2025

Happiness At The Structural Level - Discussing the “Happiness Threshold” CNN Health

As experts in the psychology of happiness and well-being, Dr. Saida heshmati and Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky weigh in on recent research assessing a national “happiness threshold” linked to preventing chronic illness in a country’s population (Luga, Jafri, Luga, 2025).

They offer key context reminding us that, while happiness includes momentary and fleeting emotions, it’s also about life satisfaction at the structural level: “a reflection of whether societies are providing those material, social, and psychological foundations for people to thrive.” Read the full article on CNN Health.

How We Express Love Predicts How Much We Feel Loved - The Last Show with David Cooper

Dr. Saida Heshmati was part of the episode “Revenge Donations - July 10, 2025.” In this episode, Dr. Heshmati discussed with host David Cooper the basics of the primary findings of the newly published research study as well as the general research on love in daily life that is being investigated in this Templeton Project. Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts (Dr. Heshmati is featured starting at the 1 hour and 14 minute mark).

Feeling Loved Grows When People Express Love Science Magazine

Our lab’s PLOS One study on how expressing love shapes feelings of connection was featured in Science Magazine, spotlighting the power of small, everyday acts of love.

Read more…. https://scienmag.com/feeling-loved-grows-when-people-express-love-new-study-finds/

2023

Why friendship makes us healthier

The research of Saida Heshmati, a psychologist at Claremont Graduate University in the US, and her colleagues suggests that "regardless of where these little actions of love come from, or what relationship they come from, the quality of those interactions is very important – meaning that you can basically receive care when you're sick from a family member, but you can also receive it from a friend, and that still conveys love." 

Read full article here: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230329-why-friendship-makes-us-healthier (BBC Future, BBC)

Why Do We Get Emotional and Cry at Award Acceptance Speeches? On Kama Muta and Ke Huy Quan’s Oscars Acceptance Speech

From smaller events like an office holiday party to the big, televised spectacles with A-list celebrities, award shows often deliver emotional acceptance speeches from the winners. But what about the audience members and the viewers at home (for televised events)? Why do we sometimes experience such strong emotions that we also get moved to tears?

Read the full blog post written by Jaymes Paolo Rombaoa here:

https://www.psichi.org/blogpost/987366/489394/Why-Do-We-Get-Emotional-and-Cry-at-Award-Acceptance-Speeches-On-Kama-Muta-and-Ke-Huy-Quan-s-Oscars-Acceptance-Speech

(Psi-Chi-Ology Lab Blog Posts, Psychology Pop Corner Series)