-
National Pride Brings Happiness—But What You’re Proud of Matters
Research shows that feeling good about your country also makes you feel good about your own life—and many people take that as good news. But Matthew Wright, a political scientist at American University, and Tim Reeskens, a sociologist from Catholic University in Belgium, suspected that the positive findings about nationalism weren’t telling the whole story. “It’s fine to say pride in your country makes you happy,” says Wright. “But what kind of pride are we talking about?
-
Impatient? Then Your Credit Probably Stinks
TIME: Were you sitting and drumming your fingers while waiting for this page to load? Do you think instant coffee takes too long? If you’re impatient, more than just your blood pressure will suffer: You’re also liable to have poor credit, according to a new study. Stephan Meier and Charles Sprenger, professors at Columbia University and Stanford University, respectively, collaborated on research that will be published in the Journal of Psychological Science next month. The key finding of their paper, “Time Discounting Predicts Creditworthiness,” is that people who demand instant gratification pay for their gotta-have-it-now attitude in the form of lower FICO scores.
-
How to Save an Unproductive Day in 25 Minutes
The Wall Street Journal: How often have you had a work day when, as mid-afternoon races toward late-afternoon, you realize that you haven't really gotten anything done? Painfully often, if you're like many of the professionals we talked to for a recent study on everyday work life through Harvard Business School. Not only do unproductive days like this detract from the success of your projects, your team and your organization; they can endanger your own well-being. We discovered that nothing makes people feel happier and more engaged at work than making meaningful progress on something they care about. We call that the progress principle.
-
Why you should always tell a woman her parking is perfect… if you want her skills to improve
Daily Mail: For some men, keeping quiet while their wife is on her 17th attempt at reversing into a parking spot would not come naturally. But research suggests that they might be better advised to bite their tongue – as lack of confidence is a factor in women’s tendency to struggle in tasks requiring spatial awareness. Tests showed that women improved in these activities when their self-belief was given a boost. Dr Estes, whose research paper is published in the journal Archives Of Sexual Behaviour, said: ‘Prior research shows that women tend to do poorly on tasks that require spatial awareness.
-
How will you remember 2011?
The year 2011 was a dismal time in American public life. The nation came close to defaulting and lost its AAA credit rating for the first time ever. The do-nothing Congress did—well, nothing. The GOP seriously offered up the likes of Michele Bachmann and Herman Cain as its best and brightest for the country’s future. Policemen in riot gear pepper-sprayed peaceful protestors. And public discourse sank to an all-time low in coarseness and partisanship. So how will we recall 2011 when we look back on it? Most likely with warmth and good cheer. Say what? That’s right. We will most likely remember the end of 2011—the next couple weeks—positively, simply because it is the end of the year.
-
Psychopathy: A Misunderstood Personality Disorder
Psychopathic personalities are some of the most memorable characters portrayed in popular media today. These characters, like Patrick Bateman from American Psycho, Frank Abagnale Jr. from Catch Me If You Can and Alex from A Clockwork Orange, are typically depicted as charming, intriguing, dishonest, guiltless, and in some cases, downright terrifying. But scientific research suggests that psychopathy is a personality disorder that is widely misunderstood. “Psychopathy tends to be used as a label for people we do not like, cannot understand, or construe as evil,” notes Jennifer Skeem, Professor of Psychology and Social Behavior at the University of California, Irvine.
