Psychology
A Bridge over Troubled Water: Managing Parties’ Mental Illness in Mediation
February 6, 2017
One in five individuals in society has or will have a mental illness at some point in his or her lifetime. Conflict resolution theory, however, largely assumes that all individuals operate within the range of behaviors considered mentally healthy. Evidence suggests that professionals who deal with conflict, however, may have to deal with individuals who have mental health problems more frequently than would be the statistical norm. Clearly then, new theories of practice and norms of mediator behavior...
February 6, 2017
One in five individuals in society has or will have a mental illness at some point in his or her lifetime. Conflict resolution theory, however, largely assumes that all individuals operate within the range of behaviors considered mentally healthy. Evidence suggests that professionals who deal with conflict, however, may have to deal with individuals who have mental health problems more frequently than would be the statistical norm. Clearly then, new theories of practice and norms of mediator behavior...
Cold Shower Seems To Have Some Psychological Benefits
January 27, 2017
Exposing your body to cold water has been promoted as a health tonic since at least the Roman period, so it’s about time we gave this a thorough investigation. In a new paper in PLOS One Geert Buijze and his colleagues report on the health and wellbeing effects of the “cool challenge” – a 30-day event in the Netherlands that involved more than 3000 people taking daily showers that ran cold for at least the last 30 seconds each time. On this evidence, cold showers don’t...
January 27, 2017
Exposing your body to cold water has been promoted as a health tonic since at least the Roman period, so it’s about time we gave this a thorough investigation. In a new paper in PLOS One Geert Buijze and his colleagues report on the health and wellbeing effects of the “cool challenge” – a 30-day event in the Netherlands that involved more than 3000 people taking daily showers that ran cold for at least the last 30 seconds each time. On this evidence, cold showers don’t...
How To Get a Narcissist to Feel Empathy
January 26, 2017
New research by Hepper and colleagues shows, though, that narcissists can be made to feel empathy, if given a nudge in the right direction (Hepper et al., 2014). When the high-narcissists were specifically told to imagine how the victim felt, their empathy suddenly kicked in. In comparison, those low on narcissism didn’t need to be told, so instructing them to take the victim’s perspective had no additional effect. The researchers even confirmed these results physiologically,...
January 26, 2017
New research by Hepper and colleagues shows, though, that narcissists can be made to feel empathy, if given a nudge in the right direction (Hepper et al., 2014). When the high-narcissists were specifically told to imagine how the victim felt, their empathy suddenly kicked in. In comparison, those low on narcissism didn’t need to be told, so instructing them to take the victim’s perspective had no additional effect. The researchers even confirmed these results physiologically,...
BPS Research Digest Editor’s Picks
January 25, 2017
Beyond Grit: The Science of Creativity, Purpose, and Motivation A conversation between the psychologists and best-selling authors Adam Grant and Angela Duckworth: “Your interests and your passion develop over time. I want to disabuse people of this mythology of ‘it happens to you and if you’re lucky, you find it, and then that’s all you have to do.’” Watch A Resting Brain Light Up With Activity From WIRED: “a comprehensive visualization of neural activity throughout the entire...
January 25, 2017
Beyond Grit: The Science of Creativity, Purpose, and Motivation A conversation between the psychologists and best-selling authors Adam Grant and Angela Duckworth: “Your interests and your passion develop over time. I want to disabuse people of this mythology of ‘it happens to you and if you’re lucky, you find it, and then that’s all you have to do.’” Watch A Resting Brain Light Up With Activity From WIRED: “a comprehensive visualization of neural activity throughout the entire...
How To Get Out Of A Bad Mood
January 25, 2017
Heated arguments can frequently leave us in a bad mood. But recalling the details of a disagreement in a particular way can actually stop it leading to anxiety and depression, research finds. The same is true of other types upsetting or stressful events that can put us in a bad mood. Remembering where you where, exactly what was said, and — vitally — how it could have been dealt with differently, can all help with a bad mood. For example: What was the tone of your voice? ...
January 25, 2017
Heated arguments can frequently leave us in a bad mood. But recalling the details of a disagreement in a particular way can actually stop it leading to anxiety and depression, research finds. The same is true of other types upsetting or stressful events that can put us in a bad mood. Remembering where you where, exactly what was said, and — vitally — how it could have been dealt with differently, can all help with a bad mood. For example: What was the tone of your voice? ...
Joke-Telling Could Make You Appear More Confident and Competent
January 23, 2017
A little humor in the workplace appears broadly beneficial: it can increase productivity and creativity and helps to build trust. But before you get too carried away attempting to stun your colleagues with your wit, you might want to heed the findings from new research in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, which focused on the effect of humour attempts on our personal status. The work shows that while a well-judged gag can cover us in glory, misses can have negative consequences. What’s...
January 23, 2017
A little humor in the workplace appears broadly beneficial: it can increase productivity and creativity and helps to build trust. But before you get too carried away attempting to stun your colleagues with your wit, you might want to heed the findings from new research in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, which focused on the effect of humour attempts on our personal status. The work shows that while a well-judged gag can cover us in glory, misses can have negative consequences. What’s...
Revenge Really is Sweet
January 19, 2017
When we feel ostracised, we’re more likely to behave aggressively. Previous research suggests that vengeance on those who we think have wronged us can be driven by a sense of justice, and may activate neural reward centres. But being ostracised can also lead to generalised aggression, even lashing out at unrelated people, so there seems to be more going on. In new research in Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, David Chester and C. Nathan DeWall tested the idea that social rejection,...
January 19, 2017
When we feel ostracised, we’re more likely to behave aggressively. Previous research suggests that vengeance on those who we think have wronged us can be driven by a sense of justice, and may activate neural reward centres. But being ostracised can also lead to generalised aggression, even lashing out at unrelated people, so there seems to be more going on. In new research in Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, David Chester and C. Nathan DeWall tested the idea that social rejection,...
Destructive Thought Patterns
January 17, 2017
Ever find yourself obsessively re-thinking the same thoughts over and over again? Perhaps you’ve submitted a motion and rather than resigning the faith to the decision maker, you’re incessantly thinking about what you wrote, or forgot to include. Similarly, you may relive a conversation you’ve had with an opposing counsel, never mind the fact that the conversation took place months or even years ago. You experience all the emotions, outrage, frustration, anger, and the deep desire to strangle...
January 17, 2017
Ever find yourself obsessively re-thinking the same thoughts over and over again? Perhaps you’ve submitted a motion and rather than resigning the faith to the decision maker, you’re incessantly thinking about what you wrote, or forgot to include. Similarly, you may relive a conversation you’ve had with an opposing counsel, never mind the fact that the conversation took place months or even years ago. You experience all the emotions, outrage, frustration, anger, and the deep desire to strangle...
McMichael, Van Horn, & Viscusi on Apology Laws
December 30, 2016
Benjamin McMichael, Lawrence Van Horn, and Kip Viscusi (all Vanderbilt) have posted to SSRN Sorry is Never Enough: The Effect of State Apology Laws on Medical Malpractice Liability Risk. The abstract provides: State apology laws offer a separate avenue from traditional damages-centric tort reforms to promote communication between physicians and patients and to address potential medical malpractice liability. These laws facilitate apologies from physicians by excluding statements of apology from...
December 30, 2016
Benjamin McMichael, Lawrence Van Horn, and Kip Viscusi (all Vanderbilt) have posted to SSRN Sorry is Never Enough: The Effect of State Apology Laws on Medical Malpractice Liability Risk. The abstract provides: State apology laws offer a separate avenue from traditional damages-centric tort reforms to promote communication between physicians and patients and to address potential medical malpractice liability. These laws facilitate apologies from physicians by excluding statements of apology from...
Fewer Friends, Better Marriages: The Modern American Social Network
December 24, 2016
In A Book About Love, I wrote about research showing that the social networks of Americans have been shrinking for decades. Miller McPherson, a sociologist at the University of Arizona and Duke University, has helped document the decline. In 1985, 26.1 percent of respondents reported discussing important matters with a “comember of a group,” such as a church congregant. In 2004, McPherson found that the percentage had fallen to 11.8. In 1985, 18.5 percent of subjects had important conversations...
December 24, 2016
In A Book About Love, I wrote about research showing that the social networks of Americans have been shrinking for decades. Miller McPherson, a sociologist at the University of Arizona and Duke University, has helped document the decline. In 1985, 26.1 percent of respondents reported discussing important matters with a “comember of a group,” such as a church congregant. In 2004, McPherson found that the percentage had fallen to 11.8. In 1985, 18.5 percent of subjects had important conversations...
