Should you read this post while standing or sitting?
bsp; Probably better to be standing: sitting too much might kill you. Literally. Background Prolonged sitting is considered detrimental to health, but evidence regarding the independent relationship of total sitting time with all-cause mortality is limited. This study aimed to determine the independent relationship of sitting time with all-cause mortality. Methods We linked prospective questionnaire data from 222 497 individuals 45 years or older from the 45 and Up Study to mortality data from the New South Wales Registry of Births,…
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Are women at the bank less attractive?
bsp; It might feel that way for guys: holding a large amount of money makes men raise their standards in women. Resources are a cardinal component of male mate value in the sexual exchange between men and women. Inspired by theories and research suggesting a link between mating and resource constructs as well as studies linking money and valuations of others, the current study tests the hypothesis that cues to resource availability may lead to higher mating standards for men,…
2 minutes
Are the best military leaders stern or supportive?
bsp; Forget the tough guy stereotype; the best leaders in the Navy are supportive. Via The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work: This isn’t only true in corporate settings. In environments thought to be even more stoic than corporate America—like the military—leaders who openly express their positivity get the most out of their teams. In the U.S. Navy, researchers found, annual prizes for efficiency and preparedness are far more frequently awarded…
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How do you get your employees and students to perform better?
bsp; Believe they are smarter than average. Via The Heart of Social Psychology: A Backstage View of a Passionate Science: ...Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson (1968) did the same study in a classroom, telling elementary school teachers that they had certain students in their class who were "academic spurters." In fact, these students were selected at random. Absolutely nothing else was done by the researchers to single out these children. Yet by the end of the school year, 30 percent of…
2 minutes
How can you instantly improve performance in difficult situations?
bsp; Think positive by imagining the happiest day of your life. Students who did it before a test excelled. Via The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work: ...who were told to think about the happiest day of their lives right before taking a standardized math test outperformed their peers. Can thinking positive before a business negotiation help? Yup: ...And people who expressed more positive emotions while negotiating business deals did so…
1 min read
What happens when a sane person checks themself into an asylum?
e staff can't tell the difference. Via Neatorama, hat tip: Chas Licciardello “We cannot distinguish the sane from the insane in psychiatric hospitals,” Rosenhan reported. Moreover, he added, “it’s the hospitals themselves that might be ‘insane,’ rather than the patients confined there.” Some of the evidence: * Of the eight experimenters, seven were diagnosed as schizophrenics; one was diagnosed as “a victim of manic-depressive psychosis.” * And when they were released, they were described as “improved,” or “in remission,” but…
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What can the World Happiness Report teach us about feeling better?
bsp; Via Columbia University: Happier countries tend to be richer countries. But more important for happiness than income are social factors like the strength of social support, the absence of corruption and the degree of personal freedom. Over time as living standards have risen, happiness has increased in some countries, but not in others (like for example, the United States). On average, the world has become a little happier in the last 30 years (by 0.14 times the standard deviation…
2 minutes
What behavior signals if a woman or man is interested in someone?
a Do Gentlemen Really Prefer Blondes?: Bodies, Behavior, and Brains--The Science Behind Sex, Love, & Attraction: The number one tip-off that a woman was interested in a man for more than friendship was her own speaking rate. Did she talk smoothly and quickly (a good sign), or hesitantly and awkwardly? And: The technology developed by Sandy Pentland and his colleagues at MIT Media Lab counts the number of times people say "uh-huh," "yeah," "yup," "aha," "okay," and "I see" when…
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