Are “frenemies” even worse than enemies?
bsp; "Friends that we feel ambivalently about raise our blood pressure more -- cause more anxiety and stress -- than people we actively dislike." This is from an episode ("Frenemies") of the consistently excellent This American Life where Ira Glass interviewed Julianne Holt-Lunstad about her research on the subject of frenemies. Other interesting details: 50% of our relationships are with people we care about -- but who we also have serious conflicts and negative feelings about as well. Why do…
1 min read
What are the five steps to developing a productive morning routine?
bsp; Via What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast: A Short Guide to Making Over Your Mornings--and Life: 1) Track your time: "Part of spending your time better is knowing exactly how you’re spending it now. If you’ve ever tried to lose weight, you know that nutritionists tell you to keep a food journal because it keeps you from eating mindlessly. It’s the same thing with time." 2) Picture the perfect morning: "After you know how you’re spending your…
2 minutes
Is driving like an old person contagious?
bsp; Merely being unconsciously reminded of the elderly stereotype made people drive slower. Via NCBI ROFL: Under the guise of evaluating a head-up display in a driving simulator, 11 participants (5 men), ages 21 to 35 years, completed scrambled-sentence tasks (while waiting at stop signs) designed to prime an elderly stereotype. Each driver completed both the Elderly Stereotype and Control conditions with order counterbalanced across participants. Further, order of presentation of word sets for each trial was random. Driving speed…
1 min read
Are smokers more likely to cheat on their spouses and divorce?
bsp; "(1) smokers are more likely to have a positive view about divorce than nonsmokers; (2) smokers are more likely to have a positive view about extramarital sex than nonsmokers." Smokers are more impatient and, unlike nonsmokers, they tend to prefer current benefits. In this paper, individual-level data from Japan are used to examine how preferences for divorce and extramarital sex are different between smokers and nonsmokers. After controlling for various individual characteristics, the major findings are as follows: (1)…
1 min read
When should you command and when should you speak modestly?
bsp; People who employed powerful speaking styles were favored when it came to leading independent projects. Those who spoke more modestly were preferred for projects requiring collaboration. Via The Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School: Consistent with prior research, the “speaker” with the powerful style was favored to lead the independent project. But, in a twist, the “powerless” speaker was favored when the project was expected to require collaboration. Fragale thus challenges conventional distinctions between the “language of success”…
1 min read
6 Proven Steps To The Best Night’s Sleep You’ll Ever Have
bsp; Your Worst Enemy Is Probably You Stop cheating yourself. You can't cut corners on sleep and not have it affect you: ...by the end of two weeks, the six-hour sleepers were as impaired as those who, in another Dinges study, had been sleep-deprived for 24 hours straight — the cognitive equivalent of being legally drunk. Being tired actually makes it harder to be happy. "Sleeping on it" does improve decision making and can help you follow through on your goals. Lack…
4 minutes
What are the four key behaviors you should focus on when evaluating someone?
bsp; People say a lot of things that aren't true. Most body langauge is contextual and can be misinterpreted. What signals can and should you trust when trying to get a "read" on someone? They need to be unconscious behaviors that are not easily controlled and convey a clear message. Speech mimicry Behavioral mimicry Activity level Consistency of emphasis and timing Via Honest Signals: How They Shape Our World: We need to look for signals that are processed unconsciously, or…
2 minutes
How do you break bad habits? (video)
e book is The Power of Habit and it's probably the best thing I've read this year. More on breaking, changing and creating habits here. Join 25K+ readers. Get a free daily update via email here.
1 min read
