Most of us have bought something because we thought it would make us happier. Sometimes it does, at least for a while. Other times, the feeling disappears almost as quickly as the receipt. Today's guest, Dr. Ryan Howell, is a professor of psychology and chair of the Department of Psychology at San Francisco State University, where he also serves as Faculty Director of the Online Degree Completion Program. His research examines happiness, consumer well-being, and the ways our spending choices shape life satisfaction. Ryan is especially known for his work on why experiential purchases – the things we do – often provide greater and more lasting happiness than material purchases – the things we own – and on the psychological needs and social processes that help explain those differences. What makes that work especially interesting is that the familiar advice to 'buy experiences, not things' gets more complicated once you ask who is buying, why they're buying, and what the purchase actually means to them.