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Why Are Older People Happier?
Older people tend to be happier. But why? Some psychologists believe that cognitive processes are responsible—in particular, focusing on and remembering positive events and leaving behind negative ones; those processes, they think, help older people regulate their emotions, letting them view life in a sunnier light. “There is a lot of good theory about this age difference in happiness,” says psychologist Derek M. Isaacowitz of Northeastern University, “but much of the research does not provide direct evidence” of the links between such phenomena and actual happiness.
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Study of the Day: The National Pride That Brings Happiness
The Atlantic: Nationalism that's rooted in respect for laws and institutions, not race or religion, makes citizens the happiest, according to new research. PROBLEM: Previous research has shown that national pride makes people feel good about their own lives. But does what you're proud of matter too? METHODOLOGY: Tim Reeskens, a sociologist from Catholic University in Belgium, and Matthew Wright, a political scientist at American University, categorized national pride into "ethnic nationalism," which is tied to ancestry and religious beliefs, and "civic nationalism," which prioritizes respect for a country's institutions and laws.
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Gender And Humor: Was Christopher Hitchens Right When He Said Women Aren’t Funny?
Huffington Post: Celebrated polemicist Christopher Hitchens, who passed away last month, never lacked targets for his writerly ire: Henry Kissinger, Bill Clinton, Gore Vidal -- even Mother Teresa was not immune. But in a polarizing 2007 Vanity Fair essay, Hitchens outdid himself, taking aim at the entire female species. Women aren't as funny as men, he declared. Case closed. The entertainment industry seems to agree. According to the Writers Guild of America, women represent just 28 percent of all jobs in television, and 18 percent in the film industry. Such a radical imbalance might leave us all believing that if something is funny, it must've come from a guy.
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Week in Ideas
The Wall Street Journal: Psychology Big Shots The figurative big man on campus may think he's a literal big man, too. To study the effects of power on perception, researchers measured the height of 100 male and female college students, gave them a bogus test purportedly measuring leadership ability, and then assigned them to serve as either a manager or an employee in a role-playing task. The assignment was random, but the participants were told that it was based on leadership potential (the role-playing task never actually happened). After this set-up, the students gave personal information, including their height.
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A Simple Weight Loss Strategy. Really. Maybe.
Huffington Post: Dieting and weight control are really pretty simple. We gain weight and have trouble losing it because we eat too much and move too little. If we can switch that around, most of us should be able to maintain a sensible weight without resorting to unhealthy gimmicks. But that's just the biology of weight control. What about the psychology? Why do we habitually take in too many calories, even when we know those calories are a ticket to obesity and all sorts of chronic diseases? Read the full story: Huffington Post
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How the weather affects us
Wired UK: The weather doesn't just determine if we should be wearing a thick coat or not -- it can have profound effects on the way we behave. You're warmer and colder towards people depending on the weather. In studies, warmer conditions induced: greater social proximity; use of more concrete language; and a more relational focus. (1) People shop more on sunny days: as exposure to sunlight increases, negative effects decrease and consumer spending tends to increase... (2) ...And work more when it pours: on rainy days, men shift on average 30 minutes from leisure to work.
