Is there a quick fix for feeling alone?
e something that makes you feel nostalgic. Watch a favorite show from when you were a kid or eat candy you liked when you were growing up. Via Winnipeg Free Press: The researchers measured people's need to belong after playing the game, after asking them to choose between nostalgic and contemporary products such as cookies and shower gel, and then again after they'd consumed those nostalgic products. They wondered if simply choosing a nostalgic product would be enough to make…
1 min read
Is personal debt in the US so high because it’s getting harder to find a spouse?
search shows that when men outnumber women in a region, guys take on a competitive mindset and are more willing to spend. Areas with this type of gender imbalance show higher rates of personal debt. via MIT: Many Americans went into personal debt before the economic recession hit the country in 2008. Why? For some men, the biggest factor may have been intense competition to find a spouse. That’s the suggestion of a new study co-authored by an MIT professor…
2 minutes
How can you maintain self-control during emotional highs and lows?
can lose control and overindulge when we think a good mood is fleeting or a bad mood will not go away. By focusing on why good feelings will last or why bad feelings will pass we can prevent poor decisions. Via The Times of India: "The recipe is simple. If you are feeling happy, focus on reasons why those feelings will last, and if you are feeling unhappy, focus on reasons why those feelings will pass," write Aparna A.…
1 min read
Can sleep deprivation alleviate depression?
s, but only temporarily: Via the WSJ: Brain scans also showed that the subjects who had pulled all-nighters had heightened activity in the mesolimbic pathway, a brain circuit driven by dopamine, a neurotransmitter that typically regulates feelings of pleasure, addiction and cravings. The boost of dopamine after an all-nighter may help explain why sleep deprivation can alleviate major depression in about 60% of patients, although the effect is only temporary. "As soon as they get recovery sleep, all that mood…
1 min read
Can “trash talk” actually improve our performance?
's called "stereotype lift" and it's the opposite of "stereotype threat", which I addressed in this post. When a negative generalization says our opponent is inferior or will do worse in a competition, we actually see an improvement in our own performance: When a negative stereotype impugns the ability or worth of an outgroup, people may experience stereotype lift—a performance boost that occurs when downward comparisons are made with a denigrated outgroup. In a meta-analytic review, members of non- stereotyped…
1 min read
Do some people only need a few hours of sleep a night?
linda Beck at the WSJ explains: For a small group of people—perhaps just 1% to 3% of the population—sleep is a waste of time. Natural "short sleepers," as they're officially known, are night owls and early birds simultaneously. They typically turn in well after midnight, then get up just a few hours later and barrel through the day without needing to take naps or load up on caffeine. They are also energetic, outgoing, optimistic and ambitious, according to the few…
3 minutes
Do traffic tickets really reduce accidents?
s. They significantly reduce accidents and non-fatal injuries. They may not reduce fatalities, however. Looks like tickets have a bigger impact at night and on female drivers. This paper analyzes the effect of traffic tickets on motor vehicle accidents. OLS estimates may be upward-biased because police officers tend to focus on areas where and periods when there is heavy traffic and thus higher rates of accidents. This paper exploits the dramatic increase in tickets during the Click-it-or-Ticket campaign to identify…
1 min read
Can you improve your memory just by saying things out loud?
om PsyBlog: According to MacLeod et al., saying a word out loud, or at least mouthing it, improves memory by increasing its distinctiveness, i.e. making it unusual compared to others. Across 8 experiments in which participants were asked to read and remember lists of both words and nonwords, the researchers found memory improvements sometimes greater than 10%. Join 25K+ readers. Get a free weekly update via email here. Related posts: Does forgetfulness mean you have a good memory? How can you improve…
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