Can I predict how happy you’ll be in the coming years by looking at your Facebook profile?
es the extent to which people are smiling in their Facebook photos predict future life satisfaction? In two longitudinal studies, the authors showed that smile intensity coded from a single Facebook profile photograph from male and female participants’ first semester at college was a robust predictor of self-reported life satisfaction 3.5 years later—as they were about to graduate from college. Controlling for first-semester life satisfaction, the authors also determined that smile intensity was a unique predictor of changes in life…
1 min read
Here’s What Science Has To Say About Whether You Should Work Overtime
e stress and fatigue from longer work hours isn't worth the additional money: Does extra work buy happiness and well-being? Unique survey data are analyzed to consider whether measures of self-reported subjective happiness, psychological health and economic satisfaction bear a net positive or negative relationship with working extra hours. Overtime work hours generally are associated with increased work stress, fatigue and work-family interference. When overtime work is required, this appears to offset the otherwise greater happiness and mental healthiness produced…
1 min read
How much is more time with your friends worth?
ing able to spend more time with friends provides an increase in happiness worth up to an additional $133,000 a year. Meanwhile, actual pay raises have very little affect on happiness (Hat Tip: Penelope Trunk): There is substantial evidence in the psychology and sociology literature that social relationships promote happiness for the individual. Yet the size of their impacts remains largely unknown. This paper explores the use of shadow pricing method to estimate the monetary values of the satisfaction with life…
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How To Stop Worrying About Projects At Work
e always interesting Psyblog brings the answers -- make specific plans to address the issues before you leave the office: In a series of studies researchers found that while trying to enjoy reading a novel (amongst other tasks), participants were frequently interrupted by intrusive thoughts about an unfinished everyday task (Masicampo & Baumeister, 2011). But when researchers told participants to make very specific plans about that unfinished goal, while reading they experienced less intrusive thoughts about the other activity. In fact…
1 min read
Is having more choices always a good thing?
. But we'll never admit it: We propose that individuals underestimate the costs of making choices relative to the benefits of finding the best option. Specifically, we demonstrate that research participants make systematic mistakes in predicting the effect of having more, vs. less, choice freedom on task performance and task-induced affect. Even when participants have the information to understand that the costs of choice freedom outweigh its benefits, they still predict that choice freedom will lead to better performance and…
1 min read
Here’s How You Can Significantly Reduce Job Stress
t a clear idea of what is expected of you: The aims of the present study were twofold: First, in differentiating between specific job characteristics, the authors examined the moderating influence of role clarity on the relationship between job demands and psychological and physical strain. Second, in providing a more comprehensive link between job demands and job performance, the authors examined strain as a mediator of that relationship. Participants were 1,418 Army cadets attending a 35-day assessment center. Survey data…
1 min read
What should you absolutely not forget to do today?
ow gratitude: It will make you happier. It will improve your relationships. It can make you a better person. It can make life better for everyone around you. And thank you for reading. :) Join over 185,000 readers. Get a free weekly update via email here. Related posts: How To Stop Being Lazy And Get More Done – 5 Expert Tips 6 Things The Most Productive People Do Every Day New Harvard Research Reveals A Fun Way To Be More Successful
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Can stress really make you sick?
solutely. From APA: The results revealed a clear relationship between the amount of life stress reported and the percentage of people who caught the cold. As stress increased, so did the incidence of the cold, and this relationship was strongly linear, meaning that for each increment of additional stress, there is an additional increment of susceptibility to the cold. And: In a follow-up study, the result was replicated with an improved measure of cold infection. Cohen also obtained more information about…
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