Answered from How to Make a Difference: Part 2 · Hidden Brain · 2026-09-28
Martin Seligman described a study by Ellen Langer and Judith Rodin in which residents on one floor of a nursing home were told about choices they could make and given a plant to look after, while another floor had the same things done for them. Over two weeks, the residents with choice and responsibility moved around more and fewer of them died. Seligman says the study opened the positive psychology of health.
Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on Hidden Brain (2026-09-28). Read the whole episode summary →