Humans blame, and perhaps only humans do, but what is blame for? Is blame about meting out retribution and revenge? Or is blame a tool for managing others’ behavior? I argue that while the former answer is dominant in social psychology, it predicts a dysfunctional system of blame that explains only...
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Each New Year has something magical about it. At the first of January a brand new year lies ahead of us, it is always a bit like “starting all over”. Almost everybody has made their New Year resolutions, planning to do everything this new year better than in the previous years. This time, we
The positive psychology movement has spurred multiple lines of research devoted to studying how close relationships are beneficial to people’s lives. These relationships seem to provide psychological nourishment, giving people motivation and confidence to branch out, take risks, and live a more
You have likely experienced the phenomenon. Perhaps it occurred on the walk from the train after an exhausting day at the office. Or maybe you noticed it on the uphill trek to class while lugging a backpack stuffed with textbooks. That hill looming in front of you—surmountable most days and probably
Extended working hours and off-job duties leave increasingly less time for a person to recover. Thus, the more important it becomes for a person to seek activities that really help to unwind from daily hassles. But is there anything such as the right or even wrong recovery activity? And what role...
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Most people seek lasting happiness but only a few are aware of the fact that false expectations and a tedious lifestyle can speed up the disappearance of happiness. In this blog post, I explain how exciting activities and motivation may curb the dwindling of happiness. Nowadays, if we take into...
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Have you ever found yourself eating a tempting chocolate cake, although you want to lose a few pounds? Have you ever found yourself watching television, although you planned to work on an important but maybe boring project that day? Did you ever procrastin ate with submitting your tax declaration