Cognitive Engineering

As the northern hemisphere continues to endure the depths of winter, we cast our minds back to the summer holidays of last year. Busy holidays are often filled with enduring reflections, while others that are full of rest and relaxation can feel comparatively void of memories. So what should we be optimising for holidays - fun or memories? In this week’s podcast, we discuss holiday optimisation. Should we be designing our holidays to maximise memory capture or to have an enjoyable time? We discuss memory models, Daniel Kahneman’s cognitive psychology approach to life satisfaction, the peak-end rule and how holidays can foster social bonds and affect wellbeing. Finally, we share our most memorable holidays and design our own perfect holiday. A few things we mentioned in this podcast: - Leisure and subjective well-being: A model of psychological mechanisms as mediating factor https://www.researchgate.net/publication/258511569_Leisure_and_Subjective_Well-Being_A_Model_of_Psychological_Mechanisms_as_Mediating_