What makes us tick? These TED Talks -- from psychologists and journalists, doctors and patients -- share the latest research on why we do what we do.

Psychologist Angela Duckworth studies the traits that allow us to stick to our goals — and she chose four great talks that explore other facets of how human beings behave.

TED Studies, created in collaboration with Wiley, are curated video collections — supplemented by rich educational materials — for students, educators and self-guided learners. In Understanding Happiness, expert explorers of the mind chart our understanding of how happiness is created and cultivated. Their insights challenge our most basic cultu...

Beating yourself up for a bad decision? These talks will help you put the past behind you.

Feeling a little down on yourself? These mental tricks and pearls of inspiration will give you a lift.

We're lied to 10 to 200 times a day, and tell a lie ourselves an average of 1 to 2 times in the same period. These talks will help you understand why — and will make you better at sussing out the truth.

Philip Zimbardo knows how easy it is for nice people to turn bad. In this talk, he shares insights and graphic unseen photos from the Abu Ghraib trials. Then he talks about the flip side: how easy it is to be a hero, and how we can rise to the challenge.

Psychologist Philip Zimbardo says happiness and success are rooted in a trait most of us disregard: the way we orient toward the past, present and future. He suggests we calibrate our outlook on time as a first step to improving our lives.

Deepen your comprehension of Understanding Happiness with these carefully crafted educational exercises that let you get the most out of this TED Studies subject.

"Human beings are works in progress that mistakenly think they're finished." Dan Gilbert shares recent research on a phenomenon he calls the "end of history illusion," where we somehow imagine that the person we are right now is the person we'll be for the rest of time. Hint: that's not the case.

An illuminating, if not slightly chilling, exploration of what makes a psychopath.

Human behavior is a riddle. In these talks, speakers share psychological studies—from asking kids to wait to eat marshmallows to planting false memories through a single word—that offer possible solutions as well as surprising new twists.