After you’ve watched Sharot’s talk on the optimism bias, please write a summary of her talk and submit it here. Your summary should be about a full page in length.
In your summary, please address the following questions:
What is the optimism bias?
Dr. Sharot polls the audience and asks them how well they get along with others, and it turns out that most people rate themselves above average. Is there an area of your life where you find you think of yourself as better than average? How does this change your life? (e.g., you’re more confident).
She goes on to talk about how some people have proposed that having low expectations is the key to happiness, and she describes three reasons why this isn’t so. What are those three reasons? What is her evidence?
Describe the experiment Dr. Sharot performed to identify brain regions playing a role in the optimism bias.
If you could eliminate your optimism bias, would you? Why or why not?
Please include an APA format reference for Dr. Sharot’s talk at the end. You do not need to include citations unless you use a direct quote (and I advise you to put things in your own words to better support your understanding. Trust me, you will not remember anything you cut and paste.)
If it’s easier for you to follow, here’s a pdf of the assignment: Sharot TED Talk Essay
I would not change the optimisim bias, I believe it makes us happier and better people. Being optimistic is good because we live fuller and more experienced lives.
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