Dan Gilbert是《快樂為什麼不幸福》的作者。也是我非常喜歡且欽佩的心理學家。這段演講談的就是書中的內容。

Gilbert把前額葉比喻為經驗模擬器。先比較中彩券和下半身癱瘓的人，再以一連串遭遇不幸（冤獄、錯失成為巨富、被踢出披頭四......）卻宣稱自己很快樂的人為例，點出他要表達的：快樂是可以合成的（也就是他稱的心理免疫系統）。而且效果不會比自然快樂（Natural Happiness）差。

接著，他以實驗來說明我們的預測偏差（Impact Bias）

1. 自由選擇實驗：莫內的畫

2. 攝影課實驗

實驗結果證明：

＊心理免疫系統在無可選擇的狀況下運作最好。

Gilbert最後想說的是：

客觀來說，某些選擇絕對是比較好，可以引導我們走向更好的人生，但是，當我們太過放大我們的渴望和憂慮，反而就危險了。

他引用了亞當 史密斯的一段話，我到網路找了出來，非常好的一段話：

The great source of both the misery and disorders of human life, seems to arise from over-rating the difference between one permanent situation and another. Avarice over-rates the difference between poverty and riches: ambition, that between a private and a public station: vain-glory, that between obscurity and extensive reputation. The person under the influence of any of those extravagant passions, is not only miserable in his actual situation, but is often disposed to disturb the peace of society, in order to arrive at that which he so foolishly admires. The slightest observation, however, might satisfy him, that, in all the ordinary situations of human life, a well-disposed mind may be equally calm, equally cheerful, and equally contented. Some of those situations may, no doubt, deserve to be preferred to others: but none of them can deserve to be pursued with that passionate ardour which drives us to violate the rules either of prudence or of justice; or to corrupt the future tranquillity of our minds, either by shame from the remembrance of our own folly, or by remorse from the horror of our own injustice.

Dan Gilbert這麼好的社會心理學家，把快樂的迷思科學化的分析出來。不過我猜，連他自己也不一定真的快樂。因為道理都不難，難的是如何去實踐、如何從實踐中去調整。

共勉之。

評價：A+