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To Thine Own Self: The Psychology of Authenticity
The Huffington Post: One of the core principles of Alcoholics Anonymous, the 12-step addiction-recovery program, is authenticity. At least two of the steps emphasize the importance of honest moral inventory, and the AA "chip" -- the medallion handed out to commemorate periods of continued sobriety -- reads, "To thine own self be true." The people who created AA back in the 1930s were not scientists or philosophers, but the early literature contains many insights that scientists have verified in intervening years. The link between authenticity and morality and psychological health is not intuitively obvious.
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Without Friends or Family, even Extraordinary Experiences are Disappointing
Scientific American: Imagine you are with some friends at a concert, and the bouncer approaches the group and says that, because you are all looking so ravishing tonight, he’s been instructed to offer one of you—just one!—a backstage pass to meet the artist. Do you raise your hand? For most people, this would be a no-brainer: who wouldn’t leap at the chance to meet a famous singer or secure a long-sought autograph? The results of a recent study, published in Psychological Science by Gus Cooney, Daniel Gilbert, and Timothy Wilson, however, suggest taking a second’s pause before snapping up that backstage pass.
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Researchers Investigate Why Cyclists Run Red Lights
Much like motorists, cyclists don’t always obey traffic laws. From Melbourne to New York City, urban dwellers have grumbled about encounters with bicyclists who brazenly zip straight through red lights without even a glance at oncoming traffic or pedestrians in the crosswalk. But while risky behavior in motorists has been extensively studied, relatively little research has been published on similar behavior for bicyclists.
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Playing With Puzzles and Blocks Could Build Children’s Spatial Skills
Play may seem like fun and games, but new research shows that specific kinds of play are actually associated with development of particular cognitive skills. Data from a nationally representative study show that children who play frequently with puzzles, blocks, and board games tend to have better spatial reasoning ability. The research is published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. “Our findings show that spatial play specifically is related to children's spatial reasoning skills,” says psychological scientist and lead researcher Jamie Jirout of Rhodes College.
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Why a Messy Workspace Undermines Your Persistence
Harvard Business Review: The disorganized accumulation of papers and coffee cups scattered across your desk may help you project the impression that you’re working at full throttle, but in fact it’s probably dragging you down. We’ve found that people sitting at messy desks are less efficient, less persistent, and more frustrated and weary than those at neat desks. But wait, you may say. No one who has worked in a busy office for more than a week can possibly keep a neat desk — the work comes at you too fast. Or you may say that you like your mess, that it’s as comforting as a little nest. To which we say yes, it can be challenging to keep a desk neat.
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The Week Your New Year’s Resolution to Exercise Dies
The Wall Street Journal: People with the noble New Year’s resolution to work out or work out more should mark their calendars: That resolve starts to waver in the third week in January, data shows. The pattern shows how difficult it is to make a new habit stick. Attendance is a delicate part of a gym’s business. Gyms need new members but face regulars who complain about crowds, waits and the poor etiquette of January newcomers. Check-ins on Facebook to facilities with “gym” or “fitness” in the name drop 10% in February, according to two years of Facebook data. The decline starts as early as the third week in January, Facebook researchers say.
