Today we welcome Sonja Lyubomirsky who is a distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Riverside. Originally from Russia, she received her A.B., summa cum laude, from Harvard University and her Ph.D. in Social/Personality Psychology from Stanford University. Her research has been featured in hundreds of magazines, newspapers, shows and documentaries in North America, South America, Asia, Australia, and Europe. Dr. Lyubomirsky’s best-selling books The How of Happiness and The Myths of Happiness have been published and translated in over 16 countries. In this episode, I talk to Sonja Lyubomirsky about happiness. Across all of her research, Dr. Lyubomirsky has found that connection is what makes people happy. So then, how do we form high-quality connections? Dr. Lyubomirsky gives us insight on how to use kindness, reciprocity, and gratitude to maintain and strengthen our relationships. We also touch on the topics of psychedelics, interpersonal chemistry, and social media. Website: drsonja.net Twitter: @slyubomirsky Topics 01:38 Sonja’s interest in happiness research 03:56 The Happiness Pie Chart 07:55 The Set-point Theory of Happiness 10:42 Connection is the key to happiness 15:19 Are extroverts happier? 20:12 Psychedelic social psychology 25:25 The Happiness Boomerang Effect 29:58 What makes for great conversation? 34:16 High-quality connections 36:47 How to create interpersonal chemistry 42:44 Can you count too many blessings? 45:27 Apps that make us happy and unhappy 51:39 Kindness boosts immunity Subscribe to The Psychology Podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/psychology-podcast-dr.-scott/id942777522 https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-psychology-podcast-with-scott-barry-kaufman/the-psychology-podcast-with-dr-scott-barry-kaufman?refid=stpr See past episodes and join in the Discussion: https://scottbarrykaufman.com/podcast/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thepsychologypodcast?ref=br_tf Twitter: https://twitter.com/psychpodcast #ThePsychologyPodcast