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Give the impression you want the job — sit up straight
Financial Post: If you show enthusiasm, ask questions, speak authoritatively, it’s all you need to get that job, make the impression in the group, or make a good presentation, say career counsellors and advisors. Yet an often overlooked factor — good posture — may be an even more powerful force. According to research by L. Huang and associates, of the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and published in Psychological Science, posture plays an important role in determining whether people act as though they are in charge.
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The Surprising Connection between Two Types of Perception
The brain is constantly changing as it perceives the outside world, processing and learning about everything it encounters. In a new study, which will be published in an upcoming issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, scientists find a surprising connection between two types of perception: If you’re looking at a group of objects and getting a general sense of them, it’s difficult for your brain to learn relationships between the objects. It’s not known how these two ways of perceiving are related, says Nicholas Turk-Browne, an Assistant Professor at Princeton University.
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Income Disparity Makes People Unhappy
Many economists and sociologists have warned of the social dangers of a wide gap between the richest and everyone else. Now, a new study, which will be published in an upcoming issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, adds a psychological reason to narrow the disparity - it makes people unhappy. Over the last 40 years, “we’ve seen that people seem to be happier when there is more equality,” says University of Virginia psychologist Shigehiro Oishi, who conducted the study with Virginia colleague Selin Kesebir and Ed Diener of the University of Illinois. “Income disparity has grown a lot in the U.S., especially since the 1980s.
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Gray Matters | Which is Better: A Glass Half-Full or Half-Empty?
Yahoo: In 1988, singer Bobby McFerrin encouraged an optimistic viewpoint in his hit song "Don't Worry Be Happy." Monty Python's song "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life," from their 1979 film Monty Python's The Life of Brian , also suggested a chipper attitude. Winston Churchill famously said, "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." But optimism may have a downside, suggests a new study,"Hope Over Experience: Desirability and the Persistence of Optimism," conducted by Cade Massey and Joseph P. Simmons from Yale University and David A.
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When Golfers Overthink: The Science Behind the Choke
The New York Times: Golf may be a four-letter word, but the curse of the game comes in five letters: choke. It is largely an unspoken word in golf, one rarely uttered on broadcast television. It has little favor in the recreational golf world as well. Any number of euphemisms spring up to describe evident failure under pressure — a putt is said to have been misread or a chip misjudged — but in the back of every golfer’s mind is a tacit understanding of what has happened. It was those five letters. And we have all been there. Read more: The New York Times
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Positive self-talk may improve athletic performance
Journal and Courier: Before Purdue University swimmer Wyatt Hodges steps into a pool for a race, he reminds himself of a few key instructions. "Keep my arms forward," he said. "Push through." He's rehearsed these and other instructional phrases repeatedly in his head to the point where they've become a sort of prayer or mantra. The mental cues help him stay focused -- pushing out any distracting thoughts about his opponent, anxious thoughts about the race or random thoughts that pop into his head. Read more: Journal and Courier
