-
Work Before Fun? That Might Not Always Be Best
Work first, play later. That’s the conventional wisdom that promises to make people more productive at work and allow them to enjoy their fun stress-free. The truth may be very different. So says social psychologist Ed O’Brien in a recent paper published in the journal Psychological Science on the balance between leisure and work. “People have this strong intuition that the good stuff will be better if it comes after these difficult things,” says Dr. O’Brien, an assistant professor of behavioral science at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. But instead, he says, “cashing in now feels just as good.
-
My Smartphone Died, and I Didn’t Miss It. Well, Maybe a Little.
Two weeks ago, my smartphone shut down because of a low battery as I was about to board a flight to Europe. That seemed odd, given that I had barely used it that day. I plugged it in on the plane, but seven hours later, it still wasn’t functioning. When I arrived at my hotel I tried a different charger, to no avail. The phone was dead — terminally so, it turned out. I hadn’t brought a laptop, so I had no access to the internet or email. I had no camera, no guidebooks, no maps. I took a deep breath and decided to make the best of it. I’m hardly a smartphone addict. I rarely look at social media. I had happily traveled in Europe in the years before cellphones.
-
The Hidden Meaning of Kids’ Shapes and Scribbles
High on the list of awkward social interactions is the moment when a dentist or a coworker shows off her young child’s nonsensical art. A bystander might think the art—or at least the fact of its existence—is cute. Or she might think it’s ridiculous or downright terrifying. In either case, a common reaction is to smile and ask, “What’s it supposed to be?” After all, these creations rarely look like anything fully recognizable or “real.” I uncovered a host of idiosyncrasies after asking parents about their kids’ art. There was a sideways house (or was it a knife?); a giant tooth resembling candy corn; a supposed self-portrait consisting of an oval with some jagged lines in the middle.
-
New Research From Psychological Science
Read about the latest research published in Psychological Science: Educational Attainment and Personality Are Genetically Intertwined René Mõttus, Anu Realo, Uku Vainik, Jüri Allik, and Tõnu Esk In this study, the researchers examined whether phenotypic variation in personality traits is associated with polygenic propensity for educational attainment. The researchers examined more than 3,000 Estonian adults who were part of the Estonian Biobank cohort. The participants gave a blood sample for DNA testing, reported their highest level of educational attainment, and completed an assessment of personality domains of the five-factor model and their 30 facets.
-
A new way to look at emotions – and how to master yours
One day at graduate school, one of Lisa Feldman Barrett’s colleagues asked her out on a date. She didn’t really fancy him, but she had been in the lab all day and felt like a change of scenery, so she agreed to go to the local coffee shop. As they chatted, however, she started to become flushed in the face, her stomach was churning, and her head seemed to whirl. Maybe she was wrong, she thought: perhaps she really did like him. By the time they left, she’d already agreed to go on a second date. ... How could someone mistake the rush of an infection for the fever of love?
-
Seven Ways to Reduce Stress in Anxious Times
Wine. Chocolate. Binge-watching “The Crown.” How are your coping strategies working for you these days? Therapists have, for months, been reporting a significant increase in clients who are stressed and saddened by current events—hurricanes, fires, the threat of nuclear war. In some cases, they say, these large-scale worries are undermining people’s ability to cope with their own private stressors. ... A study by researchers at Yale University and the University of Toronto, published in 2013 in the journal “Psychological Science, showed that people often misattribute the source of their anxiety. They think it is one thing when it really is another. As a result, they make bad decisions.
