Turn Up the Red
Friday, October 9th, 2009 | Tags: Dacher Keltner, morality, social connections, social exclusion | 3 Comments »Most people try to hide their blushes when they’re embarrassed. Some have even gone so far as to undergo a surgical procedure that prevents their face from blushing. But new research suggests that rather than being something we should cover ...
Global Giving
Monday, September 21st, 2009 | Tags: Giving, altruism, cooperation, empathy, globalization, money, prosocial behavior, social connections | Leave a Comment »It’s a small world we live in, increasingly connected by technology, trade, and common threats to our species’ survival. Cooperation and collaboration are needed to overcome the enormous environmental challenges before us. But will globalization encourage this kind of cooperation—or ...
Creative Thinking in the Crescent City
Friday, August 28th, 2009 | Tags: arts, cooperation, development, evolution, family, flow, health, money, motivation, need, optimism, positive psychology, prosocial behavior, psychology, social connections, social integration, sustainability | 1 Comment »[caption id="attachment_704" align="alignleft" width="326" caption="Lower Ninth Ward, 2009 "][/caption] This week marks the four-year anniversary of the devastation of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina. As hurricane season begins again this year, some are left wondering how the survivors of the storm ...
Can We Really Make Love Last?
Thursday, August 20th, 2009 | Tags: family, happiness, love, marriage, social connections | Leave a Comment »We’ve all read the fairy tales and watched the “rom-coms,” but most of us maintain a certain cynicism when it comes to romantic love. Sure, it may exist, but it certainly doesn’t last in long-term relationships. Passion and romance give ...
He Said, She Said
Monday, July 20th, 2009 | Tags: family, marriage, psychology, social connections | 2 Comments »Plenty of relationship advice books stress the importance of communication with your partner. But a new study takes that advice one step further, looking at how specific words correlate with relationship satisfaction and stability. In the study, published in the journal ...
University Diversity
Thursday, July 9th, 2009 | Tags: Education, Prejudice, conflict resolution, prosocial behavior, psychology, social connections, social exclusion, social integration | Leave a Comment »The New York Times reports today on new research suggesting that having a roommate of a different race can reduce prejudice among college students. The article, by Tamar Lewin, highlights several recent studies showing that a dose of ethnic diversity in ...
Better Together: A review of The Lonely American
Thursday, June 18th, 2009 | Tags: Uncategorized, aging, happiness, health, nature, prosocial behavior, social connections, social exclusion, social integration | Leave a Comment »“Americans in the twenty-first century devote more technology to staying connected than any society in history, yet somehow the devices fail us: Studies show that we feel increasingly alone.” So begins the new book The Lonely American, by psychiatrists Jacqueline Olds ...
Friendships and Your Health
Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009 | Tags: family, health, prosocial behavior, social connections | Leave a Comment »An encouraging article in The New York Times yesterday reports on the health benefits of close friendships. Reporter Tara Parker-Pope cites several studies that have found that having close friendships leads to better general health: They help fight illness and depression, slow ...
Men: Express Yourselves
Tuesday, April 14th, 2009 | Tags: Giving, compassion, empathy, family, gender roles, happiness, health, helping behavior, marriage, prosocial behavior, psychology, social connections | 1 Comment »Strong, silent types take note: A recent study suggests that husbands who express their emotions to wives taking care of them have spouses who are less stressed and provide better care. In the study, published in the journal Emotion, researchers at ...
The Tipping Point of Happiness: A Review of Positivity
Wednesday, April 8th, 2009 | Tags: Jen ratio, goodness, gratitude, happiness, health, optimism, prosocial behavior, psychology, self-actualization, social capital, social connections | Leave a Comment »There has been no shortage of books recently about the benefits of positive emotions like happiness and optimism. But Barbara L. Fredrickson, author of Positivity (Crown Publishers, 2009), may be the first to suggest that a mathematical ratio of positive ...
