According to a recent study published in Emotion, students who evaluated their performance on an exam as higher than it actually was – a form of undeserved self-praise – later felt dejected and depressed. According to Chi-Yue Chiu, of Nanyang Technological University in Singapore: “Distress following excessive self-praise is likely to occur when a person’s [...]

“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.” Ralph Waldo Emerson I [...]

Brain Workshop is a mental training program that has been scientifically demonstrated to improve working memory and general intelligence. You can download a free copy of this software here. It’s available for both PC and Mac. The premise behind the game is really simple to understand, but difficult to master. Basically, in each mode there [...]

In a recent TED video, psychologist Alison Gopnik describes how a child’s early cognitive development is a lot like the “Research & Development” sector in an economy. Babies and young children are constantly experimenting and playing with their environments, absorbing new information, testing new ideas and hypotheses (with scientific-like curiosity), and thereby gaining knowledge about [...]

Optimists are said to be those who see the glass as half full, while pessimists see the glass as half empty. An optimist often tries to find the good in everything, and often this perspective can cause less stress, less anxiety, and a more empowering and motivating attitude. Positive psychologist Martin Seligman coined the term [...]