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The rewards of ‘nearby nature’
I live in one of the liveliest neighborhoods of a large city. I’ve lived in this city for almost all of my adult life, and I love all the urban sights and noises, right down to the sirens. But I also know the many patches of nature hidden away in my city. On those occasions when I need solitude and quiet and respite from the hectic metropolitan pace, I am minutes from streams and woodland. My rural friends don’t think of these urban enclaves as real nature, but I disagree. I feel restored when I get out among the oaks and sassafras and yarrow and I hear the warblers singing. And new research backs me up on this.
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Psychologists Interrupt the Miserable Cycle of Social Insecurity
Tom likes Susan but he fears she does not like him. Expecting to be rejected, he’s cold toward Susan. And guess what? She snubs him back. His prophesy is self-fulfilled, his social insecurity reinforced. The miserable cycle continues. But what if Tom could be helped to set aside his fears and behave as warmly as he feels? Happily, he can, says University of Victoria psychologist Danu Anthony Stinson.
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Evaluating Emotional Responses
Evaluation is something people do every day, whether they are assessing their to-do list or forming opinions about a book they’re reading. William Cunningham is investigating how evaluating other people or objects leads to emotional responses. Through a combination of social psychological and cognitive neuroscience techniques, Cunningham has found that affective states (in other words, emotional states) are built moment to moment by multiple processes that link together relevant information about the person’s environment with their own personal attitudes.
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Spoiling The Ending Makes For A Better Story
Scientific American: Old Yeller dies, Darth Vader is Luke's dad, Little Red Riding Hood lives. Did I spoil it? Yes I did. But maybe I did you a favor. Spoilers enhance the enjoyment of a story, according to findings to be published in the journal Psychological Science. Researchers presented three versions of classic stories to 30 subjects. Each story had an ironic twist, or a solved-mystery, or a dramatic end. One version was the original—no spoiler–another had the spoiler woven into the story and the third gave the spoiler right off the bat. Turned out the subjects significantly preferred a spoiled version of the ironic twist stories best. The literary stories were the least preferred.
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Nice Guys Can Finish First
Men's Health: Psychologists have discovered that men tend to be more generous with their money when we’re in the presence of attractive women. But flaunting your wealth isn’t the only way to impress the girl of your dreams, or that cute hottie from Sales. Here are four other ways to get her attention and portray yourself as a genuinely considerate guy. First impressions are vital. A recent study published in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior found altruistic traits can be perceived after as little as 20 seconds. But don’t open the conversation with a bullet-point list of your philanthropic history.
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Why some stay-at-home mothers choose to opt out of the workplace
Journal and Courier - Lafayette: Valerie Wininger recently left her full-time job as a Web master in the entomology department at Purdue University to become a stay-at-home mom. Now, she is caring for her three children, Brianna, 8, Eli, 5, and 11-month-old Fiona. "Financially, it was almost not even worth it for me to work with day care costs and everything," the 30-year-old said. "I got so few hours in the day with them, and it was always so stressful and chaotic." Wininger felt like her decision to leave work and stay at home full-time was her choice, she said. "I'm very happy," she said. "There are days that are hard, but mostly I just love it.
