Por que o seu cérebro é ruim em prever a felicidade | David Zald | TEDxNashville Salon

Esta palestra do TEDxNashville Salon, apresentada pelo neurocientista David Zald, examina por que as pessoas costumam errar ao prever o que as fará felizes. Ele discute por que o prazer diminui com o tempo, por que experiências que exigem esforço são subestimadas e por que começar uma atividade pode ser mais difícil do que a própria atividade. A palestra também aborda a neurociência do flow, estado de absorção total em que a preocupação e a autoconsciência se dissipam. Segundo Zald, o engajamento significativo pode trazer uma felicidade mais duradoura do que o prazer ou a conquista isoladamente.

• Por que o prazer diminui e a felicidade é difícil de prever
• Por que atividades que exigem esforço são subestimadas
• A neurociência do flow

Why are we so bad at predicting what will make us happy? In this TEDxNashville talk, Zald explores why pleasure fades, why we underestimate experiences that require effort, and why getting started can be harder than the activity itself. He also examines the neuroscience of **flow**—the state of complete absorption in which worry and self-consciousness fade—and why meaningful engagement may bring more lasting happiness than pleasure or achievement. What if our brains weren't designed to keep us happy, but to keep us learning, exploring, and growing? Perhaps happiness isn't the destination. Perhaps it's what happens when we stop chasing it and become fully engaged in living. David Zald uses functional neuroimaging and neuropsychological techniques to examine and map the cognitive, affective and sensory functions of the orbitofrontal cortex, amygdala and the mesolimbic dopamine system. This work particularly focuses on understanding the manner in which individual differences in the functioning of these systems contributes to personality and risk for psychopathology. In recent years this work has examined the interaction of emotion and attention, and the substrates of economic decision making, particularly as it relates to motivation, the willingness to expend effort and reward processing, both in healthy individuals and people with certain forms of psychopathology. A final area of focus is the examination of the neural substrates of dimensions of psychopathology, specifically factors of psychopathology that cross the boundaries of different psychiatric disorders. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx