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What is mindfulness? Nobody really knows, and that’s a problem
The Conversation: You’ve probably heard of mindfulness. These days, it’s everywhere, like many ideas and practices drawn from Buddhist texts that have become part of mainstream Western culture. But a review published today in the journal Perspectives on Psychological Science shows the hype is ahead of the evidence. Some reviews of studies on mindfulness suggest it may help with psychological problems such as anxiety, depression, and stress. But it’s not clear what type of mindfulness or meditation we need and for what specific problem. The study, involving a large group of researchers, clinicians and meditators, found a clear-cut definition of mindfulness doesn’t exist.
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No Evidence for ‘Narcissism Epidemic’ Among College Students
Data indicate that today’s college students are slightly less narcissistic than their counterparts were in the 1990s.
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Is Curiosity A Positive Or Negative Feeling?
NPR: Curiosity is a familiar feeling among people. But as soon as we scrutinize that feeling, curiosity reveals itself to be a complex emotion indeed. Just ask yourself: Is curiosity a positive feeling or a negative feeling? Is it more like frustration or more like anticipation? Is it a painful reminder of what we don't (yet) know, or a thrilling beacon towards what we might soon discover? Actually, curiosity can be all of these things — and more. Like lust, curiosity has positive and negative faces: one pointed (with happy anticipation!) towards what we desire, one pointed (with cruel frustration!) towards what we have not yet obtained — and may never obtain.
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Why Do Smart People Do Foolish Things?
Scientific American: We all probably know someone who is intelligent, but does surprisingly stupid things. My family delights in pointing out times when I (a professor) make really dumb mistakes. What does it mean to be smart or intelligent? Our everyday use of the term is meant to describe someone who is knowledgeable and makes wise decisions, but this definition is at odds with how intelligence is traditionally measured. The most widely known measure of intelligence is the intelligence quotient, more commonly known as the IQ test, which includes visuospatial puzzles, math problems, pattern recognition, vocabulary questions, and visual searches.
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You Can Turn a Job You Hate Into One You Like
New York Magazine: Not long ago, Kate Tolo took a walk with her co-worker during their lunch break. “I’m going to quit,” she confided in her colleague. “I hate this and I can’t do it anymore.” Tolo was working for a luxury denim company in Brooklyn, and while her job title was impressive — assistant technical designer — she wasn’t happy with her daily tasks, measuring and pinning jeans for quality assurance. But she didn’t really want to quit; she liked the company and its CEO, and she was wary of starting over somewhere else. She wanted the best of both worlds: to stay at her current job anddo something she thoroughly enjoyed. ...
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5 ‘love hacks’ to get through shaky times in your marriage
TODAY: Modern marriage comes with great expectations. You want your spouse to be a thoughtful companion, terrific lover, best friend, attentive co-parent, ambitious worker, your key to fulfillment and more. It’s an impressive ideal — if it works out. We’re in an era where the best marriages are better than ever, but the average marriage is shaky, says Eli Finkel, author of the new book, “The All-or-Nothing Marriage: How the Best Marriages Work.” “We’re lumping more and more expectations onto this one relationship and consequently, we’re actually damaging it,” Finkel, a psychology professor at Northwestern University and director of the school’s Relationships and Motivation Lab, told TODAY.
