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Buy Happiness—by Giving Your Money Away
Next time you’re feeling stressed, try giving some money away. Generosity is a powerful drug even in small doses. Donations to a worthy cause or acts of kindness to friends give your mind and body a boost. Yes, the side effects of a charitable act may include a better mood, lower blood pressure and a longer life, according to studies from brain scientists and economists. You might experience a spike in serotonin and dopamine, hormones associated with happiness, and a drop in cortisol, researchers say. ...
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Cynics Not Only Lose Out on Friendships, Love and Opportunity — They’re Also Wrong About Human Nature
Cynicism is on the rise. Should that come as any surprise given today’s divisive global conflicts and our fraught political landscape? Even the weather seems like it’s out to get us. Americans are experiencing a “trust recession,” social scientist Jamil Zaki said in his new book, “Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness.” Zaki is a professor of psychology at Stanford University and director of the Stanford Social Neuroscience Lab.
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One Change I Made to My Social Media Use Made a Big Difference on My Mood
I was listening to the podcast “The TryPod,” when cohost Zach Kornfeld mentioned he had swapped checking his phone first thing in the morning for a game of pickleball. The switch had made his morning mood so much better, he said. It seemed a passing comment, but it struck me. I had been waking up for a while with a sense of dread. Could stopping the morning scroll make a difference? The next morning, I woke up and didn’t let myself open any of my apps until I had finished a walk with my dog. And it worked. No dread feeling. It worked the next day too, and not engaging with my phone first thing has worked since –– which makes sense, said Dr.
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Parents Labeling a Kid’s Friend a Bad Influence Can Backfire
Parents have always blamed their teens’ misbehavior on their kids’ friends: they may say their kids “fell into bad company” or “got in with the wrong crowd.” To combat what they see as pernicious influences, parents have responded with strategies that range from criticizing the wayward companions to forbidding any contact altogether. This type of response by parents has been documented from the Netherlands to China. In fact, the question remains as to whether placing these supposed bad influences off-limits actually helpS children. “Not a bit” is the answer, according to child psychology researchers. In fact, this type of response actually backfires.
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Authenticity Can Protect Mental Health
Authenticity isn’t just a buzzword. Researchers have found that authentic people enjoy better psychological health and a greater sense of meaning in their lives. “There’s a really strong link between feeling authentic and life feeling meaningful,” said Rebecca Schlegel, a professor of psychological and brain sciences at Texas A&M University. “You have essentially a good story about why you do the things that you do.” Authenticity is a popular subject to study, Schlegel said, but psychologists, philosophers and other scholars are still working to define this elusive concept. Many people think that authenticity means being yourself.
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Misinformation Really Does Spread like a Virus, Epidemiology Shows
We’re increasingly aware of how misinformation can influence elections. About 73% of Americans report seeing misleading election news, and about half struggle to discern what is true or false. When it comes to misinformation, “going viral” appears to be more than a simple catchphrase. Scientists have found a close analogy between the spread of misinformation and the spread of viruses. In fact, how misinformation gets around can be effectively described using mathematical models designed to simulate the spread of pathogens. Concerns about misinformation are widely held, with a recent UN survey suggesting that 85% of people worldwide are worried about it.
