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Psychology
Behavioral Probability
February 8, 2018
Throughout their long history, humans have worked hard to tame chance. They adapted to their uncertain physical and social...
February 8, 2018
Throughout their long history, humans have worked hard to tame chance. They adapted to their uncertain physical and social...
Force Overtime? Or Go for the Win?
February 4, 2018
Most other National Football League teams behave this way, too. In research to be published in the forthcoming issue of The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, we examined every instance over a recent 10-year period in which N.F.L. teams faced a choice in the final minutes between kicking an extra point to tie the game or going for a 2-point conversion to win. The teams overwhelmingly chose to avoid the risk of immediate defeat: Of the 47 times teams faced this situation, they opted...
February 4, 2018
Most other National Football League teams behave this way, too. In research to be published in the forthcoming issue of The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, we examined every instance over a recent 10-year period in which N.F.L. teams faced a choice in the final minutes between kicking an extra point to tie the game or going for a 2-point conversion to win. The teams overwhelmingly chose to avoid the risk of immediate defeat: Of the 47 times teams faced this situation, they opted...
Lewis on the Effect of Personality on Tort Litigation
February 1, 2018
Richard Lewis has posted to SSRN Humanity in Tort: Does Personality Affect Personal Injury Litigation?. The abstract...
February 1, 2018
Richard Lewis has posted to SSRN Humanity in Tort: Does Personality Affect Personal Injury Litigation?. The abstract...
You Aren’t at the Mercy of Your Emotions – Your Brain Creates Them
January 21, 2018
Can you look at someone's face and know what they're feeling? Does everyone experience happiness, sadness and anxiety the same way? What are emotions anyway? For the past 25 years, psychology professor Lisa Feldman Barrett has mapped facial expressions, scanned brains and analyzed hundreds of physiology studies to understand what emotions really are. She shares the results of her exhaustive research -- and explains how we may have more control over our emotions than we think.
January 21, 2018
Can you look at someone's face and know what they're feeling? Does everyone experience happiness, sadness and anxiety the same way? What are emotions anyway? For the past 25 years, psychology professor Lisa Feldman Barrett has mapped facial expressions, scanned brains and analyzed hundreds of physiology studies to understand what emotions really are. She shares the results of her exhaustive research -- and explains how we may have more control over our emotions than we think.
“Sleep On It” to Boost Your Creativity
January 7, 2018
So it’s not that successful writers have more creative ideas than the rest of us. They just do a better job of listening to their inner mule when it starts talking. But what do you do if your inner mule just isn’t cooperating? Each day this week I will post a new tip (based on psychological science research, of course!) that should spur your inner mule into action. And keep in mind these tips are not just limited to generating creative writing ideas, they help spur creativity for any kind...
January 7, 2018
So it’s not that successful writers have more creative ideas than the rest of us. They just do a better job of listening to their inner mule when it starts talking. But what do you do if your inner mule just isn’t cooperating? Each day this week I will post a new tip (based on psychological science research, of course!) that should spur your inner mule into action. And keep in mind these tips are not just limited to generating creative writing ideas, they help spur creativity for any kind...
Research on How Self-Control Works Could Help You Stick with New Year’s Resolutions
January 3, 2018
Many of us have already decided that things will be different in 2018. We’ll eat better, get more exercise, save more money, or finally get around to decluttering those closets. But by the time February rolls around, most of us – perhaps as many as 80 percentof the Americans who make New Year’s resolutions – will have already given up. Why does our self-control falter, so often leaving us to revert to our old ways? The answer to this question has consequences beyond our waistlines...
January 3, 2018
Many of us have already decided that things will be different in 2018. We’ll eat better, get more exercise, save more money, or finally get around to decluttering those closets. But by the time February rolls around, most of us – perhaps as many as 80 percentof the Americans who make New Year’s resolutions – will have already given up. Why does our self-control falter, so often leaving us to revert to our old ways? The answer to this question has consequences beyond our waistlines...
The Best Exercise To Quickly Improve Memory
January 1, 2018
Each exercise session was only 20-minutes long. Short bursts of high-intensity exercise provide a considerable boost to memory, new research finds. The study showed that healthy young adults increased their memory performance in a relatively short period of time. Each exercise session was only 20-minutes long, during which they did short bouts of intense exercise. Those with the greatest fitness gains saw increases in brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF).
January 1, 2018
Each exercise session was only 20-minutes long. Short bursts of high-intensity exercise provide a considerable boost to memory, new research finds. The study showed that healthy young adults increased their memory performance in a relatively short period of time. Each exercise session was only 20-minutes long, during which they did short bouts of intense exercise. Those with the greatest fitness gains saw increases in brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF).
Wine, Beer And Liquor Trigger Different Emotions, Research Finds
December 31, 2017
Some types of alcohol make people feel aggressive and confident, others make them feel relaxed. Different types of alcohol are linked to different emotions, a new survey about alcohol finds. Liquor makes people feel more aggressive, while wine is linked to feeling relaxed. Liquor (spirits) were linked in people’s minds to feeling energetic, confident and sexy. Like wine, beer was also linked to feeling relaxed. Professor Mark Bellis, who led the study, said: “For centuries, the history...
December 31, 2017
Some types of alcohol make people feel aggressive and confident, others make them feel relaxed. Different types of alcohol are linked to different emotions, a new survey about alcohol finds. Liquor makes people feel more aggressive, while wine is linked to feeling relaxed. Liquor (spirits) were linked in people’s minds to feeling energetic, confident and sexy. Like wine, beer was also linked to feeling relaxed. Professor Mark Bellis, who led the study, said: “For centuries, the history...
People who think they exercise less than their peers die earlier
December 29, 2017
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), physical inactivity is the fourth-leading risk factor for global mortality, causing an estimated 3.2 million deaths around the world annually. Readers of this blog need no convincing that it’s important to be active every day. But is spending more time on it enough to reduce the risk of early death? Not necessarily. How we perceive this activity turns out to be just as important. We learn of this from the authors of an intriguing study in Health...
December 29, 2017
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), physical inactivity is the fourth-leading risk factor for global mortality, causing an estimated 3.2 million deaths around the world annually. Readers of this blog need no convincing that it’s important to be active every day. But is spending more time on it enough to reduce the risk of early death? Not necessarily. How we perceive this activity turns out to be just as important. We learn of this from the authors of an intriguing study in Health...
What is the Secret to Being More Assertive? Having Self Respect
December 28, 2017
Why are some of us more inclined than others to stick up for ourselves, not aggressively, but assertively. Assertive people let others know when they feel mistreated and they’re confident saying “no” to unwanted demands. Presumably it has to do with how see ourselves, yet past research has established that two key aspects of the self-concept – good feelings about the self (“self-liking” or “self-confidence”) and seeing oneself as competent – are not strongly related to assertive...
December 28, 2017
Why are some of us more inclined than others to stick up for ourselves, not aggressively, but assertively. Assertive people let others know when they feel mistreated and they’re confident saying “no” to unwanted demands. Presumably it has to do with how see ourselves, yet past research has established that two key aspects of the self-concept – good feelings about the self (“self-liking” or “self-confidence”) and seeing oneself as competent – are not strongly related to assertive...
