Positive Psychology, Well-Being, & Resilience

Friends Cooperate More Efficiently After Exchanging Gifts

Friends Cooperate More Efficiently After Exchanging Gifts

As I’ve written about before, people give gifts for a range of reasons – sometimes simply to do something nice, sometimes because they want to influence others. A new study from researchers ...
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/ / Cognitive Psychology, Friendships, Gratitude, Positive Psychology, Social Psychology
Why Gun Owners Are Happier (Hint: It's Probably Not the Guns)

Why Gun Owners Are Happier (Hint: It’s Probably Not the Guns)

Decades of psychology researchers has converged on the conclusion that the key to happiness is … owning a gun? Not quite. But as the authors of a new study on happiness and ...
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/ / Behavioral Psychology, Happiness, Positive Psychology
The Dietary Habits of Optimists

The Dietary Habits of Optimists

It’s solidly established that there appears to be a link between optimism and physical health. This can be seen, for example, from the fact that people with higher levels of optimism tend ...
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/ / Behavioral Psychology, Health Psychology, Nutrition, Optimism, Positive Psychology
Hungry Kids Don't Like to Share

Hungry Kids Don’t Like to Share

It’s hard to be concerned with lofty philosophical principles when you’re hungry. A new study from researchers at University of Chicago underscores this point in the context of an ethical dilemma that ...
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/ / Behavioral Psychology, Children, Gratitude, Nutrition, Positive Psychology, Sharing, Teens
Older People Are More Attentive to Positive Information. What About Older Dogs?

Older People Are More Attentive to Positive Information. What About Older Dogs?

Being able to focus on the positive is something we can all benefit from, and it may be a skill that becomes easier with age. Psychology researchers have found that older adults ...
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/ / Animals, Developmental Psychology, Older Adults, Positive Psychology, Young Adults
A Happiness Intervention for Teachers

A Happiness Intervention for Teachers

Teaching is a stressful job. From managing a classroom, to taking work home at night, to trying to adequately explain new concepts and keep pace with a curriculum at the same time, ...
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/ / Children, Gratitude, Happiness, Positive Psychology, Teaching, Treatment
Tendency to Feel Awe Bodes Well for School Success

Tendency to Feel Awe Bodes Well for School Success

The more psychologists learn about awe, the more they’re coming to see it as an emotion that brings out some of the best of human behavior. Awe seems to drive scientific inquiry, ...
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/ / Awe, Performance Psychology, Positive Emotions, Positive Psychology
Quality and Quantity of Social Interactions Both Matter for Happiness

Quality and Quantity of Social Interactions Both Matter for Happiness

It seems obvious that having fulfilling social interactions with other people makes a difference in how happy we are. Less obvious is what makes for fulfilling social interactions, and how that varies ...
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/ / Happiness, Positive Psychology, Relationships, Social Psychology
Helping Others Is a Link Between Self-Control and Life Satisfaction

Helping Others Is a Link Between Self-Control and Life Satisfaction

Last week, I wrote about the health and mental health benefits of volunteering. Today brings us another study on the theme of helping others being a good way to help yourself. If ...
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/ / Altruism, Happiness, Positive Psychology, Relationships, Self-Control, Social Psychology
Older Adults' Perceptions of Volunteering Improve When They Try It

Older Adults’ Perceptions of Volunteering Improve When They Try It

Volunteering is an activity that seems to have as many benefits for the person doing it as for the people it’s intended to help. This seems to be true starting relatively early ...
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/ / Altruism, Developmental Psychology, Meaning, Older Adults, Positive Psychology