Jennifer Aaker Shares the Truth About Human Emotions in This Optimism Keynote

Throughout this optimism keynote, social psychologist and marketer Jennifer Aaker uses her research to unravel the truth about happiness. People are largely unaware about the factors that contribute to a better state of being. Aaker drives the point that "we don't know what makes us happy, but we thing we do," which is very problematic.

By dissecting the factors that people think make them happy in comparison to what really makes them happy, Aaker points out that beauty, youth and wealth correlate far less with happiness than one's expectations. In fact, Aaker shows how volunteering has a bidirectional relationship that feeds off of itself. Her conclusion is that people who give more time and money will have a better sense of well-being and vice-versa.