Do you function better after a Red Bull and vodka vs. just drinking vodka?
, but it will make you think you're functioning better: The consumption of alcohol mixed with energy drinks (AmED) has become a popular and controversial practice among young people. Increased rates of impaired driving and injuries have been associated with AmED consumption. The purpose of this study was to examine if the consumption of AmED alters cognitive processing and subjective measures of intoxication compared with the consumption of alcohol alone. Eighteen participants (nine men and nine women) attended four test…
2 minutes
What does the color of your clothing tell others about you?
a The Charisma Myth: How Anyone Can Master the Art and Science of Personal Magnetism: Red conveys energy, passion. Wear red to wake up an audience. Black shows you’re serious and that you won’t take no for an answer. White exudes honesty and innocence, which is why defendants often choose it in the courtroom. Blue emits trust. The darker the shade, the deeper the level of trust it elicits. Gray is a good neutral, the quintessential color of business. Orange…
1 min read
Is giving time away the best way to deal with having no free time?
unterintuitively, spending time on others makes us feel less time-constrained. Four experiments reveal a counterintuitive solution to the common problem of feeling that one does not have enough time: giving some of it away. Although people's objective amount of time cannot be increased (there are only 24 hours in a day), this research demonstrates that people's subjective sense of time affluence can be increased: compared with wasting time, spending time on oneself, and even gaining a windfall of "free" time,…
1 min read
What “bad” personality trait is very good in a job interview?
rcissism. Via Science Daily: Narcissism, a trait considered obnoxious in most circumstances, actually pays off big-time in the short-term context of a job interview, according to a new study to be published in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology. Narcissists scored much higher in simulated job interviews than non-narcissists, researchers found. They pointed to narcissists' innate tendency to promote themselves, in part by engaging and speaking at length, which implied confidence and expertise even when they were held to account…
1 min read
What’s the secret to dealing with an insecure or belligerent boss?
ow gratitude. Via Science Daily: According to the study, "high-power participants whose competence was threatened denigrated their subordinates. Importantly, this pattern disappeared when the subordinate expressed gratitude. Among low-power participants, there were no main effects of competence and gratitude expression, nor was there an interaction between competence and gratitude expression." And: Fast, whose previous work has explored how power, feelings of competence and aggression are related, further explained: "When people have power they feel the need to meet demanding role…
1 min read
Do coffee and cigarettes make you smarter?
s. Via Brain Candy: Science, Paradoxes, Puzzles, Logic, and Illogic to Nourish Your Neurons: You already know that your morning cup(s) of coffee make(s) you a better person: more alert, more outgoing, increasingly optimistic, better looking, better smelling, nicer, etc. But did you know that coffee actually makes you smarter? It does, really. But only for a short period of time, and when you come down, you’re dumber than you were before taking that first sip (unless you drink more…
1 min read
How much does your relationship with your boss matter? Can it kill you?
a The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work: Studies have found that the strength of the bond between manager and employee is the prime predictor of both daily productivity and the length of time people stay at their jobs. Gallup, which has spent decades studying the practices of the world’s leading organizations, estimates that U.S. companies lose $360 billion each year due to lost productivity from employees who have poor relationships…
2 minutes
Raise My GPA: The Easiest Secret To Better Grades
ny students would love to know the answer to "How do I raise my GPA?" Studying hard is an obvious answer, but that can be difficult. An easy answer comes from behavioral research. Shawn Achor, who taught and conducted research at Harvard, has the answer: pick a smart roommate. Via The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work: One study of Dartmouth College students by economist Bruce Sacerdote illustrates how powerful this…
1 min read
