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 (more…)
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 (more…)
Every morning I browse my psychology feed and see if there is any interesting news to share with you guys. Today I discovered an interesting study about how washing your hands can actually minimize feelings of guilt and shame. The study was published in the journal Current Directions of Psychological Science. When participants were asked (more…)
Positive thrill-seeking is a way to get our “dose of excitement” without the dangerous and unnecessary risks that often come with others forms of thrill-seeking like gambling or drug abuse.
A popular piece of advice in psychology is to “fake it ’till you make it.” In other words, if we fake happiness (such as creating a “fake smile”) then eventually it actually becomes real and genuine happiness. I believe this is true to some degree. I often write about the importance of acting in new (more…)