-
Having A Best Friend In Your Teenage Years Could Benefit You For Life
NPR: David Thomas and I met when we were about 5 years old. We celebrated his 26th birthday last weekend, marking roughly two decades of friendship. Once, while walking down the street, a man looked at us and said, "Ain't it Harold and Kumar!" He was almost certainly making light of our race, but perhaps he also saw how comfortable we were with each other. The comparison fits in more ways than one since David is my oldest and closest friend. David is an M.D.-Ph.D. student now, and I'm a science reporter. We've both read research on the effect friendships can have on mental health, and a study published Monday in Child Development seemed particularly relevant to us.
-
Actually, Dying Might Be An Unexpectedly Positive Experience
Thrive Global: In a paper published in Psychological Science, researchers analyzed the language used in the blogs of terminal cancer patients and the poetry and last words of death row inmates. They found that both groups used more positive words, fewer negative words, or both compared to the writing samples created by experiment participants who were asked to imagine what it would be like to be facing deadly illness or capital punishment. What’s especially interesting: the closer cancer patients came to death, the more positive their language became — largely due, the results indicate, to the meaning-making found in close relationships and religion. Read the whole story: Thrive Global
-
A psychologist explains the limits of human compassion
Vox: There are now 65.3 million people displaced from their homes worldwide, the United Nations reports. It’s an all-time high: likely the largest population of refugees and asylum seekers in human history. Think about that number: 65.3 million. Can you even imagine it? Like, really imagine it. When we see one life, we can imagine their hopes and pain. But 65 million? You can’t. That’s just an abstraction. There’s a hard limit to human compassion, and it’s one of the most powerful psychological forces shaping human events. I often report on political psychology.
-
New Research From Clinical Psychological Science
A sample of research exploring automatic causal reasoning in diagnostic decision making, the role of kinship in complicated grief, links between gray matter volume and psychopathology, and emotional memory and trauma in refugees.
-
The Costs of Workplace Rudeness
The Wall Street Journal: When we’re pressed at work, it’s tempting to let manners slip. Whether it’s ignoring a colleague’s email request, snapping at someone in a meeting or interrupting a conversation to respond to a text message, modern workplace rudeness is varied and rampant. Because rudeness—offensive words or deeds that go against social norms—can be more subtle and benign than harassment or bullying, targets may assume that it’s just a routine, if unpleasant, part of the workday. But a growing body of research suggests that rudeness can harm an employee’s well-being and job performance.
-
Need A Happiness Boost? Spend Your Money To Buy Time, Not More Stuff
NPR: Money can't buy happiness, right? Well, some researchers beg to differ. They say it depends on how you spend it. A recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciencessuggests that when people spend money on time-saving services such as a house cleaner, lawn care or grocery delivery, it can make them feel a little happier. By comparison, money spent on material purchases — aka things — does not boost positive emotions the way we might expect. ...
