Personality
Personality Influences People’s Environmentally Friendly Behaviors
With a constant stream of news about coronavirus, it’s easy to overlook the disconcerting news that continues to come out regularly about another global crisis: climate change. Most recently, a study was released suggesting that the number of extreme heat and humidity events with the capacity to kill human beings has doubled since 1979. For…
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The Good and Bad Risks That Teenagers Take
We tend to talk about “risk taking” in two contradictory ways. On one hand, being able to take risks is a necessary part of life. When we try an unfamiliar activity, or ask someone out on a date, or challenge ourselves to accomplish a goal that we might fail at, we’re taking a productive risk.…
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Psychopaths Don’t Care About Cute Animals
Above is a picture of a very cute kitten. Surely that picture warms your heart. If you don’t look at that picture and go “aww,” what kind of person are you, a psychopath? Well, maybe so, says a new study. The authors of the study started with a premise we all know to be true:…
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Internet Haters Might Be Psychopaths
Spend much time on the internet, and you’ll see that online comment sections can easily degenerate into a swirling, toxic stew of humanity’s worst impulses. Which makes them a perfect subject of study for psychologists. A new study in the journal Frontiers in Psychology picks up on the theme of comment section psychology by looking…
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Perfectionism Can Interfere With Seeking Psychological Help
As I’ve written about before, a desire to be perfect can bring many imperfect consequences, from insomnia to binge eating. Now, a new study suggests that perfectionistic tendencies may exacerbate mental health struggles in a more insidious way: by preventing people from seeking psychological help. In the study, researchers in Canada surveyed 299 college students…
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People With “Dark Triad” Personality Traits Aren’t Necessarily Emotionally Cold
You might suspect that people who engage in callous or manipulative behavior would tend to be emotionally colder. Intuitively, that could even be a plausible explanation as to why those individuals would be more likely to treat others poorly. A new study suggests, however, that it’s not necessarily the case. For the sake of science,…
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Not Judging Your Own Thoughts as an Element of Happiness
There’s no formula for happiness, but something that apparently helps is not being too judgmental toward your own thoughts and feelings. A recent study from researchers in Spain highlights the role that this kind of acceptance plays in overall happiness. The study surveyed 589 participants, asking about several different personality traits and about their self-rated…
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Who Drives Fancy Cars?
When I see someone driving a fancy car, I generally assume two things about them: They have a lot of money They want you to know they have a lot money Maybe you have your own set of assumptions you make when you see someone in an expensive vehicle. Of course, without concrete data, the…
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Personality Traits and Holiday Spending
Not everyone approaches the holiday season in the same way, financially speaking. Some will run up credit card bills with heaps of lavish gifts while others take a more tightfisted approach. A newly published study looks at some of the personality differences that play into holiday spending habits. In a paper titled Who Are the…
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Depression Might Be Part of the Reason Psychopaths Go to Bed Later
When the sun sets, all kinds of creatures come out of the woodwork. Owls, bats and … psychopaths? Some previous research suggests that the darker side of human nature really does have an affinity for the darker hours. For example, a 2013 study found that people who prefer to go to sleep and get up…
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