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Why Bronze Medalists Are Happier Than Silver Winners
Scientific American: In 1892, psychologist William James wrote these words in this foundational book, The Principles of Psychology. James’s observation echoes a sentiment that is well known in psychology: a person’s achievements matter less than how that person subjectively perceives those achievements. For example, you might be thrilled over a 5% raise at work until you learn that your colleague down the hall earned a 10% raise. But is there ever a case when the individual with the 5% raise is happier with his or her outcome than the person with the 10% raise?
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Si vous vous sentez stressé, souriez ! (If you feel stressed, smile!)
Le Figaro: Un sourire, même forcé, abaisse le rythme cardiaque pendant une activité stressante, révèle une étude américaine. Les scientifiques avaient déjà révélé l'effet relaxant d'un sourire, mais l'on pensait celui-ci réservé au «vrai sourire» spontané, également appelé sourire de Duchenne, qui entraîne une contraction du muscle orbiculaire situé autour des yeux. Or il semblerait que même un sourire «standard» - certain diront forcé - qui ne sollicite que les muscles autour de la bouche (zygomatiques), ait aussi un effet déstressant, selon une étude publiée dans la revue Psychological Science. Read the whole story: Le Figaro
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Why Men (Yes, Men) Are Better Multitaskers
The Huffington Post: We should all be forgiven for believing that women are good at multitasking, and far superior to men. After all, that's the popular image that has been in circulation for some time. In this depiction, a vibrant 30-something woman, still in her business suit after a demanding day at the office, is cooking a gourmet meal, balancing a toddler on her hip, all while talking on the phone, presumably raising money for a local charity. Popular books, like Why Men Can Only Do One Thing at a Time and Women Never Stop Talking, reinforce the idea that men are incapable of matching women's cognitive balancing act.
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Don’t Fear the Cybermind
The New York Times: THE line that separates my mind from the Internet is getting blurry. This has been happening ever since I realized how often it feels as though I know something just because I can find it with Google. Technically, of course, I don’t know it. But when there’s a smartphone or iPad in reach, I know everything the Internet knows. Or at least, that’s how it feels. This curious feeling of knowing has settled over most of us. In a group, someone always seems to be “checking” something in the conversation, piping up with handy facts culled from a rapid consultation with the Great and Powerful Man Behind the Curtain.
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Study: Forcing a Smile Genuinely Decreases Stress
The Atlantic: PROBLEM: Happiness makes us smile, but can smiling make us happy? Even if it's a fake smile, because your mouth is propped open by chopsticks? There's the standard smile, which remains located in the muscles surrounding the mouth, and the genuine (or Duchenne) smile, which spreads to the eyes and, at least anecdotally, both looks and feels warmer and more natural. Does one work better than the other? METHODOLOGY: In an experiment that was smile-worthy in its own right, researchers used chopsticks to manipulate the facial muscles of their 169 participants into a neutral expression, a standard smile, or a Duchenne smile.
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The Case for Lying to Yourself
The Wall Street Journal: Lying to yourself—or self-deception, as psychologists call it—can actually have benefits. And nearly everybody does it, based on a growing body of research using new experimental techniques. Self-deception isn't just lying or faking, but is deeper and more complicated, says Del Paulhus, psychology professor at University of British Columbia and author of a widely used scale to measure self-deceptive tendencies. It involves strong psychological forces that keep us from acknowledging a threatening truth about ourselves, he says.
