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Smiling ‘is good for the heart’
The Telegraph: Researchers found smiling can reduce stress levels and low the heart rate while performing difficult tasks. Writing in Psychological Science, the authors tell how they studied the effects of different types of smiling in difficult situations. Tara Kraft, of the University of Kansas, said: "Age old adages, such as 'grin and bear it' have suggested smiling to be not only an important nonverbal indicator of happiness but also wishfully promotes smiling as a panacea for life's stressful events.
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Thinking About Giving, Not Receiving, Motivates People to Help Others
We’re often told to ‘count our blessings’ and be grateful for what we have. Research suggests that thinking about what we’ve given, rather than what we’ve received, can lead us to be more helpful toward others. Visit Page
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WeSearchTogether Connects Researchers to Study Participants Instantly
Nearly 1 in 4 American adults lives with a mental health disorder, yet less than 2 in 100 participate in mental health research (CISRP, 2012). Researchers in the field struggle to engage enough participants in their work, making it difficult to achieve breakthroughs in the treatment of mood disorders. WeSearchTogether.org is a national online clearinghouse and registry that offers researchers a free opportunity to connect with people living with mood disorders who are thinking about participating in research. WeSearchTogether was launched this summer by the University of Michigan Depression Center and the Depression Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA).
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Thinking Abstractly May Help to Boost Self-Control
Many of the long term goals people strive for — like losing weight — require us to use self-control and forgo immediate gratification. And yet denying our immediate desires in order to reap future benefits Visit Page
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Why Do Older Adults Display More Positive Emotion? It Might Have to Do with What They’re Looking At
Research has shown that older adults display more positive emotions and are quicker to regulate out of negative emotional states than younger adults. Given the declines in cognitive functioning and physical health that tend to come with age, we might expect that age would be associated with worse moods, not better ones. So what explains older adults’ positive mood regulation?
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Greater Working Memory Capacity Benefits Analytic, But Not Creative, Problem-Solving
Anyone who has tried to remember a ten-digit phone number or a nine-item grocery list knows that we can only hold so much information in mind at a given time. Our working memory capacity is decidedly finite - it reflects our ability to focus and control attention and strongly influences our ability to solve problems. In a new article in the August issue of Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, Jennifer Wiley and Andrew Jarosz of the University of Illinois at Chicago explore the role of working memory capacity in both mathematical and creative problem solving.
