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Are Facebook and Twitter Making People More Narcissistic?
I love my Twitter and Facebook as much as the next gal, but there might be some truth to this Venn Diagram.
Perhaps our inner self-promoters and oversharers would have found another way to self-promote and overshare, but these social media platforms sure have made it easy for everyone to get up-to-the-minute updates on how we're feeling and what we're doing — whether they like it or not!
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Are Facebook and Twitter Making People More Narcissistic?
Curmudgeons, Rejoice: Being Grumpy Might Be Good For You!
Australian psychology professor Joe Forgas has concluded through his research that grumpy people tend to think more clearly, and because of their skepticism, they also make better decisions than their more cheerful and gullible counterparts.
Cheerfulness isn't all bad, though. Forgas says it encourages creativity.
Do You Think You're Emotionally Intelligent?
In some ways, this is a trick question, because if you're not emotionally intelligent — defined very broadly as someone "particularly good at establishing positive social relationships with others, and avoiding conflicts, fights, and other social altercations" — you might think you are anyway!
But October is Emotional Intelligence month, and it seemed a good time to remind people, as Emotional Intelligence author Daniel Goleman claims in his book subtitle, that "it can matter more than IQ." We've all known the brilliant boss or friend who had a horrible temper or little ability to empathize and couldn't figure out why, in the case of the boss, no one ever stuck around for long, or, in the case of the friend, people had to break up with them they were so toxic.
Say What? Glenn Close Speaks Up About Sister's Mental Illness
"We didn't know that it wasn't Jess just being wild, there was something going on there. . .
Are People With Sensitive Noses More Empathetic?
Are you cursed and blessed with a good sense of smell? Cursed because you smell every ungodly stink no matter how far away, and blessed because lovely smells affect you deeply?
Psychology professor Denise Chen at Rice University thinks you may also be more empathetic than your olfaction-challenged neighbor.
Politicians, Narcissism and Cheating — Oh, My!
There's been no shortage of politicians in the news who cheated on their wives (Sanford, Spitzer, Clinton — we're talking about you), and the television show The Good Wife is even dramatizing this all-too-familiar story. Most social scientists and psychologists are not surprised; many of the traits that are required for political leadership are prevalent in narcissism: ambition, risk-taking, and charisma. You don't need to be a narcissist to be a political leader, but it doesn't hurt.
Do Tell: What Do You Do to Lift Your Spirits?
I'm a fan of motivational tips because even though some of them may seem corny and random, they can be helpful in a pinch.
I needed a picker-upper the other day and was reminded of this list of things to do to ensure a better life. It may sound silly, but doing two things on the list — eating almonds and taking a walk while grinning like a weirdo (OK, that's not how he put it!) really did boost my mood.
Are You a Fan of the Surreal? It May Make You Smarter
Franz Kafka, David Lynch, and Rene Magritte were my Kevin, Joe and Nick Jonas as a teenager. (Yeah, I was a weirdo.) So imagine my delight when I read a study that claims that surrealism may be good for the brain.
Research psychologists at UC Santa Barbara and the University of British Columbia concluded that exposure to surrealist art, film or literature, because it puts you in worlds whose elements don't make sense, drives you to look for structure and sense elsewhere, hence raising "the cognitive mechanisms that oversee implicit learning functions."
News Flash: Men Are Bigger Liars
After scrutinizing 2,000 Britons, researchers found that in general, men lie twice as much as women. On average, they lie six times a day and women lie "just" three times a day.
The most common lie told by both men and women is, "Nothing's wrong.
Do You Have a Hard Time Apologizing?
Some people have a hard time apologizing. They'd rather pretend nothing happened and evade responsibility for actions that hurt someone else.
Others fudge and deliver the classic non-apology apology, which might be more frustrating than not getting any apology at all.
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