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Why Religion Makes Only Some of Us Happy
LiveScience: Religious people tend to feel better about themselves and their lives, but a new study finds that this benefit may only hold in places where everyone else is religious, too. According to the new study of almost 200,000 people in 11 European countries, people who are religious have higher self-esteem and better psychological adjustment than the non-religious only in countries where belief in religion is common. In more secular societies, the religious and the non-religious are equally well-off.
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The Write Diet: Lose Weight With Just 15 Minutes and a Journal
The Atlantic: Can losing weight really be as simple as a 15-minute writing session? It worked for a group of women who recently took part in a psychological study. But it depends on what you write about. Women who wrote about their most important values for 15 minutes lost an average of 3.4 pounds over the next few months. Women who wrote about something less important gained an average of 2.8 pounds. The researchers think the weight loss was due to increased self-affirmation or self-esteem. Writing about their values made the women see themselves as better people and feel better about themselves. It may also serve to strengthen resolve.
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BEURK – Le dégoût est un sentiment utile
Le Monde: Longtemps laissé de côté par les chercheurs, le dégoût entame depuis quelques années une phase de réhabilitation. The New York Times le compare ainsi à "la Cendrillon" des émotions. Et "si ses méchantes sœurs, la colère, la peur ou la tristesse, ont attiré l'attention des psychologues, lui, a été laissé dans l'ombre", souligne le quotidien. Mais voilà, l'heure du bal est venue. Paul Rozin, psychologue et professeur émérite de l'université de Pennsylvanie, est un des pionniers de la recherche sur le dégoût. Il a commencé ses investigations dans les années 1980 : "C'était toujours l'autre émotion, se souvient-il. Aujourd'hui c'est le sujet chaud." Read more: Le Monde
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Claustrophobic offices stifle creativity
The Telegraph: Chinese and US scientists conducted an experiment which saw volunteers seated inside or outside a cardboard box measuring five feet by five feet. Those seated outside the box, in an airier, less constricted environment were found to be more stimulated, with a greater their ability to think 'outside the box.' The team ensured that, cardboard aside, each environment was identical and that participants did not feel claustrophobic inside the box. Having set the volunteers a test, findings showed that people outside the box were consistently more creative in their thinking. Read the full story: The Telegraph
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La ‘folie des grandeurs’? Les dirigeants se voient plus grands qu’ils ne le sont en réalité…
Express Belgium: Les recherches montrent que les personnes de grande taille sont plus susceptibles d’avoir du pouvoir et gagnent plus d’argent en moyenne, mais que peut-on dire des personnes de petite taille ? C’est ce que ce sont demandé deux chercheurs, le Professeur Jack Goncalo, de l’université Cornell University de New York, et le Docteur Michelle Duguid, de l’université Washington de St. Louis. Ils ont donné des tests d’aptitudes à 266 sujets qu’ils ont associés par binômes, et qu’ils avaient préalablement mesurés. Ensuite, chaque membre du binôme devait jouer le rôle ou bien de l’employeur, ou bien de l’employé, selon des notes qui leur étaient attribuées.
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Are We Bad at Forecasting Our Emotions? It Depends on How You Measure Accuracy
How will you feel if you fail that test? Awful, really awful, you say. Then you fail the test and, yes, you feel bad—but not as bad as you thought you would. This pattern holds for most people, research shows. The takeaway message: People are lousy at predicting their emotions. “Psychology has focused on how we mess up and how stupid we are,” says University of Texas Austin psychologist Samuel D. Gosling.
