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Need a hand? Find someone humble
msnbc: If you need a helping hand, reach out to the most humble person you know. In a study published online in the Journal of Positive Psychology, researchers found that humble folks are more likely to offer help to someone in need, compared to those who are, well, arrogant. The study findings are “surprising,” because most studies on helping behavior have focused on situations, rather than personality variables, says psychologist and lead author Jordan LaBouff, Ph.D.
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Majority Groups Support Assimilation—Except When They’re Not Majorities
We generally think that views about how to integrate a diverse society depend on people’s positions in that society—that is, whether they’re in the racial, religious, or cultural majority or a member of a minority. In the U.S., “people tend to believe that blacks prefer pluralism and whites prefer assimilation,” says University of Delaware psychologist Eric Hehman. Assimilation asks minorities—whether newly arrived or historically rooted—to drop their cultural identities and adopt the ways of the majority. Pluralism recognizes and even celebrates minority cultures, which live cooperatively within the majority culture.
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Intelligence Is Not the Same as Value
The New York Times: People who do well on a test of one mental ability — let’s say a test of verbal ability — will tend to do well on tests of others — math ability, spatial ability, and so on. This finding, which has been replicated thousands of times, implies that there is a general factor of human intelligence. Psychologists call this factor “g.” We still don’t know what underlies g.
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New Year’s resolutions in the works? Small steps are best
Los Angeles Times: So, you've made a New Year's resolution to get healthy. No doubt you've banished all cookies and chips from the house and plan to hit the gym every single day. Let's get real. In three months, you're going to be comatose on the sofa with a telltale ring of orange Cheetos crumbs around your mouth. Most people start off the new year by making grand, sweeping changes — and the changes never stick. What does stick? Thinking small: setting modest, attainable goals and slowly chalking up petite successes as you steadily build confidence. It's a strategy that can lead to substantial and sustainable health improvements over time, as fitness and nutrition experts well know.
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Willpower’s secret weapon? Sugar
The Globe and Mail: If you’ve adopted some challenging New Year’s resolutions, a spot of sugar may be just the thing to keep you on track. Yes, even you dieters. Social psychologist Roy Baumeister of Florida State University shared the unusual tip in his recent book Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength. Willpower, it turns out, is a mental resource that becomes depleted through the day. In the case of dieting, a calorie-counter may find it easy to avoid fattening foods in the morning, but after a day of tough choices, it’s increasingly likely that she will break down and reach for forbidden foods by bedtime.
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Why Placebos Work Wonders
The Wall Street Journal: Say "placebo effect" and most people think of the boost they may get from a sugar pill simply because they believe it will work. But more and more research suggests there is more than a fleeting boost to be gained from placebos. A particular mind-set or belief about one's body or health may lead to improvements in disease symptoms as well as changes in appetite, brain chemicals and even vision, several recent studies have found, highlighting how fundamentally the mind and body are connected. It doesn't seem to matter whether people know they are getting a placebo and not a "real" treatment.
