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The Opposite of Toxic Positivity
Countless books have been written on the “power of gratitude” and the importance of counting your blessings, but that sentiment may feel like cold comfort during the coronavirus pandemic, when blessings have often seemed scant. Refusing to look at life’s darkness and avoiding uncomfortable experiences can be detrimental to mental health. This “toxic positivity” is ultimately a denial of reality. Telling someone to “stay positive” in the middle of a global crisis is missing out on an opportunity for growth, not to mention likely to backfire and only make them feel worse.
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Returning to the Office Will Be Hard. Here’s How Managers Can Make It Easier.
Many leaders are contemplating a full or partial return to the office post-pandemic. As they consider this, they tend to think of employees in two opposite groups: those who are eager to return and those who are opposed. However, it’s important to recognize that some of the people who want to return to a shared workspace may nonetheless feel discomfort, some significantly so. Even after the acute danger of a crisis has passed, stress-related behaviors — whether the result of specific health concerns or the spillover of challenging family or economic situations — don’t magically disappear.
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Yes, Age Does Make Us More Generous
Like many people in their 60s, I feel that I’m less driven and ambitious than I used to be. I find myself thinking more about helping my students and children and grandchildren. But do we really get more generous and altruistic as we get older? Two new studies suggest that we do and that this change in our motivations runs deep. Earlier studies had already provided some evidence that this might be true, finding that older people donate more money to charity both in real life and in hypothetical experiments and, like me, say that they care more about others.
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The Way We View Growing Older Can Influence How We Age
What does getting older mean to you? Being over the hill or raring to climb the next one? Believe it or not what you think about ageing can make quite a difference not only to how well you age but how long you live. Sceptical? Well consider that our brains pilot our lives and that what we think or believe can influence our bodies quite profoundly. It really is a case of mind over matter. One of the most extraordinary examples of this is a story about the placebo effect which occurred during the second World War.
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We Need to Understand the Difference Between Isolation and Loneliness
How many close friends and relatives do you have with whom you feel at ease and can discuss private matters? How many of them do you see at least once a month? Do you participate in any groups? These are among the questions on a survey called the Berkman-Syme Social Network Index, which physicians use to determine whether someone is “socially isolated.” People are considered isolated if they have fewer than six confidants, no spouse and no group affiliations. Those conditions make them less likely to report that they have someone they can count on to listen if they need to talk, give advice about a problem or show them love and affection.
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New Research in Psychological Science
A sample of research on anger and innocence, the attitude-behavior relationship, sex differences, working memory, visual search, the impact of diversity awards on marginalized groups opportunities, and COVID-19 and political violence.
