Category Archives: Mental health

What does being agreeable have to do with over-confidence?

Did you ever wonder how researchers determine levels of confidence? Typically this research is perform using a population of college students volunteer to take part in psychological tests (sometimes a requirement for a psychology course). To measure confidence, students take … Continue reading

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Kind and harsh

Two research studies on the nature or empathy have caught my attention recently. One has found a genetic basis for empathy or at least the appearance of being kind and friendly. In this experience people watched the interaction of couples … Continue reading

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Empathetic words

The use of pronouns and other functional words may provide a clue about our social status, our tendency to tell the truth, or how well we perform in academics. However in many circles today the desired characteristic is “emotional intelligence.” … Continue reading

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The “I”s do not have it.

People assume that others who often talk about themselves are egotistical.  But, if you really want to find out how people view their own status,  pay attention to pronouns that they use. There is a reason that kings, queens and various … Continue reading

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Easily deceived

Our eyes may deceive us. Two witnesses of the same event rarely, relate tell the same story. On a smaller scale, we often misread words. If two words have a similar spelling, we may read the one that we think … Continue reading

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Tinkering with the mind of man

The idea of the left brain being logical while the right is creative has been disproved in studies which show that during creative activity people are more likely use both half of their brains. According to Dr. Jeff Anderson, director … Continue reading

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How well do you know yourself?

High self awareness may not be a pleasant characteristic to have. There are other names given to this trait, such as private self-consciousness. Stephen Franzoi of the University of California at Davis has studied the effects of private self-consciousness and found … Continue reading

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The problem with positive pep talks

After centuries of  philosophers, and in more recent times psychologists, coming up their own set of personality factors a symposium in the 1980s settled on what are called the “big five” which are commonly found in  most summaries of personality traits. Four of the … Continue reading

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The origins of optimism

Optimism and pessimism are not two distinct styles but rather ends of a continuum. At the optimistic end people expect only good events to happen to them. They concentrate on stimuli that indicates a rosy outlook and ignore warning signs … Continue reading

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Destined for optimism?

There has been an academic debate going on between psychologists since Shelly Taylor published Positive Illusions asserting that the normal mentally healthy person holds on to optimistic illusions. Are most humans not realistic in their view of themselves and the their … Continue reading

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