“We hope they inspire you to reach out to others and model the kind of goodness you hope to see in the world. ”

The Top 10 Insights from the “Science of a Meaningful Life” in 2024

The most provocative and influential findings published during the past year

Photo by Ilu Wloch

January 3, 2025
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By Kira M. Newman, Jill Suttie, Emiliana R. Simon-Thomas, Maryam Abdullah, Elizabeth Hopper, Edward Lempinen, Jeremy Adam Smith

After a year that feels like it has pushed many of us apart, our selection of the top scientific insights of 2024 are nearly all about how we come together and how we’re interconnected—across time, distance, and difference. 

Some insights speak to the ways we can connect with people with disagree with, and how this process isn’t as painful as we imagine. Others look at the effects parents have on children, teachers have on students, and plant and animal life have on all of us. One insight is simply about an easy way you can reconnect with someone, today.  
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The final insights were selected by experts on our staff, after soliciting nominations from our network of nearly 400 researchers. We hope they inspire you to reach out to others and model the kind of goodness you hope to see in the world. 
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1. 
​We’re missing out on important happiness insights by overlooking Indigenous cultures

Does having more money make you happier? Research findings on this question have been mixed, with some studies suggesting it doesn’t and others suggesting it does—and the more money, the better. 

But a 2024 study by Eric Galbraith of McGill University and his colleagues, published in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, offers a new perspective on this debate. And their research—based on smaller, rural, often Indigenous communities—is also a reminder of the people who are often left out of world happiness surveys and other psychological research, and what we can learn from them about well-being.

In the study, Galbraith and his colleagues surveyed almost 3,000 people in 19 small communities (mostly in Asia, Africa, and South America) about their life satisfaction, then compared their answers to their level of wealth. Since most didn’t live in a cash-based economy, their income was calculated based on the value of their assets.

Galbraith and his team found that people from these communities were very satisfied with their lives—6.8 on a scale up to 10—even though most of them lived on less than the equivalent of $1,000 per year. To put that in perspective, people in the 2022 Gallup Poll (used to create the 2022 World Happiness Report) weren’t generally that happy until they made at least $25,000 a year.

The researchers also found that living in a particular village mattered for life satisfaction, and it had nothing to do with the wealth of that village. This means other, non-economic factors likely contributed to the villagers’ happiness—like, perhaps, living in a more interdependent community, being closer to nature, or experiencing lower inequality.

Whatever the reason, these findings add more evidence to the debate about the role of money in life satisfaction—and hint at other lessons happiness researchers (and all of us) could learn if psychological research were more inclusive.

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“Small-scale societies living in close contact with nature, on the fringes of globalized mainstream society, offer distinctly valuable perspectives [on the link between wealth and satisfaction],” the researchers write.
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2.
​Old friends are an untapped source of connection and well-being

Given the pain of loneliness and the meaning we derive from relationships, you would think we’d be doing all we can to stay connected to others in life. But a 2024 paper reveals a big missed opportunity for connection: old friends. 

How big is that missed opportunity? Across six studies with over 2,500 participants from the U.S., U.K., and Canada, Lara B. Aknin and Gillian M. Sandstrom found that fewer than one-third of people sent a message to an old friend when given time to do so—even though they said they would be happy to reconnect and thought their friend would appreciate it, too. 

Why? According to surveys, the biggest barriers are worries that our friends won’t want to hear from us or that it would be awkward. These barriers are hard to overcome. Aknin and Sandstrom tried and failed to ease people’s hesitations by reminding them how much they’d appreciate such a note themselves, encouraging them not to listen to their second thoughts, and framing the message as an act of kindness. It turns out that old friends feel like strangers to us, potentially activating all our misgivings about talking to someone we don’t know. 

“People are generally interested in connecting, but prefer that the other person initiate,” the researchers explain. At the same time, their research suggests, we overestimate how willing other people are to be the ones to initiate, putting us in a bind. 

However, one tactic did work. If people started by sending a few messages to current friends and acquaintances—basically, practicing the act of reaching out—they were more likely to contact an old friend. 

This paper adds to research suggesting that our assumptions get in the way of our connections in life. For example, we overestimate the discomfort of expressing gratitude, and we underestimate how much much compliments and small kindnesses mean to other people and how willing they are to help us. 
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If you find it strangely hard to get in touch with someone after time has passed, you’re certainly not alone. But old friends might just be the low-hanging fruit of more connection in life—and they’re only a short “hello” away.  
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3.
​A simple 20-second practice can have lasting benefits for stress and mental health

Many of us lead busy lives that put us at risk for burnout. Though different well-being practices could help—like mindfulness meditation or gratitude journaling, for example—we may think we don’t have time for them.

But what if you could feel significantly better from just 20 seconds of a simple practice? Findings from a new study published in Behavior Research and Therapy suggest you can. Just 20 seconds of self-compassionate touch daily can calm your nerves and improve your mental health.

In this study, led by Eli Susman (a former Greater Good Science Center research fellow) and his colleagues, 135 young adults were randomly assigned to practice either self-compassionate touch or a dexterity exercise 20 seconds a day for a month. Self-compassionate touch involved placing a hand over your heart and the opposite hand over your belly—though people were told they could try other self-soothing touch. The dexterity exercise involved touching various fingers to your thumb in a particular pattern. Participants were also encouraged to pick a “cue” to help support their practice—something they did every day that might prompt them to do it.

Before and after they began practicing, participants filled out questionnaires measuring their self-compassion, positive feelings, anxiety and depression symptoms, and stress. The researchers also measured how much people adhered to their practice over time.
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When analyzing the results, they found that among people who practiced at least 28 days of the month, those in the self-compassionate touch group had greater self-compassion, and they experienced less stress, anxiety, and depression, in comparison to the tapping group.
As the researchers concluded, “Daily micropractices have the potential for augmenting single-session interventions and for offering help when more time-intensive approaches may be less accessible.” In other words, you don’t need an hour a day to make a difference in your well-being. Even 20 seconds of self-compassionate touch—and perhaps other brief practices, as well—may do the trick.
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4.
​We feel better emotionally when we’re in biodiverse places—not just basic “green spaces”

Spending time in “green spaces” or natural settings increases our well-being and may be especially important for urban dwellers. For example, people feel less anxious, stressed, and depressed walking in a forest versus a cityscape, and people who live near “green spaces” within a city have better mental health.

But what elements of “green space” promote well-being the most? A new study published this year in Scientific Reportssuggests one possible answer: biodiversity.

In the study, led by researcher Ryan Hammoud of King’s College, London, almost 2,000 people around the world used the Urban Mind App to record their physical surroundings and assess their well-being in real time over two weeks. Three times a day, they reported on where they were and if they could see any trees or plants, or see or hear any birds or water—indicating how diverse the environment was. They also reported how confident, relaxed, happy, connected to others, and energetic—and how stressed, down, anxious, lonely, and tired—they felt in that moment.

After analyzing the data, researchers found that people had greater mental well-being in spaces where they could see or hear natural elements, and this effect lasted up to eight hours. This was true regardless of a person’s age, gender, ethnicity, occupation, or education, pointing to the everyday benefits of being exposed to nature, even briefly.

But people who experienced more biodiversity in natural environments had even greater well-being, above and beyond the effects of being in nature alone. In fact, for every additional natural element in someone’s environment, like a duck or a stream, researchers found an average 0.91-point increase in mental health scores (on a scale up to 50 points). 
This suggests that ecological diversity within urban spaces is important for people living there. City planners should take note if they want to promote better mental health, say Hammoud and his team:
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“[Our] study highlights the importance of protecting and promoting natural diversity in our cities,” they write. “This means moving away from monocultural pockets and parks of mown grass . . . towards polycultural spaces which mimic the biodiversity of natural ecosystems.”
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5.
​Learning to be more forgiving improves your mental health, no matter where you live

Eleanor's Peace Rose

Forgiveness can be a difficult concept to get behind. Holding a grudge sometimes feels easier or more empowering—like a form of revenge, or even vindication. But studies consistently report that grudge holding takes a toll on well-being, while forgiveness builds resilience, reduces stress and ill will, and helps us move on constructively.

Two large studies in 2024 contribute to current research by finding that forgiveness has mental health benefits for people across the globe, and can be taught through community programs as well as individual practices.

The first study recruited almost 4,600 people living in places where there had been civil conflict or unrest in the recent past: Hong Kong, Indonesia, Ukraine, Colombia, and South Africa. Study participants were given a forgiveness training workbook on the REACH framework developed by Everett Worthington. Based on surveys before and after, the researchers found that practicing forgiveness reduced people’s unforgiveness, as well as their symptoms of depression and anxiety.

The second study found that forgiveness practices can also be effective when deployed at the community level. Researchers tested a community-wide forgiveness campaign at the Universidad de Sinú, a private, nonreligious university in Monteria, Colombia. Professors incorporated forgiveness-related content into their course materials, and the entire campus community was invited to engage in voluntary forgiveness-promoting activities for four weeks. The campaign included lectures, online discussions, videos, webinars, and physical installations, like a “forgiveness tree.”  

Survey responses from nearly 2,900 students from before and after the campaign showed that they were more willing to forgive family, friends, roommates, and teachers afterward. Students also reported a deeper understanding of the meaning and impact of forgiveness, and, again, decreased symptoms of depression and anxiety. 
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While these are not the first findings that illustrate the advantages of forgiving over holding on to animosity, they suggest that learning to forgive can help people from all different backgrounds. Keeping in mind that forgiveness does not imply that you endorse someone’s harmful behavior or want to reconcile with them, forgiving past harms is a learnable way to buffer against the risk of feeling depressed and anxious—wherever you live in the world. 
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6.
​Empathy is passed down across at least three generations

Parents play such a meaningful role in their children’s well-being and the people their children become. In particular, a 25-year study published in Child Development this year showed how empathy can be passed down through three generations: from parent to child to that child’s future children. 

First, researcher Jessica Stern and her colleagues measured mothers’ empathy for their 13 year olds during a conversation. Next, when the teens were 13 to 19 years old, they measured teens’ empathy for their closest friends during another conversation. Later, the researchers followed the teens into parenthood up until their own children were three to eight years old. At that point, they surveyed the second generation’s empathy for their children, asking about how they provided supportive responses when their children were distressed. Finally, the second-generation parents completed questionnaires about their own young children’s empathy.

The results? Teens who received greater empathy from their moms tended to show greater empathy to their close friends. In turn, those teens went on to have greater empathy for their children after becoming parents—and, in turn, their children tended to have greater empathy for others.

These findings suggest that empathy is “paid forward” across relationships and over time. Teens whose moms are sensitive, emotionally engaged, and supportive learn how to be the same for their close friends. What’s more, the researchers say, caring for a close friend as a teenager may act as a “training ground” to help strengthen teens’ empathy muscle into adulthood when they become parents. And from there, the cycle continues. 

This study focused on mothers, but another 2024 study reminds us that fathers matter, too—in particular, that fathers’ sensitivity to their children’s needs seems just as important to children developing a healthy attachment style as their mothers’ sensitivity. 
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Empathy is key to cultivating and sustaining social connection across the lifespan. While it might be more common to hear about trauma passed down through generations, this research sheds light on the opposite phenomenon, where positive qualities like empathy can pass from parent to child to grandchildren—and likely beyond. 
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7.
​Humble teachers help students learn and feel accepted

“Classrooms are meant to promote learning, but often students feel reluctant to reveal what they do not understand in school, to the detriment of learning,” write Tenelle Porter, Mark R. Leary, and Andrei Cimpian in a 2024 paper. This is especially true for girls, who tend to be more reluctant than boys to show their confusion and ask questions at school. 

How do we help all students admit what they don’t know—in other words, show “intellectual humility”—so they can learn better? The paper by Porter and her colleagues found that one powerful way to do that is for teachers to model intellectual humility themselves. 

In a study at two high schools in the Midwestern United States, the researchers surveyed around 300 students about four of their classes. Specifically, they wanted to know if the students thought their teachers were intellectually humble: owned up to their mistakes, acknowledged they had more to learn, and were open to different ways of doing things.

The results suggested that when students saw a teacher as more intellectually humble, they were more comfortable expressing intellectual humility in that class themselves, felt more accepted by the teacher, and were more interested in the class overall. Not only that, the more humble they thought their teacher was, the more their grades improved from the first to the second semester. 

Across four other studies, surveying both high school and college students about hypothetical teachers, the sense of acceptance students felt from humble teachers seemed to be key in inspiring their own humility. 

Importantly, these benefits were stronger when teachers were showing rather than telling—modeling humble behavior rather than just reminding students to engage in it. 
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Doubt, confusion, questions, and mistakes are all an important part of the learning process, and anything that helps students tolerate them better is valuable. This study also serves as a reminder that who teachers are, and how they act around their students, matters a great deal—sometimes even more than the explicit lessons they teach. 
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8.
​Exposure to inaccuracies can “inoculate” kids against future misinformation

In our era of misinformation, what’s the best way to prevent children from picking up inaccurate information online? Is it smart to try to limit kids’ access to spaces where they could read fake news and other potentially misleading information? 

A new paper, published this fall in Nature Human Behaviour, suggests it may be better to help children learn to think critically about the information they see.

Across two studies, researchers asked children ages four to seven to listen to a variety of animal facts, which were paired with pictures (to allow kids to determine whether the fact was true). Some of the children heard only statements that were true, but the other half heard incorrect information mixed in with real facts—such as “Zebras have red and green stripes.” 

Next, children heard a sentence describing an alien species called a “zorpie.” They were told that every zorpie has three eyes and were given 20 pictures of zorpies they could click on to lift their glasses and reveal their eyes.

Children who had heard some incorrect facts earlier were also more skeptical of this new fact about the aliens—they clicked on more pictures to essentially fact-check the statement they heard.

The more inaccuracies they had heard in the original set of animal facts, the more extensively children tended to engage in fact-checking the new information about aliens. There was some (but not conclusive) evidence that children’s age made a difference—older children were especially likely to do more fact-checking if they had previously seen more incorrect information.
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This study builds on prior work aiming to help teens and young adults detect misinformation, suggesting that we could start teaching this skill as early as elementary school. The researchers point out that learning to identify incorrect information may be more productive than stopping children from having any exposure to incorrect information, which would be difficult or impossible anyway. They write that efforts to prevent children from believing misinformation “should focus on helping children develop a broad skill set for evaluating information, rather than attempting to control their information diets.”
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9.
​Having a conversation with someone we disagree with isn’t as awful as we think

We need to communicate with each other if we are to solve society’s pressing problems. But 2024 research suggests that we imagine disagreement to be more unpleasant than it actually is—which might contribute to us feeling confrontational and preferring to stay in silos with like-minded peers.

Three studies led by Kristina Wald found that people underestimate how positive conversations that include disagreement can be. She and her team asked people to imagine a conversation with a stranger who disagreed with them on a controversial topic like gun control or climate change, and then had a different group of people actually engage in those kinds of conversations. 

The researchers found that people predict conversations with a stranger will be far less pleasant when they disagree rather than agree—but they actually end up enjoying their conversations quite a bit, and more than anticipated, whether they agree or not. People also like, feel liked by, and feel more connected with conversation partners than expected, regardless of agreement.

Why do we overestimate how unpleasant disagreements are? Another 2024 study led by Erica Bailey suggests that the internet may be to blame. 

When her team asked people to recall a recent online debate, roughly half referred to a contentious one and characterized it as negative. But when university students were describing their own debate experiences in general in the past year, they primarily remembered in-person conversations with family and friends. They characterized these interactions in more emotionally nuanced ways, including feeling positive afterward. Surveys also found that we believe other people have more conflict in their lives than we do—suggesting that disagreement is also less rampant than we think.

“Three forces—the salience of online debates, the amplification of negative content online, and a negativity bias in human information processing—have together warped perceptions of how debate actually occurs among everyday Americans,” the researchers write. 
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In sum, these two papers provide important insight into “false polarization,” the widespread perception that society is gripped by contentious ideological conflict. If we have the courage to get past our assumptions, we might find that engaging in these dialogues is more constructive and enjoyable than avoiding them—and society may benefit.
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10.
There are research-tested ways to preserve democracy

During this presidential election year, U.S. political divisions were bitter and deep. But a mega-study published in October by the journal Science points to a way forward.

The study’s two primary authors—sociologists Jan G. Voelkel of Cornell University and Robb Willer of Stanford University—collected more than 250 proposed solutions “designed to decrease American partisan animosity and antidemocratic attitudes” from 400-plus scholars and activists.

A panel of experts narrowed the field to the 25 most promising contenders, spanning a wide range: Some involve hearing the message that all voters share common economic interests or common moral values. Others involve watching a video of two people bonding despite their political differences, or an animation about how democracy allows politically diverse people to work together. In one activity, people play a trivia game that encourages bipartisan teams to cooperate.

The researchers then engaged more than 32,000 participants to test how these activities and messages could change attitudes in three important areas: partisan animosity, support for undemocratic practices like lying or vote suppression, and support for political violence. Of the 25 solutions, 23 reduced partisan animosity. But only six reduced support for undemocratic practices, and only five cut support for partisan violence. 

The one that stood out as most effective was developed by researchers at UC Berkeley and MIT. Theirs used a simple question-and-answer format, with text and images only. They asked participants to what extent most people on the other side of the divide support undemocratic actions. Many people believed that their opponents were strongly hostile to democracy. But then they were given recent public opinion data that showed opponents’ support for democratic values and practices actually was much higher. 

That one turned out to be the top-ranked solution for reducing anti-democratic attitudes. It ranked third in reducing support for political violence, and seventh in easing attitudes of partisan animosity. It also was among the most effective in reducing support for undemocratic candidates.
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“People should be very happy to hear that voters on all sides really do support democracy,” says UC Berkeley political scientist Gabriel Lenz. “They think it’s important. And that’s really reassuring.”
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