Is this why we can do fun stuff for hours but work stresses us out?
ve always wondered why if something is "fun" we can do it for hours, yet if it's "work" it stresses us out and leaves us exhausted when the distinction between the two is often arbitrary and idiosyncratic. (Doing your taxes is frustrating while solving puzzles is fun. How different are they really?) Certainly, interest in the task at hand is a big factor but this study touched on an interesting element as well: This study examined pilots' vigilance during an…
3 minutes
How to quickly and easily add meaning to your life:
flect on the different ways your life could have gone. Believing that the way things did work out was "meant to be" and appreciating the benefits of that journey both can add a deeper feeling of meaning to your life. Four experiments explored whether 2 uniquely human characteristics—counterfactual thinking (imagining alternatives to the past) and the fundamental drive to create meaning in life—are causally related. Rather than implying a random quality to life, the authors hypothesized and found that counterfactual…
1 min read
Can you pay people to develop good habits?
oks like the answer might be yes: Can incentives be effective when trying to encourage the development of good habits? We investigate the effect of paying people a non-trivial amount of money to attend an exercise facility a number of times during a one-month period. In two separate studies, we find that doing so leads to a large and significant increase in the average post-intervention attendance level relative to the control group. This result is entirely driven by the impact…
1 min read
An easy way to lower your cholesterol that’s a lot of fun:
ss more: Affection exchange theory and previous research suggest that affectionate behavior has stress-ameliorating effects. On this basis, we hypothesized that increasing affectionate behavior would effect improvements in physical and psychological conditions known to be exacerbated by stress. This study tested this proposition by examining the effects of increased romantic kissing on blood lipids, perceived stress, depression, and relationship satisfaction. Fifty-two healthy adults who were in marital or cohabiting romantic relationships provided self-report data for psychological outcomes and blood samples…
1 min read
Do blondes have more fun?
can't be sure about fun, but female blondes do make more money: This study contributes to the economics literature that links physical characteristics to labour market outcomes, by investigating the influence of hair colour on women's own wages and also their spouse's wages. Using U.S. panel data, we find that blonde women receive large wage premiums. Source: "Physical appearance and wages: Do blondes have more fun" from Economics Letters Join over 320,000 readers. Get a free weekly update via email here.…
1 min read
Drink too much? Smoke too much? Wanna clean up your act? Have a daughter, not a son.
ttle is known about why some human beings make risky life-choices. This paper provides evidence that people's health decisions and addictive actions are influenced by the gender of their children. Having a daughter leads individuals -- in micro data from Great Britain and the United States -- to reduce their smoking, drinking, and drug-taking. The paper's results are consistent with the hypothesis that human beings "self-medicate‟ when under stress. Source: "The Effects of Daughters on Health Choices and Risk Behaviour"…
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How to quickly and easily become a better person
end more time out in nature: Four studies examined the effects of nature on valuing intrinsic and extrinsic aspirations. Intrinsic aspirations reflected prosocial and other-focused value orientations, and extrinsic aspirations predicted self-focused value orientations. Participants immersed in natural environments reported higher valuing of intrinsic aspirations and lower valuing of extrinsic aspirations, whereas those immersed in non-natural environments reported increased valuing of extrinsic aspirations and no change of intrinsic aspirations. Three studies explored experiences of nature relatedness and autonomy as underlying…
1 min read
Here’s How The Season Of Your Birth Affects Your Future Health And Success
, I'm not talking about astrology. (If you're a regular reader of this blog you can guess what my feelings on astrology might be.) This connection is indirect and has to do with who has babies when: Research has found that season of birth is associated with later health and professional outcomes; what drives this association remains unclear. In this paper we consider a new explanation: that children born at different times in the year are conceived by women with…
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