When does revenge taste sweet? A short tale of revenge
keywords:
justice / punishment / retribution / revenge
When does revenge taste sweet? A short tale of revenge
Most everyone is familiar with the saying “revenge tastes sweet”, but is there some truth in this? It is only recently that revenge, and the psychological and behavioral implications, have received any empirical attention. The aim of the present article is to provide an overview on the issue of revenge from a scientific perspective and to gain insight into the potential “functionality” that acts of ... / more
When conversations flow
keywords:
conversational flow / fluency / need to belong / perceived consensus / synchrony
When conversations flow
We all know the awkward feeling when a conversation is suddenly disrupted by a brief silence. These moments can be pretty unsettling. Because people are generally so well-trained in having smooth conversations, any disruption of this flow indicates that something is wrong, either on an interpersonal level or on the level of consensus in a group. The question we aim to answer in this paper is: Why do we feel comfortable in conversations that have flow, and why do we... / more
Justice seems not to be for all: Exploring the scope of justice
Justice seems not to be for all: Exploring the scope of justice
The idea that “justice is for everyone” seems to be over. A justice perception can have unfair consequences for those who are perceived not to be included within the boundaries of fairness. This is what the scope of justice is all about: who is within and who is outside of the “justice boundaries”. This paper intends to clarify the concept and explain how social psychologists work with it in real-life contexts. We... / more
Brain Training: Practice Keeps You Fit
keywords:
brian training / cognition / neuroscience / practice / sudoku
Brain Training: Practice Keeps You Fit
Commercials on the importance of training your brain are nearly a daily occurrence nowadays. A world without Sudoku has almost become unthinkable. Not only puzzles like these, but also numerous specific internet exercise-sites and try-at-home packages are devoted to this phenomenon. This merchandise is usually accompanied by slogans saying something like: "improve cognitive ability and prevent the negative outcome of the aging brain". Just as physical exercise improves the shape of your body muscles, cognitive exercise should keep your brain... / more
Positive Illusions: Brad Pitt or Danny DeVito?
keywords:
body / brad pitt / love / positive illusions
Positive Illusions: Brad Pitt or Danny DeVito?
Imagine a colleague of yours, Mary, comes to the office one day and starts talking about this guy John whom she met in a bar. Supposedly, this guy is not only handsome, but also super smart, extremely witty, and God knows what else. So, obviously, you cannot wait to see this stud. When you – finally - meet this Brad Pitt look-alike, Brad Pitt seems to have been turned into Danny DeVito: all you get to see is this balding... / more
Does Exercise Truly Make You Happy?
Does Exercise Truly Make You Happy?
A healthy mind in a healthy body or mens sane in corpore sano, as Decimus Junius Juvenalis put it in his time, is a phrase that seems to imply some causal relationship between exercise and a sound mind. However, when Juvenalis (one of the great Roman satirists of his time) made himself immortal with these words, he at least seemed to care to make a causal statement. / more
Job insecurity climate: On shared perceptions of job insecurity
keywords:
insecurity / working
Job insecurity climate: On shared perceptions of job insecurity
Imagine that there is a general feeling of anticipating job loss at your work place or in your work group. Maybe something dramatic happened, for instance that the company you work for lost their biggest customer or client account. Or maybe there is just a sneaking suspicion in the work group that the company is not doing too well and that people might be let go. How would this affect you as a person, and how would it affect your work group? / more
Pause Button Therapy
Pause Button Therapy
In these uncertain and confusing times where ambiguity is considered as clarity, marketing is masquerading as science, and problems of living are labeled as disorders, psychotherapy has become a prevalent fad that replaced the support that was once provided by the extended family and the clergy. / more
Confessions of a sociopath: A life spent hiding in plain sight
Confessions of a sociopath: A life spent hiding in plain sight
Have you ever wondered what it feels like to be a sociopath? Or maybe you would rather not even think about it? M. E. Thomas (a pseudonym), the author of “Confessions of a sociopath: A life spent hiding in plain sight” doesn’t need to imagine it, she experiences it every day. / more
That human touch that means so much: Exploring the tactile dimension of social life
keywords:
emotion regulation / interpersonal touch / mediated touch / social bonding
That human touch that means so much: Exploring the tactile dimension of social life
Interpersonal touch is a fundamental but undervalued aspect of human nature. In the present article, the authors review psychological research showing that even fleeting forms of touch may have a powerful impact on our emotional and social functioning. Given its significant beneficial effects, touch may be valuable as a therapeutic or health-promoting tool. / more