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Want to do something good for your health? Try being generous.
The Washington Post: Every day, we are confronted with choices about how to spend our money. Whether it’s thinking about picking up the tab at a group lunch or when a charity calls asking for a donation, we are faced with the decision to behave generously or not. Research suggests that spending money on others can improve happiness, but can it also improve your physical health? Read the whole story: The Washington Post
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The Secret of Building Successful Teams
Successful organizations depend on successful teamwork, and according to Arizona State University psychological scientist Nancy J. Cooke what you think you know about teamwork is probably wrong; creating a high-performing team is about much more than simply trying to recruit the best and the brightest (which research shows can backfire anyway). For tasks that require a high degree of cognitive complexity, from brain surgery to manufacturing a car, it is impossible for any single individual to completely understand all of the components necessary for the task.
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5 Ways to Maintain Your Vacation Happiness
U.S. News & World Report: After returning from a great trip – be it a quick coastal getaway or a more far-flung retreat – it's easy to reminisce about our most remarkable travel moments. Whether you're daydreaming about the fun you had sinking your toes in the sand, gliding down a snow-covered mountain or stumbling upon a beloved local bistro or treasured cultural site, positive memories tend to leave a lingering impression long after your journey. But while all breaks must come to an end, the blissful feelings triggered don't have to disappear as soon as you revert to your normal routine.
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Stop fussing over measles vaccination rates. Start worrying about flu shots.
The Washington Post: You probably heard about the Disneyland measles outbreak last year. One infected person is thought to have visited the theme park, and thanks in part to low immunization rates, 142 people in California and six other states got sick. It wasn’t close to the worst recent measles outbreak in the United States, but because of its origin in the shadow of Cinderella’s castle, it produced a crescendo of media and public concern about the larger problem of childhood vaccination rates, which have dipped slightly in some states.
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New Year’s Day And Mondays Are The Best Times For Setting Goals, Says Science
Yahoo: Landmarks in the calendar such as New Year’s Day, and even standard Mondays, are the best times to set new goals, according to new research. Time-based landmarks are more likely to encourage people to set goals when they make them think of new beginnings, so days that are deemed to be the ‘start’ of something, whether it’s a year, a month or simply a week, are ideal, says the study. A new paper published in Psychological Science suggests that people favour the ‘fresh start effect’ associated with landmark days because it enables them to psychologically disassociate themselves from their past, imperfect self. Read the whole story: Yahoo
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Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions to Yourself, Please
New York Magazine: Are you making a resolution this new year? Good! That’s good. A small request: Whatever it is that you’re resolving to become in 2016, keep it to yourself. This is for your own good. Researchers call this sort of nonsense social reality — that is, people often mistake talking about their goal for progress toward achieving that goal, and this is especially true when the goal is tied up with their identity, or the way they want to be perceived by others. Back in 2009, New York University psychologist Peter M. Gollwitzer and others published a paper in Psychological Science investigating this idea, including an experiment involving a group of psychology graduate students.
