessimist Be: Mistaken Expectations Lower Well-Being by David de Meza and Chris Dawson in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. Why optimism and entrepreneurship are not always a good mix for business by David de Meza and Chris Dawson in The Conversation. Optimism and the perceptions of new risks by Elias Mossialos, Caroline Rudisdill and Joan Costa-Font in the Journal of Risk Research. Explaining optimistic old age disability and longevity expectations by Joan Costa-Font and Montserrat Costa-Font in Social Indicators Research. Does optimism help us during a pandemic? by Joan Costa-Font. Age of Discovery: Navigating the Risks and Rewards of Our New Renaissance by Chris Kutarna and Ian Goldin.