Revisiting the past can make the present a better place: The psychological and social benefits of nostalgia
keywords:
Nostalgia / emotion / Psychological health / Distress / Psychological threat
Revisiting the past can make the present a better place: The psychological and social benefits of nostalgia
For centuries nostalgia was viewed as an illness of the brain or mind. The consensus was that nostalgia caused physical and mental distress and by orienting people’s attention to the past, it prevented them from living fully and healthily in the present. However, this view lacked scientific support. In recent years, social psychologists have employed scientific methods to more systematically consider the psychological effects of ... / more
Living in a safer world: Offering help when surrounded by others for the sake of reputation
keywords:
bystander effect / reversed bystander effect / violence
Living in a safer world: Offering help when surrounded by others for the sake of reputation
Almost every single day you hear and read terrifying news about violence. A football team kicks the arbiter to death (Mohamed, 2013), two teenagers beat up a 14-year-old boy (Lai, 2012), and a 17-year-old boy is stabbed to death (Mercer, 2013), to name just a few. With all this media attention on violence, it’s not strange that most people believe our world today is more dangerous than ever. Indeed, most people believe violence has increased the past decades. However, believe... / more