-
What Makes Older People Happy
The New York Times: Every year, my husband and I wonder what kind of birthday gift to give his dad, now 86 years old. The newest gadget, which may be admired but almost surely will be put in a drawer? Something much more ordinary, like one of the cardigan sweaters he wears day in and day out? We know very well what Mel would really enjoy: a weeklong visit with us and our children, with lots of time spent eating out in comfortable restaurants where he doesn’t have to strain to follow the conversation. But that is hard to engineer, since we all live far away. ... The study findings are drawn from eight experiments all revolving around the same theme. In one of them, Dr.
-
Now! Later. No, right now! Maybe in a bit.
Procrastination and impulsivity are both bad habits. They cause problems in school, at work, in life. But psychologically, they would seem to have little in common. Impulsivity, after all, is all about now—wanting and needing something immediately, urgently—and not waiting for later. Later is the province of procrastinators, who will happily delay until tomorrow what could—or should—be done today. Yet these two character traits do coexist, and that has long puzzled psychological scientists. Why would those who intentionally but irrationally put things off, who don’t seem pressured by time—why would these same people also tend to make rash decisions, without thought or planning?
-
Feeling lonely? It may increase risk of early death
USA Today: People who feel consistently lonely have a 14% higher risk of premature death than those who don't, a new study shows. The impact of loneliness on early death is almost as strong as the impact of being poor, which increased the chances of dying early by 19%, the research found. "Loneliness is a risk factor for early death beyond what can be explained by poor health behaviors," says psychologist John Cacioppo, director of the Center for Cognitive and Social Neuroscience at the University of Chicago. He discussed his research Sunday at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting in Chicago.
-
Belief in Fate: A Way to Avoid Making Tough Decisions?
Pacific Standard: “It is what a man thinks of himself that really determines his fate,” declared Henry David Thoreau. “Men are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of their own minds,” echoed President Franklin Roosevelt. Such statements exemplify the American attitude that we’re in charge of our own destinies. But even in this country, many still cling to the idea of fate—that belief that important outcomes are predestined and beyond our control. Why do we resign ourselves to that state of powerlessness? Newly published research provides one possible answer: It helps us avoid the emotional pain of making tough choices.
-
When Faced With a Hard Decision, People Tend to Blame Fate
Life is full of decisions. Some, like what to eat for breakfast, are relatively easy. Others, like whether to move cities for a new job, are quite a bit more difficult. Difficult decisions tend to make us feel stressed and uncomfortable – we don’t want to feel responsible if the outcome is less than desirable. New research suggests that we deal with such difficult decisions by shifting responsibility for the decision to fate. The findings are published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. “Fate is a ubiquitous supernatural belief, spanning time and place,” write researchers Aaron Kay, Simone Tang, and Steven Shepherd of Duke University.
-
The All-or-Nothing Marriage
The New York Times: ARE marriages today better or worse than they used to be? This vexing question is usually answered in one of two ways. According to the marital decline camp, marriage has weakened: Higher divorce rates reflect a lack of commitment and a decline of moral character that have harmed adults, children and society in general. But according to the marital resilience camp, though marriage has experienced disruptive changes like higher divorce rates, such developments are a sign that the institution has evolved to better respect individual autonomy, particularly for women.
