I just put a post up over at Scientific Blogging (which is a really great site, by the way), discussing some of the research into our perceptions of our own social skills. It appears that people, especially people with higher levels of social anxiety, tend to overestimate how nervous they seem to other people. In [ Read More ]
Archive for August, 2009
Contrary to popular opinion, smoking isn’t relaxing. The evidence shows smoking actually causes stress, rather than reduce it. That “aahhhhh” feeling when you light up, is an illusion. If you’re a smoker reading this, it’s hard to prove this to you, because from your point of view, you have a certain level of stress, then [ Read More ]
Categories: Psychology
“I finally overcame my will power and started smoking again.” – Mark Twain There’s no better way to start an article than to quote a long-dead writer with a moustache; especially when he (or she – women can have moustaches too) makes a good point in an ironic way. In this case, the point is [ Read More ]
Categories: Psychology
You know those loyalty stamp cards you get in coffee shops? Ever wondered why you get a few stamps free when you get them? It’s because of something called the endowed progress effect - you’re more likely to keep working towards a goal if you think you’ve already made some progress towards it. So you’re [ Read More ]
Categories: Psychology, Self-Help
Being a waiter or waitress is hard work! You’re on your feet all day, watching other people eat, laugh and have fun, and often the pay isn’t all that great; particularly in the US. But, you have one ace in the hole – tips. It is pretty much the norm these days to tip, even [ Read More ]
Categories: Self-Help
© Rolffimage… | Dreamstime.com Welcome to the first edition of Psychology Articles Carnival! A blog carnival is simply a round up of the best posts on a particular topic made over the previous month. So every month, psychology bloggers will have the chance to submit their best articles to the carnival (with this submission form), [ Read More ]
Categories: Psychology
If there’s one thing us Brits are good at, it’s queuing. We love it. One day I want to get a few people and form a fake queue, leading directly to a brick wall, and see how many people we can get to join the queue. I predict that this would work, and we could [ Read More ]
Categories: Self-Help
Who will replace Paula Abdul?!?! After eight long years, Paula Abdul announced her decision to quit her job as American Idol judge. This changes things! The classic line up was – Paula “always has a good thing to say” Abdul; former Journey bass player and over-user of the word ‘dawg’ – Randy “lava bomb” Jackson; [ Read More ]
Categories: Humour
Ever been labelled? Ever labelled someone yourself? Everyone’s done both, sometimes it’s benign, sometimes it’s a good thing and sometimes it’s a bad thing. It starts from an early age and continues through life - he’s a jock, he’s conscientious, she’s a troublemaker. Assigning labels to things seems to be part of how our brain …
Categories: Uncategorized
In an upcoming interview in Parade magazine, Brad Pitt talks of his stoner years, back when he was a recent arrival to Hollywood. Brad Pitt with Angelina Jolie. I resisted the temptation to paintbrush a joint into Brad’s mouth… “I liked to smoke a bit of grass,” Pitt said. But there’s more! “…I became very [ Read More ]
Categories: Humour
