Nudge Wiki

Person

Elizabeth Dunn

Guest; happiness researcher, University of British Columbia; author Happy Money, co-author Leave the Lights On

Happiness researcher at the University of British Columbia, author of Happy Money (with Michael Norton) and co-author, with Jiaying Zhao, of Leave the Lights On. Founding citation (Episode 113), predating this page's previously-recorded "first referenced" Episode 131. Not yet a guest — her book Happy Money is Phill Agnew's main source for a full solo episode on money and happiness: the KFC Double Down scarcity case (see KFC Double Down Scarcity Case, also predating its recorded Episode 277 citation), the chocolate/soda/gift delayed-consumption studies (see Delayed-Consumption Enjoyment Studies (Chocolate, Soda, Gifts)), a bull artificial-insemination novelty finding (introducing novelty to the process reduced ejaculation time — cited as a cross-species parallel to human relationship boredom), and her TED talk's prosocial-spending research (see Prosocial Spending and Happiness).

A second solo episode built entirely around Happy Money (Episode 117). Phill Agnew credits the book again as his primary source for an episode on "the worst ways to spend your money" — wealth-priming and isolation studies, wealth/time-pressure research, a German house-move satisfaction study, a Michigan BMW car-happiness study, commuting research (with Michael Norton), a European TV-watching study, credit-card debt studies, a Stanford brain-scanner shopping-pain study, and an hourly-wage time-money tradeoff study (see the case studies below).

Also referenced (given as "Liz Dunn" in the episode audio, not yet a guest) in Episode 131 for a study of friends dining together, finding those who put their phones away out of sight enjoyed the meal more than those who left phones visible on the table, because they were more present and less distracted (see Dunn Phone-Away Dining Enjoyment Study).

Second appearance (Episode 304). Explains how she and climate scientist Jiaying Zhao began collaborating (realizing behaviors good for the climate, like biking to work, are often also good for happiness — see Leave the Lights On), covers commuting-and-happiness research (biking rates highest, carpooling turns an otherwise-unhappy commute into social time), the Quoidbach Chocolate-Break Hedonic Adaptation Study extended into a three-arm design (a scarcity-abstinence group, an unlimited-chocolate group, and a control), and the TED mystery $10,000 charitable-giving happiness study (see TED Mystery $10,000 Happiness Study).

Discussed in

  • Episode 113 — Can money buy happiness
  • Episode 117 — The worst ways to spend your money -according to science
  • Episode 131 — 131-tips-for-living-a-happier-life-according-to-science
  • Episode 304 — 304-why-fear-won-t-always-persuade

Related