Bothered by negative thoughts? Clearing your mind of them could be as simple as writing them down and physically throwing them away, according to a new study, published in the journal Psychological Science. “At some level, it can sound silly. But we found that it really works — by physically throwing away or protecting your thoughts, you influence how you end up using those thoughts,” study researcher Richard Petty,…
To Clear Negative Thoughts, Physically Throw them Away
Reasoning is Sharper in a Foreign Langauge
The language we use affects the decisions we make, according to a new study. Participants made more rational decisions when money-related choices were posed in a foreign language that they had learned in a classroom setting than when they were asked in a native tongue. To study how language affects reasoning, University of Chicago psychologists looked at a well-known phenomenon: people are more risk-averse when…
New Love: A Short Shelf Life
In fairy tales, marriages last happily ever after. Science, however, tells us that wedded bliss has but a limited shelf life. American and European researchers tracked 1,761 people who got married and stayed married over the course of 15 years. The findings were clear: newlyweds enjoy a big happiness boost that lasts, on average, for just two years. Then the special joy wears off and…
7 Worst Habits of Workaholics
“Many people feel like they have to push themselves to unhealthy levels in order to succeed. But high-pressure jobs and long hours take a real toll on your immediate and future health,” says George Griffing, M.D., professor of internal medicine at Saint Louis University. Here, according to Griffing are the seven worst habits to watch out for in these workaholic times. 1. Forgetting to relax: While some stress can be…
First Impressions: The Science of Meeting People
A strong handshake and assertive greeting may not be the best way to make a good first impression. Social psychologist Amy Cuddy of Harvard Business School is studying how we evaluate people we meet. When we meet individuals or groups for the first time, we mostly evaluate two metrics: trustworthiness and confidence. When we form a first impression of another person it’s not really a single…
Tips To Sleeping Like A Baby
There is an advertising-fueled medicine myth in America that a little pill can cure you. Sleeping pills are one of the more widely used meds prescribed to approximately 60 million people in the United States. However, these began coming under scrutiny when a British Medical Journal Online article in May triggered sleepless nights after reporting the association with some common sleeping pills to a four-fold increased risk of death—even…
What You Need To Succeed
Whether you succeed at work may depend on many factors—intelligence, empathy, self-control, talent and persistence, to name a few. But one determinant may outweigh many of these: how you perceive those around you. A Key Component of Achievement – Psychological Capital Psychological capital reflects our capacity to overcome obstacles and push ourselves to pursue our ambitions. It is a mixture of efficacy (self-confidence) resilience (you believe…
How To Feel Good When Things Go Bad
Life’s twists and turns can be scarier than any rollercoaster ride out there. Without warning, a perfectly fine—even good—life can take a turn for the worse. Whether you are faced with a lost job, failed health, or personal rejection, such a blow can knock you off your feet. And you might find it almost impossible to get up, never mind feel good about moving on.…
Overwork / Underwork – Two Sides of Male Depression
Overwork and Underwork; two sides of worthlessness in male depression. How insistence on social connections can break through. The case of overwork Al commented: “I have never been a guy who can just take time off without feeling wrong and guilty. So I work 70 hours or more a week. It is killing me, I think, but what in the world would I do with the time…
Your Will Seems Stronger in the Future
For decades, psychologists have repeatedly documented the basic human tendency to display unwarranted overconfidence. People attempting to lose weight believe that on this next attempt they will succeed despite numerous failed attempts in the past. Gamblers remain optimistic that this time they will beat the house, despite a history of evidence to the contrary. All of us experience the “planning fallacy,” or the tendency to…