For what type of people can money truly buy happiness?
e emotionally unstable. Via The Calgary Herald: Reporting in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science, researchers find compelling evidence that money predicts life satisfaction far more strongly for the highly neurotic — those prone to mood swings, anxiety or negativity — than for people who are more emotionally stable. And: "At high levels of income, pretty much everyone is happy; at low levels of income, stable people are still perfectly satisfied with their lives, but the neurotic people are…
1 min read
Can eating organic food turn you into a jerk?
bsp; Anything that affirms your feelings about your own morality ("I eat organic, therefore I'm a good person.") your brain may subconsciously use to justify doing something immoral. ("I'm generally a very good person so it's okay if every now and then I...") (Hat tip) Recent research has revealed that specific tastes can influence moral processing, with sweet tastes inducing prosocial behavior and disgusting tastes harshening moral judgments. Do similar effects apply to different food types (comfort foods, organic foods,…
1 min read
How can you increase the amount of “flow” you experience at work?
bsp; "Flow is the mental state of operation in which a person in an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in the process of the activity." Increasing the amount of flow you experience is largely the result of using your unique talents, your "signature strengths." Via UPenn happiness expert Martin Seligman's book, Authentic Happiness: Identify your signature strengths. Choose work that lets you use them every day. Recraft your present work to…
1 min read
Why do people always sue for ludicrous amounts of money?
bsp; Because it works. The larger the amount you sue for, the more money you win. Via Priceless: The Myth of Fair Value (and How to Take Advantage of It): How far can you push anchoring in the courtroom? Does a smart attorney ask for a billion gazillion dollars? The conventional wisdom says no. There is said to be a "boomerang effect." Over-the-top demands backfire by making the plaintiff or attorney look greedy. Juries retaliate by awarding less than they…
1 min read
What’s the average number of friends a Facebook user has?
bsp; The average Facebook user has 229 friends. Pew Research compiled its research on Facebook and turned up some interesting insights. A few things that caught my eye: 80% of friend requests are accepted. 22% of Facebook friends are from high school. Women average 21 updates to their Facebook status per month while men average 6. Women and younger users tend to unfriend more than others. And: • Facebook users are more trusting than others. A Facebook user who uses…
1 min read
How can you get others to convince *themselves* that you are right?
bsp; The always-excellent PsyBlog reveals the secret: ...you can try asking them to put aside their own attitude for a moment and try getting them to generate their own arguments for the point you want to make. Why might this work? ...on average, people were more convinced by the talk when they gave it themselves than when they merely heard it passively. This suggests that we really are persuaded more strongly when we make the argument ourselves, even if it…
1 min read
What are the three best methods for networking?
bsp; Networking is vital to staying employed, salary growth and job satisfaction. Employees with larger networks perform better. Networking has even been shown to be vital for drug dealers. You're likely to find out about your next job through people you know but aren't very close to so expanding the pool of "weak ties" increases opportunities. 1) Reconnecting with old friends on Facebook and Linked In is a good first step. 2) Linked In founder Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnocha's…
2 minutes
Do guys who are night owls or morning larks have more success with women?
bsp; Night owls win: Men and women differ in sleep duration and timing of sleeping. Men sleep shorter and are later chronotypes, thus go to bed and get up later than women. This sexual dimorphism in chronotype is most striking between the beginning of puberty and beginning of menopause indicating the possibility of a sexually selected trait. Sleep duration, however, is different between the sexes already before and after the reproductive phase, suggesting a trait that is not under sexual…
1 min read
