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Psych Your Mind
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- July 3, 2012
- 11:45 PM
- 428 views
Olympics Fun: National Personality Types: Fact or Figment?
by Psych Your Mind in Psych Your Mind
source
With the summer Olympics fast approaching, and our nation's birthday on Americans' minds, July seemed an apt month to dig a little into the concept of national personalities. For instance, we may possess conceptions of what typical French or German or British people are like relative to typical Americans. But are these ideas just oversimplified stereotypes, or are they rooted in actual country-level differences in personality characteristics?
Well, opinions vary.
Read More........ Read more »
Terracciano et al. (2005) National Character Does Not Reflect Mean Personality Trait Levels in 49 Cultures. Science. DOI: 10.1126/science.1117199
Steel, P., . (2002) Personality and Happiness: A National-Level Analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. DOI: 10.1037//0022-3514.83.3.767
Connelly, B., . (2008) The Personality of Corruption: A National-Level Analysis. Cross-Cultural Research. DOI: 10.1177/1069397108321904
Lynn, M. (2000) National Personality and Tipping Customs. Personality and Individual Differences. DOI: 10.1016/S0191-8869(99)00109-9
- July 2, 2012
- 10:57 AM
- 281 views
The Happiness Chronicles III: Does Status Increase Happiness?
by Psych Your Mind in Psych Your Mind
"Beggars do not envy millionaires, but of course, they do envy other beggars who are more successful."
--Bertram Bertrand Russell (1930)
This is the final part of a three-part series on the science of happiness. In Part I, I discussed some pitfalls to pursuing happiness. In Part II, I suggested that money doesn't buy happiness, unless it is spent on others. In Part III, I discuss new research suggesting that having high status might improve happiness.
People (some more than o........ Read more »
Anderson C, Kraus MW, Galinsky AD, & Keltner D. (2012) The Local-Ladder Effect: Social Status and Subjective Well-Being. Psychological science. PMID: 22653798
- June 28, 2012
- 12:25 AM
- 324 views
When "He's Just Not That Into You" Backfires
by Psych Your Mind in Psych Your Mind
The popular self-help book He's Just Not That Into You: The No Excuses Truth To Understanding Guys is intended to empower women to stop waiting around for disinterested guys. The basic premise is that if a guy is interested, he will make it clear (e.g., ask you out, call you, propose to you, etc), and if he doesn't make it clear, then he's just not interested. There are certainly times when women and men alike need to be snapped out of wishful thinking and move on, but for some people and in........ Read more »
Leary, M. R. (2005) Sociometer theory and the pursuit of relational value: Getting to the root of self-esteem. European Review of Social Psychology. DOI: 10.1080/10463280540000007
- June 25, 2012
- 05:05 PM
- 389 views
Is He Worth it? Six Questions to Ask When Sacrificing in Relationships
by Psych Your Mind in Psych Your Mind
We must all face situations in our close relationships that require us to make a sacrifice. Perhaps, your spouse receives a big promotion, and it requires that you quit your job and move across the country. Or your boyfriend wants you to miss an important work even to attend his family reunion. Maybe you and your wife get jobs in different cities and must decide who has to make the long commute. For me, it was deciding whether to apply to graduate programs in areas that weren't near where my hus........ Read more »
Van Lange, P., Rusbult, C., Drigotas, S., Arriaga, X., Witcher, B., & Cox, C. (1997) Willingness to sacrifice in close relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72(6), 1373-1395. DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.72.6.1373
DRIGOTAS, S., RUSBULT, C., & VERETTE, J. (1999) Level of commitment, mutuality of commitment, and couple well-being. Personal Relationships, 6(3), 389-409. DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-6811.1999.tb00199.x
- June 20, 2012
- 01:02 PM
- 315 views
Don't be a sheep...or a donkey or an elephant
by Psych Your Mind in Psych Your Mind
As election season approaches, many of us are deciding how to vote on policies that will influence our country and communities. How do we
make these important choices? What sources do we turn to when deciding how to vote? We certainly can and do seek out objective information, listen to educated opinions, and consult our own values. However, it might surprise you to learn that what other people think makes the largest impact on our own policy attitudes.
People are surprisingly susceptib........ Read more »
Cohen GL. (2003) Party over policy: The dominating impact of group influence on political beliefs. Journal of personality and social psychology, 85(5), 808-22. PMID: 14599246
- June 11, 2012
- 04:54 PM
- 455 views
The Pros and Cons of Sacrificing for the Ones We Love
by Psych Your Mind in Psych Your Mind
Your spouse comes home from work and excitedly tells you that
he just was offered a promotion – in another state. Do you quit your job and
move away from your family to an unknown city so that he can pursue his career
ambitions? Should you?
Close relationships require sacrifice. In fact, many people
include sacrificing in the very definition of what it means to truly love
another person. Sometimes that sacrifice can be life changing, such as deciding
to move to a different state i........ Read more »
Van Lange, P., Rusbult, C., Drigotas, S., Arriaga, X., Witcher, B., & Cox, C. (1997) Willingness to sacrifice in close relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72(6), 1373-1395. DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.72.6.1373
DRIGOTAS, S., RUSBULT, C., & VERETTE, J. (1999) Level of commitment, mutuality of commitment, and couple well-being. Personal Relationships, 6(3), 389-409. DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-6811.1999.tb00199.x
- June 8, 2012
- 03:03 AM
- 292 views
Friday Fun: The Self-Esteem Playlist
by Psych Your Mind in Psych Your Mind
We make playlists for everything from exercise to studying to lulling ourselves to sleep, so why not make one for self-esteem? Here are some musical gems to give you a little more of whatever type of self-love you need.
Read More-... Read more »
Kernis, M. (2003) TARGET ARTICLE: Toward a Conceptualization of Optimal Self-Esteem. Psychological Inquiry, 14(1), 1-26. DOI: 10.1207/S15327965PLI1401_01
- June 5, 2012
- 07:13 PM
- 349 views
The Importance of Being Agreeable
by Psych Your Mind in Psych Your Mind
Consider, for a moment, two very different people:
Draco
Neville
Neville is a friendly, warm person who tends to cooperate
with and trust others. He generally expects the best of people, and tends to be
generous and helpful towards others. He tries to be modest about himself.
Draco, on the other hand, is an aloof, rude person who tends
to be competitive and suspicious of others. He’s cynical about people – he doesn’t
expect them to return favors, so he’s not that likel........ Read more »
de Haan, A., Deković, M., & Prinzie, P. (2012) Longitudinal impact of parental and adolescent personality on parenting. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 102(1), 189-199. DOI: 10.1037/a0025254
Sutin, A., Ferrucci, L., Zonderman, A., & Terracciano, A. (2011) Personality and obesity across the adult life span. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 101(3), 579-592. DOI: 10.1037/a0024286
Judge, T., Livingston, B., & Hurst, C. (2012) Do nice guys—and gals—really finish last? The joint effects of sex and agreeableness on income. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 102(2), 390-407. DOI: 10.1037/a0026021
Milfont, T., & Sibley, C. (2012) The big five personality traits and environmental engagement: Associations at the individual and societal level. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 32(2), 187-195. DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvp.2011.12.006
Srivastava, S., John, O., Gosling, S., & Potter, J. (2003) Development of personality in early and middle adulthood: Set like plaster or persistent change?. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(5), 1041-1053. DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.84.5.1041
- June 4, 2012
- 02:13 PM
- 385 views
This is NOT advice about the academic job search
by Psych Your Mind in Psych Your Mind
Last week I read Tal Yarkoni's excellent blog post on the things he learned during a failed academic job search last year (available here). Reading that piece brought me back to my own memories of the two job searches I've attempted (one successful). I remember the anxiety a lot, the feeling that there may not actually be a job out there for you (this is a common concern). Then there is also the feeling that you may not, in fact, be as awesome as you thought you were. It's classic se........ Read more »
Higgans, E. (1999) When do self-discrepancies have specific relations to emotions? The second-generation question of Tangney, Niedenthal, Covert, and Barlow (1998). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77(6), 1313-1317. DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.77.6.1313
Swann, W., Pelham, B., & Krull, D. (1989) Agreeable fancy or disagreeable truth? Reconciling self-enhancement and self-verification. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57(5), 782-791. DOI: 10.1037//0022-3514.57.5.782
- June 1, 2012
- 02:18 AM
- 330 views
Friday Fun: A Postdoc's Running Diary
by Psych Your Mind in Psych Your Mind
Not to be confused with this oatmeal (source)
Last Friday, Amie gave us an all-access pass to her weekly graduate school routine (see it here). It was very interesting to read about how Amie breaks up her daily activities and manages her time. In fact, I was so captivated by Amie's post that I thought I'd add one of my own. Today, I give you a running diary of my work day--A Postdoc's Running Diary. I took some notes about a single day of work this week and for this blog post I wi........ Read more »
Kraus MW, Huang C, & Keltner D. (2010) Tactile communication, cooperation, and performance: an ethological study of the NBA. Emotion (Washington, D.C.), 10(5), 745-9. PMID: 21038960
Lopez-Garcia E, van Dam RM, Li TY, Rodriguez-Artalejo F, & Hu FB. (2008) The relationship of coffee consumption with mortality. Annals of internal medicine, 148(12), 904-14. PMID: 18559841
- May 28, 2012
- 05:10 PM
- 256 views
When Good is Bad and Bad is Good: Beyond "Positive" Psychology
by Psych Your Mind in Psych Your Mind
What is the prescription for optimal living? The burgeoning
field of positive psychology appears
to have many of the answers: We should be kind and caring to others, forgiving
of transgressions, gracious and compassionate in our daily lives, and upbeat
and optimistic about the future. Following this simple plan should keep us
happy and healthy.
But as with most things, it turns out that the answer might not be that simple. What’s
good may not always be good, and what’s bad may no........ Read more »
McNulty, J., & Fincham, F. (2012) Beyond positive psychology? Toward a contextual view of psychological processes and well-being. American Psychologist, 67(2), 101-110. DOI: 10.1037/a0024572
- May 25, 2012
- 01:15 PM
- 458 views
Friday Fun: A Week in the Life of a Grad Student
by Psych Your Mind in Psych Your Mind
As a graduate student, I don't punch a clock or fill out a time card. Although I have a faculty advisor, I don't have a boss - no one is keeping count of my hours. Most of my work time is spent doing a variety of tasks related to research or teaching, and these often change from week to week. I love the freedom and diversity of the academic life, but the lack of structure means that at the end of the week I'm often unsure of how exactly I spent my time. I like to get a good nights........ Read more »
Coker, B. (2011) Freedom to surf: the positive effects of workplace Internet leisure browsing. New Technology, Work and Employment, 26(3), 238-247. DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-005X.2011.00272.x
- May 22, 2012
- 11:07 PM
- 335 views
No Pain, No Gain: The Psychology of Self-Punishment
by Psych Your Mind in Psych Your Mind
One of my favorite professors once told the following story: She was in the check-out line at the grocery store, and two young children, a boy and a girl, were seated in the cart behind her. When she unloaded some containers of yogurt onto the belt, the girl gazed at them longingly. Slowly, she began to reach her little arm towards the yogurts. Before she could touch them, her father slapped
her arm away and said sternly, "No!" The girl cowered back in shame. A moment later she reached out aga........ Read more »
Bastian, B., Jetten, J., & Fasoli, F. (2011) Cleansing the Soul by Hurting the Flesh: The Guilt-Reducing Effect of Pain. Psychological Science, 22(3), 334-335. DOI: 10.1177/0956797610397058
Comer, R., & Laird, J. (1975) Choosing to suffer as a consequence of expecting to suffer: Why do people do it?. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 32(1), 92-101. DOI: 10.1037/h0076785
- May 20, 2012
- 07:15 PM
- 304 views
More Authors or Less Authors?
by Psych Your Mind in Psych Your Mind
source
In my brief time in research I have written journal articles authored by as few as two people and as many as six people. Many of those authors have been faculty members (senior researchers who provided me with valuable mentoring), colleagues (graduate students with similar experience and training), and trainees (early researchers learning the research process from me and others). This experience has got me wondering: What is the best combination of authors for writing a research paper?........ Read more »
Ross, M., & Sicoly, F. (1979) Egocentric biases in availability and attribution. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37(3), 322-336. DOI: 10.1037//0022-3514.37.3.322
Sapolsky, R. (2005) The Influence of Social Hierarchy on Primate Health. Science, 308(5722), 648-652. DOI: 10.1126/science.1106477
Latane, B., Williams, K., & Harkins, S. (1979) Many hands make light the work: The causes and consequences of social loafing. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37(6), 822-832. DOI: 10.1037//0022-3514.37.6.822
- May 16, 2012
- 02:42 PM
- 370 views
Marriage equality: What is shifting our opinions?
by Psych Your Mind in Psych Your Mind
Source
Our president has brought us many first – events that have
nudged the collective social psychological typography of our nation. President
Obama’s race, grassroots campaign, and prolific use of social media have shaped subtle changes in how we interact with the political
system and each other.
Last week brought another first. Speaking in support of
same-sex marriage, Obama acknowledged and gave his voice to a divisive social
issue. Simultaneously, for the first time in our cou........ Read more »
Rozin, P., Lowery, L., Imada, S., & Haidt, J. (1999) The CAD triad hypothesis: A mapping between three moral emotions (contempt, anger, disgust) and three moral codes (community, autonomy, divinity). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76(4), 574-586. DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.76.4.574
Inbar Y, Pizarro DA, Knobe J, & Bloom P. (2009) Disgust sensitivity predicts intuitive disapproval of gays. Emotion (Washington, D.C.), 9(3), 435-9. PMID: 19485621
Inbar, Y., Pizarro, D., & Bloom, P. (2009) Conservatives are more easily disgusted than liberals. Cognition , 23(4), 714-725. DOI: 10.1080/02699930802110007
- May 14, 2012
- 12:24 PM
- 290 views
It's lonely at the top: Power makes you mistrusting
by Psych Your Mind in Psych Your Mind
It's lonely at the top
Power is desirable – it helps us achieve goals, frees us from many social constraints, and allows us to be ourselves. But having power isn’t all peaches and cream, it’s also lonely at the top. Perhaps Leonardo DiCaprio summed it up best when he said “I had better success meeting girls before Titanic... there wasn’t a perception of her talking to me for only one reason.” And it turns out this isn’t just Leo’s problem. According to recent research by E........ Read more »
Inesi, M., Gruenfeld, D., & Galinsky, A. (2012) How power corrupts relationships: Cynical attributions for others' generous acts. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. DOI: 10.1016/j.jesp.2012.01.008
- May 11, 2012
- 11:31 AM
- 394 views
Airing your dirty laundry on Facebook - Endearing? Annoying? It may depend on your self-esteem
by Psych Your Mind in Psych Your Mind
source
Though this Facebook fad (I know I know, it’s here to stay) has never truly caught on with me, I am certainly aware of its many benefits. Facebook is an amazing medium for sharing information – news, music, ridiculous youtube videos. You can use Facebook as a means for self-expression – to advertise aspects of your personality, your taste, your interests. With Facebook you can stay current with your nearest and dearest, even if they live across the country/world (or stalk just ........ Read more »
Forest AL, & Wood JV. (2012) When social networking is not working: individuals with low self-esteem recognize but do not reap the benefits of self-disclosure on Facebook. Psychological science, 23(3), 295-302. PMID: 22318997
- May 10, 2012
- 04:46 AM
- 310 views
Five Classic Psychological Catch-22s
by Psych Your Mind in Psych Your Mind
Yossarian, the protagonist of Joseph Heller's classic novel, Catch-22, wants to be excused from air combat. To be excused, he needs only to prove that he is mentally unstable, but there's a catch: the very act of asking to be excused would show that he is sane. In other words, there's no way out. The term "catch-22" has since been used to describe any situation where circular logic guarantees an undesired outcome, no matter what a person does. Although catch-22s are typically found in legal o........ Read more »
Shelton, J., Richeson, J., Salvatore, J., & Trawalter, S. (2005) Ironic Effects of Racial Bias During Interracial Interactions. Psychological Science, 16(5), 397-402. DOI: 10.1111/j.0956-7976.2005.01547.x
- May 7, 2012
- 04:01 PM
- 449 views
A Game of Thrones: Lessons About Status
by Psych Your Mind in Psych Your Mind
source
In the Fall of 2012 I will be teaching a new course titled "Status, Power, and Influence" at the University of Illinois. I'm very excited about the topic and probably have too many ideas floating around in my head about what the course should cover. It is like being a kid in a candy store: In terms of course textbooks, there are literally dozens of great books about power and hierarchy!
Interestingly, my first thought about a textbook was the popular George R. R. Martin ........ Read more »
Flynn FJ, Reagans RE, Amanatullah ET, & Ames DR. (2006) Helping one's way to the top: self-monitors achieve status by helping others and knowing who helps whom. Journal of personality and social psychology, 91(6), 1123-37. PMID: 17144769
- May 4, 2012
- 04:52 AM
- 577 views
Friday Fun: You Are What You Say
by Psych Your Mind in Psych Your Mind
Outside of high school English classes, most people don't give much thought to pronouns, prepositions, articles, auxiliary verbs, and other "function words" (e.g., I, to, of, am, the). They seem to be no more than fillers for the more important content words–the who, what, where, and why of language. But it turns out that these invisible words have psychological significance. In his new book, The Secret Life of Pronouns, psychologist James Pennebaker describes findings from his research on th........ Read more »
Ireland, M., & Pennebaker, J. (2010) Language style matching in writing: Synchrony in essays, correspondence, and poetry. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 99(3), 549-571. DOI: 10.1037/a0020386
Pennebaker, J., & Ireland, M. (2011) Using literature to understand authors: The case for computerized text analysis. Scientific Study of Literature, 1(1), 34-48. DOI: 10.1075/ssol.1.1.04pen
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