Psychology

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.

Video playlists about Psychology

What makes you happy?

14 talks • 3h 33m
Everyone wants to be happy. But how, exactly, does one go about it? Here, psychologists, journalists, Buddhist monks and more gives answers that may surprise.

Angela Duckworth: 4 talks on human behavior

4 talks • 1h 26m
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.

How we make choices

8 talks • 2h 31m
Talks on why some choices are so tough, and how we can make better ones. Some even ask: are we really in control of our choices at all?

Charming talks for a boost on a bad day

5 talks • 50:40
Bad days happen to good people. Here are talks guaranteed to help cheer you up.
See all 25 playlists on Psychology

Talks about Psychology

12:18

Emily Esfahani Smith

There's more to life than being happy

Posted Sep 2017
16:02

Susan Pinker

The secret to living longer may be your social life

Posted Aug 2017
9:29

Adam Alter

Why our screens make us less happy

Posted Jul 2017
14:16

Aala El-Khani

What it's like to be a parent in a war zone

Posted Feb 2017
12:01

Robb Willer

How to have better political conversations

Posted Jan 2017
13:28

Adam Grant

Are you a giver or a taker?

Posted Jan 2017
10:31

Hector Garcia

We train soldiers for war. Let's train them to come home, too

Posted Nov 2016
20:17

Jonathan Haidt

Can a divided America heal?

Posted Nov 2016
15:15

Brian Little

Who are you, really? The puzzle of personality

Posted Jun 2016
13:36

Kang Lee

Can you really tell if a kid is lying?

Posted May 2016
14:14

Arthur Brooks

A conservative's plea: Let's work together

Posted Mar 2016
15:32

Tim Harford

How frustration can make us more creative

Posted Jan 2016
15:30

Jean-Paul Mari

The chilling aftershock of a brush with death

Posted Nov 2015
17:35

Siddhartha Mukherjee

Soon we'll cure diseases with a cell, not a pill

Posted Oct 2015
8:02

Barry Schwartz

The way we think about work is broken

Posted Sep 2015
11:04

Rana el Kaliouby

This app knows how you feel — from the look on your face

Posted Jun 2015
See all 122 talks on Psychology

Exclusive articles about Psychology

The dark side of charisma

Like it or not, charisma matters when it comes to leadership. But we should be aware of the power that persuasion can have on us, says business school professor and researcher J...

Grieving the people we’ve loved and lost

We can stay connected to them by creating our own special rituals, says psychologist and grief expert Kim Bateman. In 1990, one of my younger brothers died in an avalanche while...
Read more articles on Psychology

TED Books

TED Book: The Science of Optimism

The Science of Optimism

by Tali Sharot
Most of us have an optimism bias; we expect things to turn out pretty well, often better than they actually do. Tali Sharot explains why we're hard-wired for hope.
Buy now