Dr Kate Laffan is an Assistant Professor in Behavioral Science at the Department of Psychological and Behavioral Science (PBS) at the London School of Economics. Kate carries out research at the intersection of economics and psychology to produce policy-relevant insights that can help address environmental challenges and promote human wellbeing. Her work has been published in leading outlets like Science and Nature Human Behavior.

She is currently working on the mental health and conservation benefits of nature connectedness and examining the predictors of low well-being worldwide. Kate is passionate about policy impact and co-leads a working group on Behavioral Science for Sustainability in the UN's One Planet Network. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.

In this talk, Dr. Laffan takes a unique approach by exploring the various philosophical perspectives on wellbeing. She then delves into the intriguing world of subjective well-being research, which seeks to understand well-being through individuals' reports of their thoughts and feelings as they navigate life. Dr. Laffan makes a compelling case for the use of this research in our quest to comprehend the 'good life' and how to foster it.

Kate is committed to policy impact. She has worked with a wide range of government bodies, charities, international organisations, and private companies on applying behavioural science to policy challenges. Most recently, Kate spent two years as a Behavioural Science Fellow at the OECD, working in their Executive Directorate to put behavioural insights into practice to promote sustainability and management excellence.

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