10 Lessons from 50+ conversations with Experts in Wellbeing Science
Launching on Substack and reaffirming the mission of Researching Happy
When I started Researching Happy, the mission was simple: to open up conversations usually trapped in journals or conferences. I wanted to hear (and share) what leading thinkers in wellbeing science really believe: the messy debates, the blind spots, the uncomfortable questions.
Fifty episodes later, I’ve learned that wellbeing science is both promising and limited. Positive psychology opened the door to studying happiness and flourishing; but my guests have shown me where it stumbles, where it shines, and where it needs to grow.
Here are 10 of the biggest lessons so far, with the episodes to check out if you want to dig deeper.
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1. Language Shapes the Field
“We’ve stretched terms like trauma, resilience, and flourishing so wide they risk meaning nothing at all.”— Nick Haslam
Words steer how we think, research, and act. Haslam’s warning was clear: if we don’t sharpen our language, we risk building a science of wellbeing on slogans.
Lindsay Oades: “Wellbeing literacy is about giving people the language to notice and name what’s going on — once you have that language, you can actually see it in yourself.”
2. Measurement Isn’t Neutral
Scales and surveys help researchers track wellbeing, but they also flatten lived realities. Guests warned that measurement can become detached from context, even stripping flourishing of its meaning.
Claudia Trudel-Fitzgerald showed how optimism predicts health in Boston but not necessarily in rural Quebec.
Arthur Grimes warned that the ordinal nature of happiness data undermines sweeping economic claims.
Eri Mountbatten-O’Malley cautioned: “The more you try to technicalise flourishing, the more you risk stripping it of meaning.”
3. Flourishing Isn’t One Thing
Depending on who you ask, flourishing might mean personal growth, national prosperity, or fulfilling a role. Guests showed how the concept is used in wildly different ways, and why that matters.
Jonathan Beale asked how coaches can make flourishing practical.
Meike Bartels: “We don’t just experience wellbeing in our heads — we perceive it through our senses, through environments, through art. If we only measure it as cognition, we miss half of it.”
Chiara Ruini demonstrated how flourishing and recovery from illness are deeply entangled.
4. Context Is King
Wellbeing doesn’t happen in a vacuum; it’s shaped by culture, community, and environment.
Sarah Willen warned universal models collapse when applied to communities facing poverty or displacement.
Mike Steger put it plainly: “Wellbeing science is disproportionately driven by English-speaking former colonies, yet we talk about it as if it’s universal.”
Katina Ali showed how digital wellbeing tools can widen access, but also risk reinforcing inequality.
5. Suffering Belongs in the Picture
A science of wellbeing that avoids suffering isn’t credible.
Chiara Ruini: embedding wellbeing into therapy makes recovery more durable.
Paul Wong emphasised his big clash with positive psychology: flourishing only makes sense if it faces adversity head-on.
Craig Hassed: “Mindfulness isn’t about taking suffering away. It’s about learning to relate differently to stress and distress — noticing, stepping back, and creating space.”
6. The Clinical Divide Is False
The treatment of mental illness and promotion of wellbeing need not be separated. Aaron Jarden and Chiara Ruini showed how positive clinical psychology is dissolving the false divide by embedding wellbeing practices into recovery.
Aaron Jarden called the split between clinical and positive psychology a “grudge match” and argued for positive clinical psychology.
Chiara Ruini echoed it: “Therapy that includes wellbeing, not just symptom relief, is therapy that lasts.”
7. Who Gets to Define Flourishing?
Definitions are never neutral — they embed values and politics. Guests pointed out that whether flourishing is framed as preference-satisfaction, good functioning, or spirituality, the people doing the defining have significant implications when translated into the world.
Jennifer Frey warned that ignoring centuries of reflection (Aristotle, Aquinas) leaves psychology’s account thin.
- warned that “In economics the definition of well-being is whether people can satisfy their own preferences … in psychology it’s more about good functioning … and so you run into this very dangerous brave new world territory where a technocracy is giving advice … that’s a toxic mix with anti-elite sentiment.”
8. Buzzwords Won’t Save Us
Catchy terms spread quickly but often obscure complexity.
Narelle Lemon stressed resilience is flexible coping, not just toughness.
Mike Steger, again: “Sometimes it felt like violins playing while the Titanic sank.”
Annalise Roache: “Connection is the biggest indicator of wellbeing, but not all connection is good. Relationships can be toxic, isolating, or nourishing — and we need to talk about both sides.”
9. Culture Shapes Wellbeing
Most wellbeing research still comes from WEIRD samples — Western, educated, industrialised, rich, democratic.
Sarah Willen’s work from Israel and South Africa showed wellbeing looks different outside Anglo contexts.
Frank Martela and others argued that if the field wants to make universal claims, it needs far more cross-cultural work.
10. Critique Makes the Field Stronger
Positive psychology is still a young field, and its future depends on being willing to question itself.
“We’ve been too quick to celebrate the shiny stuff. The future of wellbeing science depends on asking: what doesn’t work, what needs to be scrapped, and where are our blind spots?” —
The debate between Todd Kashdan and Eri Moutbatten O’Malley in Episode 50 was a turning point. Echoing Todd’s book “The Art of Insubordination”: critique isn’t a threat — it’s how wellbeing science grows up.
Check out a great summary of the Critiques of Positive Psychology by Van Zyl and coauthors - let's tackle these head on!
Full list of Episodes:
056 - The Science of Wellbeing, Resilience, and Health | Prof Claudia Trudel-Fitzgerald
055 - WHO gets to define flourishing? And what are the stakes? | Professor Sarah Willen
054 - Self-care redefined, balancing the system and individual responsibility | Prof Narelle Lemon
053 - How grateful parents can transform family dynamics | A/Prof Katherine Nelson-Coffey
052 - A Call to Action for Positive Psychology | Prof Mike Steger
051 - Stop Phubbing Up Our Happiness: Smartphones, Social Connection, and School Bans | Dr Carli Ochs
050! DEBATE: Are we LYING to ourselves in Positive Psychology? Prof Todd Kashdan, Dr Eri Mountbatten-O'Malley & Dr Matthew Iasiello
049 - Could pro-social behaviour be the FOURTH psychological need? A/Prof Frank Martela
048 - How can we avoid positive psychology's blindspots? Empathetic collaboration | A/Prof Mark Fabian
047 - Mental health crisis, politicians asleep: commentary on the Australian Federal budget | Dr Stephen Carbone
046 - The Wellbeing Revolution in Europe, social safety nets, and the Easterlin paradox | Dr Kelsey O'Connor
045 - LIVE from SPSP: A taxonomy and item bank of positive mental health | Dr Matthew Iasiello
044 - Does wellbeing have a marketing problem? Celebrating the LAUNCH of Be Well Co’s LANGUISHING campaign
043 - The hidden truth about mental health | Dr Matthew Iasiello
042 - New Year Same Me? Setting consistent habits for achievable goals | Dr Naomi Kakoschke
041 - Why is wellbeing science like the UFC?
040 - Childhood maltreatment is a public health emergency | Dr Lucy Grummitt
039 - Flourishing at the end of life (and dying) | Dr Xavier Symons
038 - Neural mechanisms that promote resilience to trauma | A/Prof Sanne van Rooij
A dedication to life-changing teachers
037 - Concept creep and the inflation of mental health language | Prof Nick Haslam
036 - Mental health literacy and priorities for prevention
035 - What happens when you use the right methodology | A/Prof Mohsen Joshanloo
034 Disillusioned about prevention? I want to hear from you!
033. We MASSIVELY undervalue mental health | James Lathe
032. Wellbeing as the core role of economics | Prof Arthur Grimes
031. Implementing mental wellbeing promotion | Prof Margaret Barry
030. Next steps for a stronger positive psychology | A/Prof Aaron Jarden
029 | Life Coaching from a Clinical Psychologist? Dr Suzy Green
028. Aquinas on Happiness | Dean Jennifer Frey
027. All things FLOW | A/Prof Marta Bassi
026. Workplace as an opportunity to shift population mental health
025: EVERY QUESTION about coaching explained | Yannick Jacob
024. Should we be more CONNECTIVIST? | Paul Tupou-Vea
023. Designing Eudaimonia using Architecture, Engineering, and the Built Environ | Dr Jenna Mikus
022. Want thriving at work? Let Good Work Design help! | Prof Karina Jorritsma
021. Human rights, wellbeing, lived experience, and the LAW | Simon Katterl
020. Scientism, wellbeing, and the future of education | Dr Jonathan Beale
019. Lay conceptualisations of wellbeing | Annalise Roache
018. Happiness through suffering and existential positive psychology | Dr Paul Wong
017. Gad Saad on Happiness: A Book Review
016. LIVE from IPPA World Congress 2023 and two of Matt's presentations
015. Could wellbeing literacy be the key to population mental health? | Dr Lindsay Oades
014. What’s God got to do with wellbeing? Theology, love of enemy, and more | Dr Brendan Case
013. How to be practically more mindful | Dr Craig Hassed
012. A wellbeing science repository for government, business, and community | Nancy Hey
011. Eating Disorders, Help-seeking, Wellbeing, and Border Closures | Dr Kathina Ali
010. Can wellbeing therapy and eudaimonia prevent relapse? | Dr Chiara Ruini
09. What do YOU mean by Flourishing? | Dr Eri Mountbatten-O’Malley
08. The many many benefits of wellbeing | Dr Ziggi Santini
07. Genetics of wellbeing, and improving the scientific quality of positive psychology | Dr Meike Bartels
06. A theory of wellbeing from psychology, philosophy, and economics | Dr Mark Fabian
05. Researcher to CEO for real-world change | Dr Addie Wootten
04. Fighting for prevention in mental health | Dr Stephen Carbone
03. Social Anxiety, purpose, and upsetting the wrong people | Dr Fallon Goodman
02. Turning research into sustainable real-world benefits | Joep van Agteren
01. Languishing and the origins of Positive Psychology | Dr Corey Keyes
00: Welcome to Researching Happy