Are there easy ways to improve your next vacation?
ristian Jarrett has a long interesting piece on vacations in The Psychologist. There are a number of interesting highlights, including the optimal length of a trip: ...people on mid-length holidays of between three to six days tended to report more positive mood than those on shorter or longer trips. ‘Possibly a two- to six-day holiday trip is long enough to enjoy (unlike a two-day trip),’ Nawijn surmised, ‘but short enough to minimise arguments with partner, family or friends.’ There's often…
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Who can most accurately tell when the opposite sex is interested in them: men or women?
ndsome men. Via MSNBC: The more attractive the woman was to the guy, the more likely he was to overestimate her interest in him, researchers found. And it turns out, the less attractive men (who believed they were better looking than the women rated them) were more likely to think beautiful women were hot for them. But the more attractive guys tended to have a more realistic assessment. And the women? Perilloux and her coauthors found that women underestimated men’s sexual interest.…
1 min read
Does guilting people really work?
minding people of their transgressions causes them to improve their behavior: People’s desires to see themselves as moral actors can contribute to their striving for and achievement of a sense of self-completeness. The authors use self-completion theory to predict (and show) that recalling one’s own (im)moral behavior leads to compensatory rather than consistent moral action as a way of completing the moral self. In three studies, people who recalled their immoral behavior reported greater participation in moral activities (Study 1),…
1 min read
Here’s Where “Fake It Until You Make It” Works
en it comes to confidence and social situations, "fake it until you make it" can help. Appearing depressed can create a downward spiral. Avoiding eye contact can increase isolation: Via Medical News Today: ...avoiding eye contact may actually increase depression amongst already unhappy individuals, as it can lead to isolation. "Sad people avoiding eye contact will disrupt normal social fluency and may lead to them shunning certain social situations," said Dr Hills. "Although this may reduce anxiety caused by the…
2 minutes
5 things people can tell about you from your handshake:
There is a connection between the quality of that handshake after a job interview and whether or not you get an offer. 2) People can tell how extraverted and conscientious you are by your handshake. 3) Touching in general has incredible power: it makes us more persuasive, influences risk-taking, and improves team performance. 4) You can judge someone's overall health by a handshake. 5) Your handshake says a lot about you sexually as well. Join over 180,000 readers. Get a…
1 min read
Behavioral economist Dan Ariely’s advice on picking holiday gifts:
n Ariely, author of the excellent Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions, applies his research in behavioral economics to holiday gift giving and says this: In summary, I think that the best gifts circumvent guilt in two key ways: by eliminating the guilt that accompanies extravagant purchases, and by reducing the guilt that comes from coupling payment with consumption. The best advice on gift-giving, therefore, is to get something that someone really wants but would feel guilty…
1 min read
Can yawning tell you who your true friends are?
might. Via Vaughan Bell comes this study showing that yawn contagion (yawning because someone nearby yawned) is more powerful among family and friends than acquaintances and strangers: The ability to share others' emotions, or empathy, is crucial for complex social interactions. Clinical, psychological, and neurobiological clues suggest a link between yawn contagion and empathy in humans (Homo sapiens). However, no behavioral evidence has been provided so far. We tested the effect of different variables (e.g., country of origin, sex,…
2 minutes
Do Glasses Make You Look Smarter?
ople have long wondered: Do glasses make you look smarter? Research shows the answer is yes -- but they can also make you less attractive. However, what's really fascinating about this study is it also showed that effects were determined by the type of glasses. Rimless glasses make your face less distinctive, increase your perceived trustworthiness and do not decrease attractiveness. So Do glasses make you look smarter? Yes. But you still might want to put a little extra thought into…
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