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Want to Make a Change? Conjure Your ‘Possible Selves.’
Years ago, as a young business reporter, I interviewed an advertising executive who ran a fast-food chain account. I was there to ask about the latest campaign. But when I sat down, he wanted to talk
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People in the U.S. Think They Are Better Than They Actually Are. People in Asia Don’t
How competent are you, compared with your colleagues? When psychologists approach teams of coworkers with variations of this question, an interesting pattern emerges. If people have a truly realistic perspective of their abilities, then their
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How to Forgive Ourselves for What We Can’t Change
When we regret our past, it can feel like we’re incapable of changing our future. But it may be our past “mistakes” that help us realize there is room to evolve. In the finale episode
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Research Briefs
Recent highlights from APS journals articles on learning about the self, mental health interventions, representational momentum for physical states, and much more.
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How to Make Self-Affirmation Work, Based on Science
For fans of “Saturday Night Live,” the word affirmation probably triggers memories of a character popular in the 1990s: Stuart Smalley. With his carefully coifed blond hair and light-blue sweater, the host of “Daily Affirmation With
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What the New Science of Authenticity Says About Discovering Your True Self
After following a white rabbit down a hole in the ground and changing sizes several times, Alice finds herself wondering “Who in the world am I?” This scene, from Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,”
