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America Is in Its Insecure-Attachment Era
About a decade ago, the social psychologist Sara Konrath led a study that yielded some disturbing results. As a researcher at Indiana University, she’d already found that narcissism rates seemed to be increasing among Americans, and empathy decreasing; that was a combination that didn’t bode well, she feared, for the quality of people’s relationships. So she decided to look more deeply into the state of Americans’ connections—and in order to do so, she turned to attachment theory. Researchers have identified four basic “attachment styles”: People with a secure style feel that they can depend on others and that others can depend on them too.
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Want to Raise Kind, Generous Kids? Take Them to an Art Museum
Entrepreneur parents work long hours building their companies to provide materially for their families and make sure they can offer their kids the best start in life. But most would probably agree that the monetary side of things is only part of the battle. Few parents would be satisfied if they gave their kids everything money can buy, but their children ended up rude, selfish, and self-absorbed. Everyone wants to raise successful kids, but a big part of being successful is being a kind and generous person. So how can parents give their kids the best while also doing their best to ensure they raise decent, thoughtful little people?
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For Black Drivers, a Police Officer’s First 45 Words Are a Portent of What’s to Come
When a police officer stops a Black driver, the first 45 words said by that officer hold important clues about how their encounter is likely to go. Car stops that result in a search, handcuffing, or arrest are nearly three times more likely to begin with the police officer issuing a command, such as "Keep your hands on the wheel" or "Turn the car off." That's according to a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that examined police body-camera footage of 577 routine car stops involving Black drivers. Eighty-one of these stops ultimately involved searches, handcuffings, or arrests.
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Lean Into Negative Emotions. It’s the Healthy Thing to Do.
We’re nervous about an upcoming work presentation, then lament our lack of confidence. We get angry at our partner, then feel guilty about our impatience. Our emotions undoubtedly influence our well-being — but recent research suggests that how we judge and react to those emotions may affect us even more. In a study published last month in the journal Emotion, researchers found that people who habitually judge negative feelings — such as sadness, fear and anger — as bad or inappropriate have more anxiety and depression symptoms and feel less satisfied with their lives than people who generally perceive their negative emotions in a positive or neutral light.
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Extreme Views Are More Attractive Than Moderate Ones
Do you ever feel like everyone on social media has a more extreme viewpoint than your own? We often blame social media companies for the cacophony of politically extreme opinions around us. After all, these companies are generally motivated to promote the most emotionally potent and attention-grabbing content and perspectives. But my colleagues and I have conducted research that suggests these platforms’ users share some of the responsibility. In several studies, we found that people prefer connecting with others who are, on average, more politically extreme than themselves. ...
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What Your Favorite Personality Test Says About You
In ancient Greece, the physician Hippocrates is said to have theorized that the ratio of four bodily fluids—blood, yellow bile, black bile, and phlegm—dictated a person’s distinct temperament. The psychologist Carl Jung, in his 1921 book, Psychological Types, proposed two major attitudinal types (introversion and extroversion) and four cognitive functions (thinking, feeling, sensation, and intuition) that combine to yield eight different psychological profiles. And in 2022, a BuzzFeed contributor suggested that everyone is either an apple or a banana.