What’s the secret to dealing with an insecure or belligerent boss?
ow gratitude. Via Science Daily: According to the study, "high-power participants whose competence was threatened denigrated their subordinates. Importantly, this pattern disappeared when the subordinate expressed gratitude. Among low-power participants, there were no main effects of competence and gratitude expression, nor was there an interaction between competence and gratitude expression." And: Fast, whose previous work has explored how power, feelings of competence and aggression are related, further explained: "When people have power they feel the need to meet demanding role…
1 min read
Which is more creative: a team of strangers or a team of old friends?
e perfect mix lies in between the two, and can be measured scientifically. Via Imagine: How Creativity Works: In essence, the amount of Q reflects the “social intimacy” of people working on the play, with higher levels of Q signaling a greater degree of closeness. For instance, if a musical was being developed by a team of artists who had worked together several times before— this is common practice on Broadway, since producers see “incumbent teams” as less risky— that…
2 minutes
Divorce Is Contagious
vorce is the dissolution of a social tie, but it is also possible that attitudes about divorce flow across social ties. To explore how social networks influence divorce and vice versa, we utilize a longitudinal data set from the long-running Framingham Heart Study. We find that divorce can spread between friends, siblings, and coworkers, and there are clusters of divorcees that extend two degrees of separation in the network. We also find that popular people are less likely to get…
1 min read
Are people nicer where the pace of life is slower?
s. Via The Science of Sin: The Psychology of the Seven Deadlies (and Why They Are So Good For You): In 2008, with Stephen Reysen and Ellen Ganz, both also at California State University at the time, Levine asked: does the pace of life in cities have any effect on helping behavior? Here’s what these researchers did to answer this question. First, they measured the pace of life in twenty-four US cities. These cities were sampled from the stereotypically torpid…
2 minutes
5 Things You Didn’t Know About Friendship, Backed By Research
me insights about friendship from research, with links to the studies: The secret to making friendships last is staying in touch every two weeks. Yawning can tell you who your real friends are. Yes, the enemy of your enemy is your friend. There is a limit to how many real friends you can have -- in life and on Facebook. More time with friends produces the happiness equivalent of an extra $133,000 a year. For more on the science behind making…
1 min read
How To Be More Charismatic: 5 Tips Backed By Research
me insights about how to be more charismatic from research, with links to the studies: Assume everyone already likes you and they probably will. When you speak in public, use imagery. In general, limit your time at the computer. It can degrade social skills. Guys, consider growing a beard. A course that was successful in making managers more charismatic focused on these techniques: -Framing through metaphor-stories and anecdotes -Demonstrating moral conviction -Sharing the sentiments of the collective -Setting high expectations -Communicating confidence -Using rhetorical devices…
1 min read
What does Facebook know about your relationships?
cebook crunches the numbers and comes up with some interesting info on when people get together and when they split up: The days around Valentine's Day and Christmas are good chances to try your luck or breathe a bit easier. The data showed far more people paired up around these times than joined the ranks of the newly single. And: Across age groups, the summer months are bad news for relationships. In 2010 and 2011, May through August were clearly…
1 min read
This Increases A Woman’s Ability To Get Sexually Aroused
ercise. Via Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex: Along these same lines, exercise has been shown to improve a woman’s ability to get aroused. Which makes sense: Exercise makes the body more efficient at body more efficient at pumping blood. “So when you get into a sexual situation,” says Cindy Meston, who ran the study, “the response is both quicker and more intense.” (Though it’s also possible, Meston allows, that women in better shape simply feel less self-conscious.…
1 min read
