How To Make Friends Easily And Strengthen The Friendships You Have
iendship is a good thing. That's hardly front-page news -- but somehow we all forget how important it is. We take friends for granted. As we raise families we neglect friends. We don't put in the effort to make and keep friends. And the problem is growing. In 1985 most people said they had 3 close friends. In 2004 the most common number was zero. Via Social: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Connect: In a survey given in 1985, people…
8 minutes
Recipe For A Happy Marriage: The 7 Scientific Secrets
w York Times writer Tara Parker-Pope pulled together the science behind nuptial bliss in her book For Better. Here's the seven point recipe for a happy marriage that she spells out: 1) Celebrate Good News Turns out divorce isn't as much about increased negative things as it is about decreased positive things. Via For Better: How the Surprising Science of Happy Couples Can Help Your Marriage Succeed: “We’ve found that the positives are more and more important,” says Howard Markman,…
5 minutes
How To Have A Happy Family – 7 Tips Backed By Research
Having Dinner Together Matters Kids who have dinner with their families do better across pretty much every conceivable metric. Via The Secrets of Happy Families: Improve Your Mornings, Rethink Family Dinner, Fight Smarter, Go Out and Play, and Much More: A recent wave of research shows that children who eat dinner with their families are less likely to drink, smoke, do drugs, get pregnant, commit suicide, and develop eating disorders. Additional research found that children who enjoy family meals have…
6 minutes
How To Flirt — Backed By Scientific Research
es Flirting Actually Work? Very much so. In fact, research says it's more effective than looking good. Signaling availability and interest trumps attractiveness. Via How to Make Someone Fall in Love With You in 90 Minutes or Less: Dr. Monica Moore, a psychologist at Webster University in St. Louis, has conducted research on the flirting techniques used in singles bars, shopping malls, and places young people go to meet each other. She concluded that it's not the most physically appealing people…
4 minutes
How To Make People Like You: 6 Science-Based Conversation Hacks
you want to know how to make people like you? It's easier than you think. A while back I posted about how to master conversation skills. Here are 6 more research-backed tips: 1) Encourage people to talk about themselves It gives their brain as much pleasure as food or money: Talking about ourselves—whether in a personal conversation or through social media sites like Facebook and Twitter—triggers the same sensation of pleasure in the brain as food or money, researchers…
4 minutes
First Date Conversation: 5 things research says you should talk about
rst date conversation can be awkward. What do you talk about? How can you come across well? Science has answers. 1) Talk Travel, Not Movies In a study by Richard Wiseman, less than 9% of couples that talked movies wanted a second date vs 18% of couples that talked about travel. Via Quirkology: How We Discover the Big Truths in Small Things. When talking about movies, less than 9 percent of the pairs wanted to meet up again, compared to 18…
3 minutes
Science Of Sex: 4 Harsh Truths About Dating And Mating
make the best decisions, we cannot delude ourselves. I've posted many studies offering hope and inspiration but to be honest and fair, we also need to look at facts about people many like to deny. And that's where the science of sex comes in. If you wish to retain illusions that the realm of sex and relationships is pure as the driven snow or that outside of physical dimensions there are no fundamental differences between men and women, turn…
4 minutes
What is important in life? Economists, insurance adjusters and old people agree.
at is important in life? Let's check with three groups who know about how to value a life: Insurance adjusters: Want some harsh truths about human nature? These guys will show you the dark side of evaluating lives when deciding how to pay out in wrongful death cases. Economists: Valuing things is their bread and butter. We can get some data-rich answers here. Old people: You're guessing what the rest of your life is worth. They've already finished the race.…
4 minutes
