-
In Search of an Attainable New Year’s Resolution
It’s that time of year again — when seemingly every advertisement, social media post, or well-meaning loved one is quick to remind you how you’re due for a refresh, a restart, a rebrand. Self-improvement is difficult any time of year, but you may feel extra pressure to embark on a life change at the top of the new year. The desire to set goals often comes on the heels of the start of a new week, month, year, semester, or birthday, dubbed the “fresh start effect.” When the slate is wiped clean in any capacity, people feel more compelled to conquer a challenge. New Year’s resolutions get a bad rap for being notoriously unattainable.
-
The 6 Most Important Things Science Learned About How to Live a Happy, Fulfilled Life in 2022
Go back 25 years or so and psychology was almost exclusively focused on investigating mental illnesses and the suffering they caused. Then in 1998 pioneering psychologist Martin Seligman took up his term as president of the American Psychological Association and declared a new focus on "positive psychology." This new area of study wouldn't look at disease and disorder, it would study human flourishing with the aim of increasing the well-being and resilience of everyday people. A revolution was born and it's been ongoing ever since. 2022 was no exception.
-
The Mindset That Brings Unlimited Willpower
We all face demanding days that seem designed to test our self-control. Perhaps you are a barista, and you have some particularly rude and demanding customers, but you manage to keep your poise throughout. Or maybe you are finishing an important project and you have to remain in quiet concentration, without letting your attention slip to other distractions. If you are on a diet, you might have spent the past few hours resisting the cookie jar while the sweet treats silently whisper “eat me”. In each case, you would have relied on your willpower, which psychologists define as the ability to avoid short-term temptations and override unwanted thoughts, feelings or impulses.
-
New Content From Perspectives on Psychological Science
A sample of articles on the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on mental health, children’s referential informativeness, the benefits, barriers, and risks of big-team science, peer-victimization research, complex racial trauma, and much more.
-
Similarities in Human and Chimpanzee Behavior Support Evolutionary Basis for Risk Taking
Research suggests that findings about human risk preferences also apply to risk-taking in chimpanzees, our closest evolutionary ancestor in the animal kingdom.
-
Top 10 Articles of 2022: Opinionated Fetuses! Cheating Spouses! And Much More
Podcast: Do fetuses care what their mothers eat? When do spouses cheat? Some of the top articles published in the APS journals in 2022 explored these questions and much more.
