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The Science of Choosing Compassion
Huffington Post: As I walk down bustling Franklin Street in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, I often pass homeless people who ask me for spare change. Sometimes I let myself feel compassion for these individuals. But other times I don't want to get emotionally involved, so I look away and keep walking. Maybe you've had a similar experience. Pondering such experiences has led me to systematically explore the factors that influence when people feel compassion for others. The upshot of my research: You can choose to feel more compassion than you might think. There are many cases when we don't feel compassion for others.
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Smiling ‘is good for the heart’
The Telegraph: Researchers found smiling can reduce stress levels and low the heart rate while performing difficult tasks. Writing in Psychological Science, the authors tell how they studied the effects of different types of smiling in difficult situations. Tara Kraft, of the University of Kansas, said: "Age old adages, such as 'grin and bear it' have suggested smiling to be not only an important nonverbal indicator of happiness but also wishfully promotes smiling as a panacea for life's stressful events.
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Thinking About Giving, Not Receiving, Motivates People to Help Others
We’re often told to ‘count our blessings’ and be grateful for what we have. Research suggests that thinking about what we’ve given, rather than what we’ve received, can lead us to be more helpful toward others.
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Looking For Trouble (And Seeing It)
I’ve known a few troublemakers over the years. These were guys with huge chips on both shoulders, who would gladly pick a fight if you looked at them wrong. And looking at them wrong could really mean doing nothing provocative at all, because they saw signs of hostility and threat where others did not, especially in others’ faces. They were literally looking for trouble. Scientists and clinicians are interested in the dynamic interaction of perception and aggression. Looking for trouble, and seeing it, may be a deep cognitive bias—a negativity bias—that distorts normal emotional processing.
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Thinking Abstractly May Help to Boost Self-Control
Many of the long term goals people strive for — like losing weight — require us to use self-control and forgo immediate gratification. And yet denying our immediate desires in order to reap future benefits
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Not just for Olympians: Mental strategy can help weekend athletes perform, or at least enjoy
The Washington Post: NEW YORK — Now that you’ve been watching the world’s top athletes compete in London, you may be inspired to go out and pursue your own sport at, um, less than an Olympic level. But even without their talent or practice regimens, you can take a lesson from what Olympians know: The mental game matters, too. Experts say even weekend warriors can benefit from the kinds of mental strategies elite athletes follow, things like following a routine or adopting a mantra to guide you through crucial movements. Megan Rapinoe has a routine at the Olympics.
