A neural network that may generate the human tendency to be optimistic has been identified by researchers at New York University. As humans, we expect to live longer and be more successful than average, and we underestimate our likelihood of getting a divorce or having cancer. The results, reported in Nature, link the optimism bias to the same brain regions that show irregularities in depression.

The study was conducted by a team of researchers from the laboratory of NYU Professor Elizabeth Phelps. The lead author is Tali Sharot, now a post-doctoral fellow at University College London.

The NYU researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine brain function while participants thought of possible future life events (such as “winning an award” or “the end of a romantic relationship”).

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Happiness takes on a whole new meaning when it comes to Ottawa psychology researcher John Zelenski.
Zelenski, the head of Carleton University’s “happiness lab,” is just starting to get comfortable with happiness. Not the mental state, but the word itself used to describe his line of scientific inquiry, a field of study that has gathered steam in the past decade.

Recently, that inquiry had led Zelenski to ask how nature makes us happy. And whether the human happiness generated by admiring a sunset or walking through the woods can help save the planet.

“Happiness is not a fish you can catch,” according to Canadian rock band Our Lady Peace.
Scientists beg to differ. Sure, catching the fish of happiness isn’t easy, but what we learn about the human condition of happiness can affect how we choose to chase it.

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It might come as a surprise if you’re struggling with the mortgage, the smog or the morning commute, but Sydney is apparently associated with the word “happiness”.

A global survey of urban lifestyle trends in 14 cities interviewed 8500 people, 630 who live in Sydney.

Those residents said Sydney was one of the world’s greatest cities, and a “pleasant, clean and charming” place to live.

In fact, the harbour city was ranked among the top three of the world’s “easy to live” cities, praised for low levels of population density and closeness to nature, with residents reporting they are optimistic and not very stressed.

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