Elizabeth Dunn

Professor of Psychology at the University of British Columbia and happiness researcher whose work examines how time, money, technology, and climate-friendly choices shape human well-being and behavior.

Playful Connection, Not Passive Leisure, Makes Free Time Restorative

At the Aspen Ideas Festival, Catherine Price, Elizabeth Dunn, and Laurie Santos made the case that fun is not a frivolous reward for finishing serious work but a condition for sustaining it. Drawing on psychology and behavioral science, they argued that adults lose fun when overwork, phones, passive leisure, and performance pressure crowd out the playfulness, connection, and absorbed attention that make life feel energizing. Price defined fun as playful, connected flow; Dunn’s research added that social time, active leisure, and protected time affluence are central to a genuinely good day.

The Aspen InstituteJun 27, 202620 min read