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Want To Feel Happier Today? Try Talking To A Stranger
The doors open wide, you enter, and they close behind you. As the elevator begins its ascent, you realize it's just you and one other person taking this ride. The silence soon grows uncomfortable. Pop quiz. What's your go-to move? A) Stare at your shoes. B) Pull out your cellphone. C) Make brief eye contact. D) Initiate chitchat. ... Social anxiety, however, could be preventing these types of interactions, says Nicholas Epley, a University of Chicago behavioral scientist. One day, during a daily train ride, he noticed something paradoxical. People — social creatures — were basically ignoring one another.
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What your spending habits say about who you are
Decisions on how you spend your money can signal key traits about your personality, according to a new study. People who tend to be neurotic typically spend less on mortgage payments than others, for instance. On the theory that consumers use money to express themselves as individuals, researchers at University College London and Columbia University analyzed spending by more than 2,000 consumers in the U.K. who agreed to provide their financial data for analysis. Overall, the researchers analyzed more than 2 million spending records, including purchases made at Amazon and British supermarkets like Tesco.
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You Are Probably Overconfident. (If You Skip This, Doubly So.)
When I lived in the mountains of Utah, I used to ski in the backcountry often. This is not resort skiing, and there is no patrol checking for avalanche risk, so assessing that risk becomes your own responsibility. It is an imprecise science, and there is always a chance you’ll get it wrong. But the more my friends and I skied, the more certain we were of our ability to get it right. Here’s what happened over and over again: 1. We’d get to a slope, assess the risk and decide to ski. 2. We’d get to the bottom safe and sound. 3. We’d pat ourselves on the back for being so good at judging avalanche danger. 4. Repeat.
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Fear of Being Branded Racist Increases Police Support for Excessive Force
It's a tense time for racial relations, particularly when it comes to relationships between minority communities and the police departments that patrol them. Many officers are acutely aware of the stereotype of the racist cop, and are concerned that they may be perceived as treating people differently because of the color of their skin.
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How Microexpressions Can Make Moods Contagious
It's a common experience for family members or groups of friends: One person's mood can bring the whole group's energy down— or up. But why are we so easily influenced? In 1962, the reality television show Candid Camera offered a remarkable glimpse into a psychological phenomenon that helps explain how emotions spread. They did it through a now famous comedy stunt called "Face the Rear." It goes like this: We see an unsuspecting man walk into an elevator that has been secretly rigged with cameras. Two more people walk in after him. But weirdly, they turn to face towards the back wall of the elevator.
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Finding the Right Place for a Home Office
Earlier this year, I faced a conundrum that many of us who work from home know well: Where in the house can I actually work? Unless you’re blessed with a home large enough for a dedicated office, or are a truly nomadic worker and able to set up shop on a sofa with nothing more than a cup of tea and your laptop, you’re inevitably going to have to carve out space in a room that isn’t naturally intended for work. ... Sure, it’s nice not to have to get dressed and get on the train every morning. But the arrangement can quickly lose its luster.
