tag:theconversation.com,2011:/es/topics/psychology-28/articlesPsychology – The Conversation2024-03-28T18:54:37Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2264302024-03-28T18:54:37Z2024-03-28T18:54:37ZA rare condition makes other people’s faces look distorted. Why a new case is important<p>If you’ve seen portraits painted by <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1111/j.1468-2982.2000.00113.x">Pablo Picasso</a> or <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2014.00581/full">Francis Bacon</a>, you might not be surprised to hear that both men may have suffered from a disorder that affects how faces are perceived. </p>
<p><a href="https://prosopometamorphopsia.faceblind.org/">Prosopometamorphopsia</a> (PMO) is a condition where faces appear distorted, and sometimes even demonic. In most cases, these distortions alter how images of faces look, as well as those seen in person. This makes it difficult for sufferers to assess the accuracy of illustrations depicting what they see because the illustration itself will appear distorted. </p>
<p>However, a case described in a <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(24)00136-3/abstract">recent study</a> gave researchers new insight into PMO. Unlike most other cases, the 58-year-old man (referred to as VS) perceived images of faces without distortion. Unfortunately, when he saw people in person over the last 31 months, every face appeared stretched and “demonic” to him. </p>
<p>Not to be confused with <a href="https://theconversation.com/i-should-know-you-face-blindness-and-the-problem-of-identifying-others-8884">prosopagnosia</a> (poor face recognition but without visual distortions), PMO is thought to be extremely rare and people who have it perceive faces as drooping, stretched, out of position, or either smaller or larger than normal. These distortions might apply to the whole face, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0028393208004971">only one side</a>, or even be restricted to particular features like the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3540293/">nose and mouth</a>.</p>
<h2>What causes prosopometamorphopsia?</h2>
<p>In contrast with prosopagnosia, which can either be acquired (through injury, for example) or developmental (present from birth), PMO seems only to be the result of the former. A <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0010945221000836">2021 study</a> by researchers in the Netherlands reviewed 81 cases of PMO. The causes included <a href="https://www.vinmec.com/en/news/health-news/brain-infarction-what-you-need-to-know/">brain infarction</a> (disrupted blood flow to part of the brain), <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK559173/#:%7E:text=type%20of%20stroke.-,Hemorrhagic%20stroke%20is%20due%20to%20bleeding%20into%20the%20brain%20by,bleeding%20into%20the%20subarachnoid%20space.">haemorrhagic stroke</a> (bleeding into the brain), surgery complications, head injury, and brain tumour. However, in 24% of cases, there appeared to be no structural abnormalities to the brain. Instead, PMO was associated with other diagnoses like epilepsy, migraine and schizophrenia.</p>
<p>Reassuringly, in the majority of cases, people with PMO appear to recover from their condition. This might be either a full or partial recovery, sometimes resulting from treatments that address the underlying cause (such as anti-epileptic drugs for epilepsy, or surgery to remove a brain tumour). However, some people seem to recover without any intervention. The time for recovery ranges from hours to years, but the typical recovery period is often days to weeks. </p>
<h2>Is face recognition affected?</h2>
<p>Despite the fact that people with PMO sometimes experience seeing profound facial distortions, their ability to recognise faces rarely seems to be affected. However, sufferers may simply be relying on other cues to help with recognition, like the person’s voice or clothes. For some people, distortions only appear after seconds or minutes of seeing someone’s face, allowing them time to identify the person first. Researchers have also tried to model how PMO-like distortions could <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0010945221003440">affect face recognition</a>. They found that the distance between the viewer and face played a significant role in how accurately faces were recognised by participants.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(24)00136-3/abstract">recent study</a> by researchers in New Hampshire, US, focused on the case of a man known as VS. He had a lesion in his <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/hippocampus">hippocampus</a> (a region of the brain mainly associated with memory) but no other medical issues of note.</p>
<p>Although VS saw people’s faces as stretched and with deep grooves (in his words, appearing “demonic”), facial images were unaffected for him. The researchers presented VS with in-person faces and the same faces on a computer screen. Next, the researchers used image-editing software to modify each photo so that it matched VS’s descriptions, listening to his real-time feedback. </p>
<p>It was the first time researchers could create photorealistic visualisations of these kinds of distortions, providing a depiction of how people with PMO can see those around them.</p>
<p>VS’s distortions also appeared to be <a href="https://jov.arvojournals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2792559">affected by colour</a>, so researchers investigated what happened when VS viewed faces through coloured plastic filters. They found that green filters decreased, and red filters intensified, the distortions compared with the no-filter baseline. These results showed that colour filters worn in glasses could reduce face distortions in PMO, and that colour might affect how we perceive face shape in general.</p>
<h2>What can we learn?</h2>
<p>As researchers continue to build on our knowledge of PMO, it is likely that more insights will be revealed about how the general population processes faces. Among the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0028393223000519">many questions</a> yet to be answered, some involve how and where faces are represented in the human brain. We also still have a lot to learn about the specific nature of PMO’s distortions, what they can tell us, and why they seem to resolve themselves in some cases but not others. For now, PMO is both a fascinating and disturbing condition, and one that could potentially teach us a great deal about human face perception.</p>
<p>Given that PMO is so rare and we still have so much to learn about it, please consider getting in touch with me (the <a href="https://staff.lincoln.ac.uk/rkramer">author</a> of this article) if you think you may be suffering from it. Remember that those with PMO don’t really think that the world is distorted, and instead realise that their vision is different in some way.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/226430/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robin Kramer does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A highly unusual new case is giving scientists insights about what causes illusions of facial distortionRobin Kramer, Senior Lecturer in the School of Psychology, University of LincolnLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2265212024-03-27T17:16:39Z2024-03-27T17:16:39ZFinland is the happiest country in the world – but our research suggests the rankings are wealth and status-oriented<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584492/original/file-20240326-24-oun0n8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C10%2C7040%2C4668&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption"></span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/handsome-unshaven-young-darkskinned-male-laughing-640011838">Cast Of Thousands/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Finland steadily ranks as the happiest country in the world. In March 2024 the country was, for the seventh year in a row, ranked as the happiness champion. The ranking is based on one simple question, using a ladder metaphor, that is asked to people across <a href="https://www.gallup.com/178667/gallup-world-poll-work.aspx">nearly every country</a> in the world. But my team’s <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-52939-y/metrics">new experimental study</a> suggests that the ladder metaphor makes people think about power and wealth. </p>
<p>Since 2005, the Gallup analytics organisation has worked to measure happiness across the entire planet. The mission is particularly important as more and more governments say they are prioritising the wellbeing of their people. </p>
<p>For example, all OECD countries now measure <a href="https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/4e180f51-en.pdf?expires=1711448500&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=BAB0C9F199AFC965F0D16D60F6C3CD1B">the happiness</a> of their people <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/wellbeing/articles/ukmeasuresofnationalwellbeing/dashboard">including the UK</a>. More than a decade ago, Bhutan declared that the primary goal of their government was <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4581665">“gross national happiness”</a>, not gross domestic product. </p>
<p>The world ranking is based on one simple but powerful question, called the Cantril Ladder: </p>
<p><em>Please imagine a ladder with steps numbered from zero at the bottom to ten at the top. The top of the ladder represents the best possible life for you and the bottom of the ladder represents the worst possible life for you. On which step of the ladder would you say you personally feel you stand at this time?</em></p>
<p>As you read the question, what does the top of the ladder metaphor make you think of and what does it represent to you? Is it love, money, your family – or something else? </p>
<p>I recently led a group of researchers from Sweden, the US and the UK. We investigated these questions in a study on 1,600 UK adults, and published our results in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-52939-y/metrics">Nature Scientific Reports</a>. We carried out an experiment with five independent groups.</p>
<p>One group was asked what the top of the ladder represented to them. Another group was asked the exact same question, but this time the ladder metaphor, including the picture of the ladder, was removed and the term “ladder” replaced with “scale”. </p>
<p>Our study found that the ladder metaphor made people think more of power and wealth and less about family, friends and mental health. When the ladder metaphor was removed, people still thought of money, but more in terms of “financial security” rather than terms like “wealth”, “rich” or “upper class”. </p>
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<img alt="Man punching the air as cash notes float in the air." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584494/original/file-20240326-30-9rhaoq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584494/original/file-20240326-30-9rhaoq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584494/original/file-20240326-30-9rhaoq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584494/original/file-20240326-30-9rhaoq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584494/original/file-20240326-30-9rhaoq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584494/original/file-20240326-30-9rhaoq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584494/original/file-20240326-30-9rhaoq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Money isn’t always the same thing as happiness.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/portrait-very-happy-young-man-rain-148789697">Minerva Studio/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>In a third group, people interpreted a question where the ladder metaphor as well as the top v bottom description in the question were removed. In a fourth and fifth independent group, in addition to the above changes, the phrase “best possible life” was substituted with “happiest possible life” and “most harmonious life,” respectively. </p>
<p>People in the happiness and harmony groups thought less about power and wealth and more about broader forms of wellbeing such as relationships, work-life balance and mental health, compared to the other groups.</p>
<h2>People don’t want the top of the ladder</h2>
<p><strong>My</strong> research team also asked people where they wanted to be on the scale of the different questions. Researchers often assume that people want the best possible life but, to our knowledge, no one had tested this. The results showed that in none of the groups did more than half the participants want a ten, the best possible life. The typical desire was a nine. </p>
<p>Except for the group with the ladder analogy. They typically wanted an eight. The ladder metaphor made people think more of power and wealth at the expense of relationships, mental health and work-life balance – and made people want a lower score.</p>
<p>What does this say about the happiness rankings where Finland are frequently the champions? Well, there is a risk that the ranking is based on a narrow, wealth and power-oriented form of happiness, rather than a broader definition. This does not mean that Finns are unhappy, but the type of happiness they excel at may be power and wealth-focused.</p>
<p><strong>Our</strong> study findings raises the question of what type of happiness we want to measure. A person’s idea of happiness can’t be determined by a researcher. That is why researchers must ask people about their concept of happiness. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00030/full#h4">Research has shown</a> that when people define happiness, they only mention wealth and status to a small degree. It is well established that money <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2208661120">relates to wellbeing</a> but the money effect is weaker than many other happiness factors, where good quality social relationships have the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953616300478">strongest effect</a>.</p>
<p>Recent research from <a href="https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/full/10.1287/mnsc.2023.4766">the University of Oxford</a> shows happiness actually causes people to be more productive and the most important factor for happiness at work is belongingness. Salary, on the other hand, is believed to be the most important driver for happiness at work, but it turns out to be a much weaker driver of happiness at work <a href="https://dpuk71x9wlmkf.cloudfront.net/assets/2020/03/16144229/Indeed-Work-Happiness-in-America-2020.pdf">than belongingness</a>. This aligns with the general message from the happiness science that relationships are the most important factor for happiness.</p>
<h2>What type of happiness do we want to measure?</h2>
<p><a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0223221">Previous research</a> has shown that the Cantril Ladder reflects people’s income levels and social status to a larger degree than other <a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/jep.22.2.53">wellbeing metrics</a>. The current study adds more evidence that perhaps the simple but powerful question could be supplemented with extra questions in the future, to clarify what people mean by happiness.</p>
<p>Our study was conducted solely in the UK, so of course this research should be performed in other countries too, given the global nature of this topic. However, our results indicate that we aren’t necessarily measuring happiness and wellbeing in a way that is in line with how we actually define those concepts in our lives.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/226521/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>August Nilsson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Much is written about the world happiness rankings. But it seems not everyone interprets the survey question the same way.August Nilsson, PhD Candidante in Organizational Psychology, Lund UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2260902024-03-27T14:52:40Z2024-03-27T14:52:40ZAphantasia: ten years since I coined the term for lacking a mind’s eye – the journey so far<p>Words are powerful things. In 2015, with the help of a friend versed in the classics and two psychologist collaborators, I coined the term “aphantasia” to refer to the absence of a mind’s eye. We borrowed Aristotle’s word for the mind’s eye, “phantasia”, adding the prefix “a” to denote its absence. </p>
<p>The term was needed because we had encountered 21 people who, so far as they knew, had never been able to visualise things. Since then I have heard from over 10,000 people who recognised this feature of their psychological makeup in our description – and from several thousand at the opposite end of the spectrum, with “hyperphantasia”, imagery so vivid that it rivals “real seeing”. </p>
<p>It was clear from the start that, while intriguing, aphantasia was not disabling. Early contacts included Ed Catmull, the president of Pixar Disney, and Blake Ross, co-creator of the Mozilla Firefox internet browser, who described the moment he identified his aphantasia in a <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/aphantasia-software-engineer-blake-ross-writes-mindblowing-post-about-being-unable-to-imagine-things-a7000216.html">spirited Facebook post</a>.</p>
<p>We learned from the 21 participants in our original group that people usually discover they are aphantasic in their teens or twenties, often when sharing memories or trying to follow instructions to visualise. They had typically assumed, until then, that talk of the “mind’s eye” was metaphorical: suddenly they appreciate that when others speak of “seeing” a memorable moment from their past, or an absent loved one’s face, they actually can.</p>
<p>This original data hinted at some additional conclusions: in the absence of visual imagery, people with aphantasia often have a thin “autobiographical memory” of their personal past. They also frequently lack other forms of “sensory imagery”, like the ability to imagine the contrasting feel of velvet and satin. And more surprisingly, they often dream visually despite their lack of wakeful imagery.</p>
<p>Coining the term aphantasia unlocked a surge of popular and scientific interest: since 2015, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Aphantasia">over 50 papers</a> have been published exploring aphantasia. The enthusiasm of many of our participants, glad that a puzzling feature of their psychology has finally been named and studied, has been a heart-warming aspect of this work. </p>
<p>I have recently reviewed this new field of research in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2024.02.007">Trends in Cognitive Sciences</a>. What are the main conclusions to date?</p>
<h2>Not a hindrance</h2>
<p>In defiance of Aristotle’s view that the “soul never thinks without an image”, people with aphantasia think clearly and effectively. </p>
<p>A wide range of standard tests of memory and thinking – “cognition” – show only borderline changes, if any, in aphantasia. But one aspect of memory does appear to be affected, as our initial work had suggested: the richness of autobiographical memory is generally reduced in aphantasia, together with the linked ability to conjure up vivid future scenarios. </p>
<p>Recent studies have also supported our initial suspicions that imagery in other senses is often affected in aphantasia, and visual dreaming is often preserved.</p>
<p>Other associations have come to light. A subgroup of people with aphantasia describe difficulty in recognising faces, and aphantasia may, more generally, be linked to subtle alterations in the way the world is perceived. </p>
<p>Aphantasia occurs with autistic spectrum disorder in some of our participants, while people with hyperphantasia are more likely to experience synaesthesia, in which, for example, hearing sounds gives rise to seeing colours. </p>
<p>Aphantasia appears to nudge people in the direction of science and technology professions, while traditionally “creative” trades are over-represented among those with hyperphantasia, though there are many exceptions.</p>
<h2>A genetic trait?</h2>
<p>Aphantasia occurs in around 4% of the population. If you are aphantasic, your siblings are ten times more likely to share this trait than would be expected by chance.</p>
<p>We hope to identify a possible genetic basis for imagery vividness extremes with the help of large biobanks (studies, like UK Biobank, enrolling large numbers of participants from whom many forms of data, including genetic details, have been gathered). The likelihood that aphantasia is not one “thing” but rather occurs in a range of subtypes, will complicate this hunt. </p>
<p>You may be wondering whether an experience as subjective as the vividness of imagery can be relied on at all as a target for science. The patterns in the results I have just described suggest that reports of imagery vividness are meaningful. But, reassuringly, other lines of objective evidence point in the same direction.</p>
<p>If you have imagery, and you imagine looking into the Sun, your pupils will constrict – not so in people with aphantasia. Listening to scary stories alters skin conductance in those with imagery (we sweat!) – not so in people with aphantasia. </p>
<p>Work directly examining brain activity suggests that differences in brain connectivity between people with aphantasia and hyperphantasia help to explain why thought translates into image more readily for some of us than others. </p>
<p>Why did our modest coinage of a term excite so much interest? One of the most distinctive features of our human lives is that we spend much of them in our heads. We are, therefore, bound to be intrigued by one another’s inner lives. </p>
<p>Visual imagery is the most frequently reported conscious experience. Those of us with imagery are therefore startled to discover that others inhabit quite different mental worlds. Those of us who lack it are glad to have met a word capturing that difference.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/226090/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Adam Zeman receives funding from:
Arts & Humanities Research Council
Tibore Foundation </span></em></p>Around 4% of the population are unable to see things in their mind’s eye. Except when they are dreaming.Adam Zeman, Professor of Cognitive and Behavioural Neurology, University of ExeterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2262802024-03-25T18:23:58Z2024-03-25T18:23:58ZWhat we learned from teaching a course on the science of happiness<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584034/original/file-20240325-22-w4hm2x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=35%2C47%2C7899%2C5222&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/black-woman-on-road-enjoying-window-2281799399">PeopleImages.com - Yuri A/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When you deliver a university course that makes students happier, everybody wants to know what the secret is. What are your tips? What are your top ten recommendations? These are the most asked questions, as if there is some quick, surefire path to happiness.</p>
<p>The problem is that there are no life-transforming discoveries, because most of what works has already been talked about. Social connection, mindfulness, gratitude letters, acts of kindness, going for a walk in nature, sleep hygiene, limiting social media use. These are some of the 80 or so <a href="https://ggia.berkeley.edu/">psychological interventions</a> which have been shown to work to improve our wellbeing (to a lesser or greater extent).</p>
<p>But if we already know so much about what works, then why are we still fielding requests for top happiness tips?</p>
<p>The data tells us that students and young people today are increasingly unhappy, with national surveys finding wellbeing is lowest among the young <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9403847/">in the UK</a> <a href="https://www.hepi.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/SAES_2021_FINAL.pdf">and the US</a> compared to other age groups.</p>
<p>It was for this reason we began teaching the science of happiness course at the University of Bristol in 2019 – to counter some worrying downward trends. During the course, we teach lessons from <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-so-serious-the-untapped-value-of-positive-psychology-61766">positive psychology</a> and create opportunities for students to put these lessons into practice. </p>
<h2>Learning the science of happiness</h2>
<p>We award credit based on engagement — an important component of not only education, but also getting the most out of life — rather than graded assessments. It would be ironic to talk about the problems of performance anxiety and student perfectionism only to then give our students a <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1469787418819728?journalCode=alha">graded exam</a>. </p>
<p>Course credit without examination? That must be a breeze you might say. However, for many students, turning up on time to over 80% of lectures and tutorials, completing journal entries on a weekly basis and submitting a final group project turned out to be more of a challenge than they predicted. </p>
<p>Around 5% of students fail to meet the course demands each year, and have to complete a reassessment in the summer. Creating consistent positive habits in the face of all of life’s other demands is not a trivial request.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, the science of happiness course is extraordinarily popular. It also appears to be effective. Every year we find increases of around 10-15% on measures of students’ mental wellbeing at the end of the course, compared to a <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2055102921999291">waiting-list control group</a>. </p>
<p>However, we recently published the findings from <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10734-024-01202-4">a study</a> that followed up with students one to two years after they had taken the science of happiness course, before they graduated. When we looked at the overall trends, students’ initially elevated scores of happiness had largely returned to their original levels.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two women hold each other with happy expression on their faces" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584035/original/file-20240325-28-yk1ma4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584035/original/file-20240325-28-yk1ma4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584035/original/file-20240325-28-yk1ma4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584035/original/file-20240325-28-yk1ma4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584035/original/file-20240325-28-yk1ma4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584035/original/file-20240325-28-yk1ma4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584035/original/file-20240325-28-yk1ma4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">It’s not easy to maintain this level of happiness.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/happy-friends-holding-each-other-1038614926">Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>We were not dejected, though. One of the mechanisms we teach on the course is <a href="https://www.verywellmind.com/hedonic-adaptation-4156926">hedonic adaptation</a>: we get used to both good and bad things. Since humans have a brain wired to pay extra <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1037/1089-2680.5.4.323?journalCode=rgpa">attention to problems</a>, it comes as no surprise that the initial wellbeing boost we created in the course disappeared as students returned to focusing on life’s hassles.</p>
<p>However, we observed that not all students followed this pattern. Approximately half the cohort reported that they continued to regularly practice some of the things they had learnt, such as gratitude or mindfulness, many months or years after completing the course. </p>
<p>Although the students who no longer practised the activities returned to their happiness baselines, on average, those who did keep up with at least some of the recommended activities showed no such drop. They maintained their elevated levels of wellbeing up to two years later.</p>
<p>In many ways, mental health is no different from physical health. Few people expect to see long-lasting muscle gains after one trip to the gym. For the most part, we are begrudgingly aware that there are no shortcuts if you want to remain fit and healthy. You have to stick with the program. </p>
<h2>New habits</h2>
<p>The same applies to our happiness. Unless we keep working at it, the improvements are temporary. Indeed, if we did have to focus on just one top tip it might be to learn how to harness lessons from psychology to <a href="https://jamesclear.com/atomic-habits">build the better habits</a> we need for lasting change. For example, aiming for small incremental changes rather than an unsustainable overhaul of your whole life.</p>
<p>One thing we question is whether the self-care industry may be sending out the wrong message by telling people happiness is all about making yourself feel better. One of us, Bruce Hood, writes <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.co.uk/books/The-Science-of-Happiness/Bruce-Hood/9781398526372">in his new book</a>, that becoming a happier person in the long term is less to do with focusing on ourselves, and much more to do with focusing on others. </p>
<p>Self-care may bring some short term benefits, but enriching the lives of others can offer wellbeing effects that are less susceptible to adaptation over time.</p>
<p>Ultimately, whatever methods or activities we choose to improve our wellbeing, we would do well to remember that happiness is always a work in progress.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/226280/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah Jelbert receives funding from the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bruce Hood does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>We followed up students years after they took our course to find out whether they still reported better wellbeing.Sarah Jelbert, Lecturer in Psychology, University of BristolBruce Hood, Professor of Developmental Psychology in Society, University of BristolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2253162024-03-25T18:23:57Z2024-03-25T18:23:57ZHow nature can alter our sense of time<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581900/original/file-20240314-16-9cpzvv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=31%2C38%2C4233%2C2801&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sunflowerclock-indicative-on-approach-noontime-57794410">Kisialiou Yury/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Do you ever get that feeling that there aren’t enough hours in the day? That time is somehow racing away from you, and it is impossible to fit everything in. But then, you step outside into the countryside and suddenly everything seems slower, more relaxed, like time has somehow changed.</p>
<p>It’s not just you - recent research showed nature can regulate our sense of time. </p>
<p>For many of us, the combined demands of work, home and family mean that we are always feeling like we don’t <a href="https://iaap-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/apps.12357">have enough time</a>. Time poverty has also been exacerbated by <a href="https://doi.org/10.7312/rosa14834-018">digital technologies</a>. Permanent connectivity extends working hours and can make it difficult to switch off from the demands of friends and family.</p>
<p><a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pan3.10601">Recent research</a> suggests that the antidote to our lack of time may lie in the natural world. Psychologist Richardo Correia, at the University of Turku in Finland, found that being in nature may change how we experience time and, perhaps, even give us the sense of time abundance.</p>
<p>Correia examined research which compared people’s experiences of time when they performed different types of tasks in urban and natural environments. These studies consistently showed that people report a sense of expanded time when they were in nature compared to when they were in an urban environment. </p>
<p>For example, people are more likely to perceive a walk in the <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pan3.10601#pan310601-bib-0025">countryside as longer</a> than a walk of the same length in the city. Similarly, people report <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.3664">perceiving time as passing</a> more slowly while performing tasks in natural green environments than in urban environments. Nature seems to slow and expand our sense of time. </p>
<p>It’s not just our sense of time in the moment which appears to be altered by the natural world, it’s also our sense of the past and future. Previous research shows that spending time in nature helps to shift our focus from the immediate moment towards our future needs. So rather than focusing on the stress of the demands on our time, nature helps us to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2013.2295">see the bigger picture</a>.</p>
<p>This can help us to prioritise our actions so that we meet our long-term goals rather than living in a perpetual state of “just about keeping our head above water”. </p>
<p>This is in part because spending time in nature appears to make us <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0097915">less impulsive</a>, enabling us to delay instant gratification in favour of long-term rewards.</p>
<h2>Why does nature affect our sense of time?</h2>
<p>Spending time in nature is known to have many benefits for <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598%20019%2044097%203">health and wellbeing</a>. Having access to natural spaces such as beaches, parks and woodlands is <a href="https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/10.1289/EHP1663">associated with</a> reduced anxiety and depression, improved sleep, reduced levels of obesity and cardiovascular disease, and improved wellbeing. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Man carrying large clock under his arm in park with trees" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581901/original/file-20240314-30-ytbq44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581901/original/file-20240314-30-ytbq44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581901/original/file-20240314-30-ytbq44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581901/original/file-20240314-30-ytbq44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581901/original/file-20240314-30-ytbq44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581901/original/file-20240314-30-ytbq44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581901/original/file-20240314-30-ytbq44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Nature can help expand our sense of time.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/alarm-timing-clock-schedule-punctual-time-523875211">Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Some of these benefits may explain why being in nature alters our experience of time. </p>
<p>The way we experience time <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35902608/">is shaped by</a> our internal biological state and the events going on in the world around us. As a result, emotions such as stress, anxiety and fear can distort our sense of the passage of time. </p>
<p>The relaxing effect of natural environments may counter stress and anxiety, resulting in a more stable experience of time. Indeed, the absence of access to nature during COVID-19 may help to explain why people’s sense of time became so distorted during the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02225.x">pandemic lockdowns</a>.</p>
<p>In the short term, being away from the demands of modern day life may provide the respite needed to re-prioritise life, and reduce time pressure by focusing on what actually needs to be done. In the longer term, time in nature may help to enhance our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02225.x">memory and attention capacity</a>, making us better able to deal with the demands on our time. </p>
<h2>Accessing nature</h2>
<p>Getting out into nature may sound like a simple fix, but for many people, particularly those living in urban areas, nature can be hard to access. Green infrastructure such as trees, woodlands, parks and allotments in and around towns and cities are essential to making sure the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169204607000503">benefits of time</a> in nature are accessible to everyone. </p>
<p>If spending time in nature isn’t possible for you, there are other ways that you can <a href="https://www.sciencefocus.com/magazine/new-issue-get-more-time">regain control of your time</a>. Start by closely examining how you use time throughout your week. Auditing your time can help you see where time is being wasted and to identify action to help you to free up more time in your life. </p>
<p>Alternatively, try to set yourself some boundaries in how you use time. This could be limiting when you access emails and social media, or it could be booking in time in your calendar to take a break. Taking control of your time and how you use it can help to you overcome the sense that time is running away from you.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225316/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ruth Ogden receives funding from The British Academy, The Wellcome Trust, the Economic and Social Research Council, CHANSE and Horizon 2020.
This piece was written as part of the ESRC grant project “TIMED: TIMe experience in Europe’s Digital age" (ES/X005321/1) supported by CHANSE and the British Academy project "The Times of a Just Transition" (GCPS2\100005).
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jessica Thompson is the CEO for City of Trees, a Manchester (UK) based community forestry charity and is involed in academic research to better understand the impacts of civic environmental activity through an academic lens. </span></em></p>Time pressure is bad for your health- but the answer may be right outside your door.Ruth Ogden, Professor of the Psychology of Time, Liverpool John Moores UniversityJessica Thompson, PhD candidate in Environment and wellbeing, University of SalfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2253992024-03-21T12:40:06Z2024-03-21T12:40:06ZThe Program: Netflix show exposes the dark side of America’s ‘troubled teens’ schools<p>A new Netflix documentary series, <a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/81579761">The Program: Cons, Cults, and Kidnapping</a>, about the “troubled-teen industry”, is laying bare the way teenagers with so-called behavioural issues are systematically abused and tortured in the US. </p>
<p>The three-part documentary features survivors of the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2024/03/13/the-program-docuseries-is-among-netflixs-most-watched-what-to-know-about-the-real-academy-at-ivy-ridge/">Academy at Ivy Ridge</a>, in New York, speaking up about abuse and uncovering a staggering trail of abandoned records detailing the horrors they endured in the name of “treatment”. </p>
<p>The series has soared to the top of Netflix’s most-watched shows, <a href="https://www.netflix.com/tudum/top10/united-states/tv?week=2024-03-10">reaching number one in the US</a> and number two in the UK and Canada.</p>
<p>The documentary is a raw and powerful display of survivors reclaiming their stories. The violence uncovered in the series has shocked the public and is so disturbing that some viewers were left feeling <a href="https://www.unilad.com/film-and-tv/netflix/the-program-netflix-series-people-traumatized-157922-20240307">traumatised</a> after watching all three episodes in one night. </p>
<p>For decades, the troubled teen industry has been getting away with <a href="http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08146t.pdf">abuse and human rights violations</a>, sidestepping meaningful oversight from the state and lining the pockets of industry operators and their cronies. Survivors have been speaking up <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeFWCzLNCmY&list=PL081DED4C3E397FD8">against this system</a> for as long as the industry has existed, but until recently, our stories were seen as unbelievable – even “crazy”.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GeFWCzLNCmY?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Survivors’ stories.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>I am a survivor of a “therapeutic” boarding school like the one featured in The Program. I’m also a qualified social worker, and I spent seven years researching institutional abuse in therapeutic boarding schools for my doctorate. Like the director of The Program, Katherine Kubler, my personal experience drove me to this work, to listen to survivors and raise awareness about what’s happening behind closed doors.</p>
<p>Although some programmes are more extreme than others, the one featured in The Program is horrifying and it’s far from the only one like it.</p>
<p>What’s unique and makes for such a powerful true crime series is how bafflingly self-incriminating the Academy at Ivy Ridge staff were. In the abandoned halls of the now defunct school, staff left behind thousands of documents that clearly described – and in some instances filmed – their own abuse of children. Sadly, records like these are exceedingly rare and most therapeutic boarding school survivors will never have proof of what happened to them.</p>
<p>Therapeutic boarding schools are not really schools; they are private residential behaviour modification programmes that seek to reform “troubled teens”. Students can be held in these institutions against their will or under threat of being sent “somewhere worse”. </p>
<p>Some are legally <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/14733250211020088">kidnapped</a> and forcibly taken there. Cut off from the outside world, students are confined to campuses that are typically in rural areas that are difficult to escape. The programmes are designed to exert <a href="https://journals.uio.no/JEA/article/view/7015">total control</a> over teens and bring so-called <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10612-019-09466-4">“at risk” youth under control</a>.</p>
<p>As in the documentary, in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/2043610619900514">my research</a>, accounts of emotional, physical and sexual abuse and neglect were widespread. Among the abuses described were “speaking bans” that prevented students from communicating with each other, solitary confinement, excessive and dangerous physical restraints, child labour, nutritional deprivation, sleep deprivation, prolonged exposure to extreme temperatures, medical neglect, the use of medication to placate students, physical assaults, sexual harassment and rape.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/19/opinion/troubled-teens-industry-regulation.html">“Attack therapy”</a> was common. In a large circle facing each other, staff and peers would <a href="https://elan.school/10-general-meeting/">scream verbal “attacks”</a> and publicly humiliate students in “group therapy”. </p>
<p>Students who tried to avoid participation would become targets for the attacks. Under the auspices of accountability, these group sessions were used to degrade students and induce psychological breakdowns. This was useful to the programmes because students who had broken down were less likely to “resist treatment”.</p>
<h2>Missing narratives</h2>
<p>Missing from the documentary were experiences of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcad049">LGBTQ+ “conversion therapy”</a>. LGBTQ+ young people appear to be more likely to be sent away to therapeutic boarding schools. </p>
<p>Disguised in therapeutic language, some facilities have treated being LGBTQ+ as a “developmental disturbance” that can and should be “overcome” through psychotherapy and AA-style “sex addiction” groups. </p>
<p>Students can be <a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/tylerkingkade/teen-rescue-troubled-teens-conversion-therapy">punished</a> for not conforming to <a href="https://www.damemagazine.com/2020/12/17/conversion-therapy-is-abuse/">conservative sexuality and gender expectations</a>. Of course, these interventions do not “cure” someone’s sexuality or gender identity, but they do result in <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/stories/2020/07/conversion-therapy-can-amount-torture-and-should-be-banned-says-un-expert">long-term harm and complex trauma</a>.</p>
<p>These are not just issues of historical abuse; there have been <a href="https://news.sky.com/video/special-report-inside-americas-troubled-teen-industry-12822183">multiple cases of child deaths</a> over the last couple of years. Recently, a <a href="https://eu.usatoday.com/story/life/health-wellness/2024/02/20/north-carolina-wilderness-therapy-death-12-year-old-boy/72669232007/">12-year-old boy</a> was found dead in a North Carolina troubled teen industry programme.</p>
<h2>How do we stop abusive programmes?</h2>
<p>Talk about what’s happening so other parents don’t send their kids to programmes like these. In the US, you can support efforts for federal <a href="https://www.stopinstitutionalchildabuse.com/#:%7E:text=The%20Stop%20Institutional%20Child%20Abuse,interact%20with%20these%20residential%20programs.">legislative reform</a> and call on state legislators to stop using taxpayers’ money to fund kids being sent to these facilities. </p>
<p>If we stop giving them money, they will shut. In other words, don’t feed the beast. </p>
<p>For those outside the US, don’t sit too comfortably with the idea that this is only happening abroad. Kids from <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-26513805">around the world</a> can forcibly be taken to US programmes. If we want to help stop this industry, a good first step would be to prevent and undo its expansion.</p>
<p>If you know someone who is a survivor, reach out and let them know you care. It has been a relief for many survivors to see people bear witness to what these industries are really like, but it also brings up a lot of emotions, and for some, <a href="https://djsugi.substack.com/p/how-to-chill">traumatic memories can resurface</a>.</p>
<p>The Program ends with several survivors standing around a fire pit, burning old case files and looking on as the paper twists into amber ash. There’s a powerful rallying call: “The abuse of a child is the business of anyone who knows about it,” and now, as the director says, you know. Survivors have long suffered in silence, but now that these stories are finally being heard, will it be enough to stir people to demand change?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225399/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah Golightley received funding from the Economic and Social Research Council. </span></em></p>The ‘troubled-teen industry’ is big business, and it’s causing a lot of harm.Sarah Golightley, Lecturer, Social Work, University of Strathclyde Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2259842024-03-20T12:21:29Z2024-03-20T12:21:29ZChilling out rather than blowing off steam is a better way to manage anger − new review of 154 studies reveals what works<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582857/original/file-20240319-24-dmg9md.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=117%2C109%2C4482%2C3242&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Activities that keep you fired up don't help you turn down your anger.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/man-punching-punch-bag-and-stuffing-exploding-from-royalty-free-image/200188191-001">Ray Massey/The Image Bank via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Some commonly recommended tactics for managing anger, including hitting a punching bag, jogging and cycling, aren’t effective at helping people cool off. That’s the key takeaway of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2024.102414">our new review of 154 studies</a> that looked at how activities that increase versus decrease physiological arousal affect anger and aggression.</p>
<p>Arousal is how <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=bAaINTIAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">researchers</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=LUrHrxcAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">like us</a> describe how alert and energized someone is. When you’re <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2016-44948-000">in a state of high physiological arousal</a>, you’ll have increased heart rate, blood pressure, breathing rate and skin conductance due to sweat gland activity. Anger is a negative emotion associated with high physiological arousal. </p>
<p>In our study, we found that activities that influence arousal levels had a profound impact on anger and aggression.</p>
<p>By engaging in <a href="https://www.springerpub.com/relaxation-meditation-mindfulness-9780826127457.html">activities that decrease arousal</a>, such as deep breathing, muscle relaxation, yoga, meditation and mindfulness, you can control, or “turn down,” your angry feelings and aggressive impulses. </p>
<p>Crucially, our meta-analysis of participants from multiple studies found that activities that help decrease arousal worked across diverse settings, including in the laboratory and in real-world situations, both offline and online, and in both group and individual sessions.</p>
<p>In addition, activities that turn down arousal were effective for a wide variety of people – students and nonstudents, criminal offenders and nonoffenders, those with and without disabilities, and for participants of various genders, races, ages and countries.</p>
<p>In contrast, some activities people use to manage their anger amp up arousal and increase anger and aggression levels. Jogging, a popular stress-relief activity, actually increased anger in the studies we looked at. The repetitive nature of jogging may induce feelings of monotony and frustration, potentially exacerbating anger rather than alleviating it. Conversely, engaging in ball sports and physical education classes decreased anger, possibly because they are playful group activities that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/9781394260607.ch8">evoke positive emotions</a>.</p>
<p>Likewise, venting anger increased anger and aggression. This research helps dispel the myth that it is good to blow off steam and “let it out” or “get it off your chest.” Skip screaming into your pillow or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167202289002">pounding on a punching bag</a>. Save your money rather than going to a rage room to break stuff with baseball bats. Such activities are not therapeutic.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582858/original/file-20240319-28-1mxzcd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="woman with her eyes closed breathing calmly" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582858/original/file-20240319-28-1mxzcd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582858/original/file-20240319-28-1mxzcd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582858/original/file-20240319-28-1mxzcd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582858/original/file-20240319-28-1mxzcd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582858/original/file-20240319-28-1mxzcd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582858/original/file-20240319-28-1mxzcd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582858/original/file-20240319-28-1mxzcd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Simple and free techniques such as deep breathing and mindfulness are effective, evidence-based strategies for reducing anger.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/woman-with-eyes-closed-at-dusk-royalty-free-image/1442209829">Tim Robberts/DigitalVision via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.gallup.com/analytics/349280/gallup-global-emotions-report.aspx">Anger is a common emotion</a> with potentially destructive consequences. From physical confrontations to road rage incidents, anger is widely seen as a problem and an emotion that people should try to rein in.</p>
<p>Yet, most people <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1993-97355-018">do not have effective techniques for controlling</a> their anger. There is a great need for identifying effective strategies for reducing and managing anger. Our study shows that activities that decrease arousal are highly effective. Many of these activities are also inexpensive or free. </p>
<p>In a world grappling with the dangers of unchecked anger, our research empowers people with evidence-based tools for effective anger management, fostering healthier outcomes and societal well-being. </p>
<h2>How we do our work</h2>
<p>Our study in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2024.102414">Clinical Psychology Review</a> was a <a href="https://www.russellsage.org/publications/handbook-research-synthesis-and-meta-analysis">meta-analytic review</a>. It combined data from 154 studies examining activities that either decrease or increase arousal and their impact on anger and aggression.</p>
<p>The conclusions from a meta-analysis are statistically stronger because of the large sample – in our case, 10,186 participants. A meta-analysis can also reveal patterns that are less obvious in any single study. By zooming out from a leaf, you get to see the full tree.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225984/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Activities such as deep breathing, muscle relaxation, yoga and meditation help people manage their anger, according to a meta-analysis of studies involving more than 10,000 participants.Sophie L. Kjaervik, Postdoctoral Fellow at The Injury and Violence Prevention Program, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityBrad Bushman, Professor of Communication, The Ohio State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2230092024-03-07T11:12:21Z2024-03-07T11:12:21ZOur brains take rhythmic snapshots of the world as we walk – and we never knew<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577820/original/file-20240226-16-psaujb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=52%2C9%2C3089%2C2123&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/woman-hiking-mountains-adventure-exercising-legs-105847466">Blazej Lyjak/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>For decades, psychology departments around the world have studied human behaviour in darkened laboratories that restrict natural movement.</p>
<p>Our new study, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-45780-4">published today in Nature Communications</a>, challenges the wisdom of this approach. With the help of virtual reality (VR), we have revealed previously hidden aspects of perception that happen during a simple everyday action – walking. </p>
<p>We found the rhythmic movement of walking changes how sensitive we are to the surrounding environment. With every step we take, our perception cycles through “good” and “bad” phases. </p>
<p>This means your smooth, continuous experience of an afternoon stroll is deceptive. Instead, it’s as if your brain takes rhythmic snapshots of the world – and they are synchronised with the rhythm of your footfall.</p>
<h2>The next step in studies of human perception</h2>
<p>In psychology, the study of visual perception refers to how our brains use information from our eyes to create our experience of the world.</p>
<p>Typical psychology experiments that investigate visual perception involve darkened laboratory rooms where participants are asked to sit motionless in front of a computer screen.</p>
<p>Often, their heads will be fixed in position with a chin rest, and they will be asked to respond to any changes they might see on the screen. </p>
<p>This approach has been invaluable in building our knowledge of human perception, and the foundations of how our brains make sense of the world. But these scenarios are a far cry from how we experience the world every day.</p>
<p>This means we might not be able to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1571064523000830">generalise</a> the results we discover in these highly restricted settings to the real world. It would be a bit like trying to understand fish behaviour, but only by studying fish in an aquarium.</p>
<p>Instead, we went out on a limb. Motivated by the fact our brains have evolved to support action, we set out to test vision during walking – one of our most frequent and everyday behaviours.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579126/original/file-20240301-16-354ica.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A row of students in a uni computer lab looking at screens." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579126/original/file-20240301-16-354ica.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579126/original/file-20240301-16-354ica.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579126/original/file-20240301-16-354ica.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579126/original/file-20240301-16-354ica.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579126/original/file-20240301-16-354ica.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579126/original/file-20240301-16-354ica.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579126/original/file-20240301-16-354ica.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Doing tests in a lab isn’t quite the same as seeing and interacting with things in the real world.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/side-view-students-using-computer-lab-122284963">sirtravelalot/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A walk in a (virtual) forest</h2>
<p>Our key innovation was to use a wireless VR environment to test vision continuously while walking. </p>
<p>Several previous studies have examined the effects of light exercise on perception, but used <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2010.00202">treadmills</a> or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1162/jocn_a_01082">exercise bikes</a>. While these methods are better than sitting still, they <a href="https://doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.01380.2006">don’t match the ways</a> we naturally move through the world.</p>
<p>Instead, we simulated an open forest. Our participants were free to roam, yet unknown to them, we were carefully tracking their head movement with every step they took. </p>
<figure>
<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/917787370" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Participants walked in a virtual forest while trying to detect brief visual ‘flashes’ in the moving white circle.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We tracked head movement because as you walk, your head bobs up and down. Your head is lowest when both feet are on the ground and highest when swinging your leg in-between steps. We used these changes in head height to mark the phases of each participant’s “step-cycle”.</p>
<p>Participants also completed our visual task while they walked, which required looking for brief visual “flashes” they needed to detect as quickly as possible.</p>
<p>By aligning performance on our visual task to the phases of the step-cycle, we found visual perception was not consistent.</p>
<p>Instead, it oscillated like the ripples of a pond, cycling through good and bad periods with every step. We found that depending on the phases of their step-cycle, participants were more likely to sense changes in their environment, had faster reaction times, and were more likely to make decisions.</p>
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<em>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/everything-we-see-is-a-mash-up-of-the-brains-last-15-seconds-of-visual-information-175577">Everything we see is a mash-up of the brain's last 15 seconds of visual information</a>
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<hr>
<h2>Oscillations in nature, oscillations in vision</h2>
<p>Oscillations in vision have been <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2016.07.006">shown before</a>, but this is the first time they have been linked to walking.</p>
<p>Our key new finding is these oscillations slowed or increased to match the rhythm of a person’s step-cycle. On average, perception was best when swinging between steps, but the timing of these rhythms varied between participants. This new link between the body and mind offers clues as to how our brains coordinate perception and action during everyday behaviour. </p>
<p>Next, we want to investigate how these rhythms impact different populations. For example, certain psychiatric disorders can lead to people having <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2922365/">abnormalities</a> in their gait.</p>
<p>There are further questions we want to answer: are slips and falls more common for those with stronger oscillations in vision? Do similar oscillations occur for our perception of sound? What is the optimal timing for presenting information and responding to it when a person is moving?</p>
<p>Our findings also hint at broader questions about the nature of perception itself. How does the brain stitch together these rhythms in perception to give us our seamless experience of an evening stroll?</p>
<p>These questions were once the domain of philosophers, but we may be able to answer them, as we combine technology with action to better understand natural behaviour.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223009/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew Davidson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Psychology researchers have used virtual reality to find our brains oscillate with each step – an intriguing finding to better understand how we see the world.Matthew Davidson, Postdoctoral research fellow, lecturer, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2239732024-03-04T23:54:16Z2024-03-04T23:54:16ZHow can I stop overthinking everything? A clinical psychologist offers solutions<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579459/original/file-20240304-18-36ogm6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C336%2C2995%2C1661&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/asian-indian-businessman-taking-ride-work-242436511">szefei/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As a clinical psychologist, I often have clients say they are having trouble with thoughts “on a loop” in their head, which they find difficult to manage. </p>
<p>While rumination and overthinking are often considered the same thing, they are slightly different (though linked). <a href="https://www.apa.org/monitor/nov05/cycle">Rumination</a> is having thoughts on repeat in our minds. This can lead to overthinking – analysing those thoughts without finding solutions or solving the problem. </p>
<p>It’s like a vinyl record playing the same part of the song over and over. With a record, this is usually because of a scratch. Why we overthink is a little more complicated.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-do-we-wake-around-3am-and-dwell-on-our-fears-and-shortcomings-169635">Why do we wake around 3am and dwell on our fears and shortcomings?</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<h2>We’re on the lookout for threats</h2>
<p>Our brains are hardwired to look for threats, to make a plan to address those threats and keep us safe. Those perceived threats may be based on past experiences, or may be the “what ifs” we imagine could happen in the future. </p>
<p>Our “what ifs” are usually negative outcomes. These are what we call “<a href="https://ccbhc.org/hot-thoughts-what-are-they-and-how-can-you-handle-them/">hot thoughts</a>” – they bring up a lot of emotion (particularly sadness, worry or anger), which means we can easily get stuck on those thoughts and keep going over them. </p>
<p>However, because they are about things that have either already happened or might happen in the future (but are not happening now), we cannot fix the problem, so we keep going over the same thoughts.</p>
<h2>Who overthinks?</h2>
<p>Most people find themselves in situations at one time or another when they overthink. </p>
<p>Some people are <a href="https://www.apa.org/monitor/nov05/cycle">more likely</a> to ruminate. People who have had prior challenges or experienced trauma may have come to expect threats and look for them more than people who have not had adversities. </p>
<p>Deep thinkers, people who are prone to anxiety or low mood, and those who are sensitive or feel emotions deeply are also more likely to ruminate and overthink. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Woman holds her head, looking stressed" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579447/original/file-20240304-22-b9wamx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579447/original/file-20240304-22-b9wamx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579447/original/file-20240304-22-b9wamx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579447/original/file-20240304-22-b9wamx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579447/original/file-20240304-22-b9wamx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=583&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579447/original/file-20240304-22-b9wamx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=583&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579447/original/file-20240304-22-b9wamx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=583&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">We all overthink from time to time, but some people are more prone to rumination.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/woman-in-white-tank-top-NW61v3xF0-0">BĀBI/Unsplash</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Also, when we are stressed, our emotions tend to be stronger and last longer, and our thoughts can be less accurate, which means we can get stuck on thoughts more than we would usually. </p>
<p>Being run down or physically unwell can also mean our thoughts are <a href="https://healthify.nz/hauora-wellbeing/m/mental-health-and-your-body/">harder to tackle</a> and manage. </p>
<h2>Acknowledge your feelings</h2>
<p>When thoughts go on repeat, it is helpful to use both emotion-focused and problem-focused <a href="https://link.springer.com/referencework/10.1007/978-1-4419-1005-9">strategies</a>. </p>
<p>Being emotion-focused means figuring out how we feel about something and addressing those feelings. For example, we might feel regret, anger or sadness about something that has happened, or worry about something that might happen. </p>
<p>Acknowledging those emotions, using self-care techniques and accessing social support to talk about and manage your feelings will be helpful. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-be-kind-to-yourself-without-going-to-a-day-spa-223194">How to be kind to yourself (without going to a day spa)</a>
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<hr>
<p>The second part is being problem-focused. Looking at what you would do differently (if the thoughts are about something from your past) and making a plan for dealing with future possibilities your thoughts are raising. </p>
<p>But it is difficult to plan for all eventualities, so this strategy has limited usefulness.</p>
<p>What is more helpful is to make a plan for one or two of the more likely possibilities and accept there may be things that happen you haven’t thought of. </p>
<h2>Think about why these thoughts are showing up</h2>
<p>Our feelings and experiences are information; it is important to ask what this information is telling you and why these thoughts are showing up now. </p>
<p>For example, university has just started again. Parents of high school leavers might be lying awake at night (which is when rumination and overthinking is common) worrying about their young person. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Man lays awake in bed" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579451/original/file-20240304-16-is53tt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579451/original/file-20240304-16-is53tt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579451/original/file-20240304-16-is53tt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579451/original/file-20240304-16-is53tt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579451/original/file-20240304-16-is53tt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579451/original/file-20240304-16-is53tt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579451/original/file-20240304-16-is53tt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Think of what the information is telling you.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/dramatic-portrait-dark-attractive-depressed-worried-1721465689">TheVisualsYouNeed/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Knowing how you would respond to some more likely possibilities (such as they will need money, they might be lonely or homesick) might be helpful. </p>
<p>But overthinking is also a sign of a new stage in both your lives, and needing to accept less control over your child’s choices and lives, while wanting the best for them. Recognising this means you can also talk about those feelings with others. </p>
<h2>Let the thoughts go</h2>
<p>A useful way to manage rumination or overthinking is “<a href="https://www.getselfhelp.co.uk/docs/Options.pdf">change, accept, and let go</a>”. </p>
<p>Challenge and change aspects of your thoughts where you can. For example, the chance that your young person will run out of money and have no food and starve (overthinking tends to lead to your brain coming up with catastrophic outcomes!) is not likely. </p>
<p>You could plan to check in with your child regularly about how they are coping financially and encourage them to access budgeting support from university services. </p>
<p>Your thoughts are just ideas. They are not necessarily true or accurate, but when we overthink and have them on repeat, they can start to feel true because they become familiar. Coming up with a more realistic thought can help stop the loop of the unhelpful thought.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-do-i-remember-embarrassing-things-ive-said-or-done-in-the-past-and-feel-ashamed-all-over-again-190535">Why do I remember embarrassing things I've said or done in the past and feel ashamed all over again?</a>
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<p>Accepting your emotions and finding ways to manage those (good self-care, social support, communication with those close to you) will also be helpful. As will accepting that life inevitably involves a lack of complete control over outcomes and possibilities life may throw at us. What we do have control over is our reactions and behaviours.</p>
<p>Remember, you have a 100% success rate of getting through challenges up until this point. You might have wanted to do things differently (and can plan to do that) but nevertheless, you coped and got through. </p>
<p>So, the last part is letting go of the need to know exactly how things will turn out, and believing in your ability (and sometimes others’) to cope.</p>
<h2>What else can you do?</h2>
<p>A stressed out and tired brain will be <a href="https://mentalhealth.org.nz/resources/resource/stress-and-how-to-manage-it">more likely</a> to overthink, leading to more stress and creating a cycle that can affect your wellbeing.</p>
<p>So it’s important to manage your stress levels by eating and sleeping well, moving your body, doing things you enjoy, seeing people you care about, and doing things that fuel your soul and spirit. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Woman running" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579455/original/file-20240304-26-vgg0bd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579455/original/file-20240304-26-vgg0bd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579455/original/file-20240304-26-vgg0bd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579455/original/file-20240304-26-vgg0bd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579455/original/file-20240304-26-vgg0bd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579455/original/file-20240304-26-vgg0bd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579455/original/file-20240304-26-vgg0bd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Find ways to manage your stress levels.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://theconversation.com/why-do-i-remember-embarrassing-things-ive-said-or-done-in-the-past-and-feel-ashamed-all-over-again-190535">antoniodiaz/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Distraction – with pleasurable activities and people who bring you joy – can also get your thoughts off repeat. </p>
<p>If you do find overthinking is affecting your life, and your levels of anxiety are rising or your mood is dropping (your sleep, appetite and enjoyment of life and people is being negatively affected), it might be time to talk to someone and get some strategies to manage. </p>
<p>When things become too difficult to manage yourself (or with the help of those close to you), a therapist can provide tools that have been proven to be helpful. Some helpful tools to manage worry and your thoughts can also be found <a href="https://www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/Resources/Looking-After-Yourself/Anxiety">here</a>.</p>
<p>When you find yourself overthinking, think about why you are having “hot thoughts”, acknowledge your feelings and do some future-focused problem solving. But also accept life can be unpredictable and focus on having faith in your ability to cope. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-years-resolutions-how-to-get-your-stress-levels-in-check-34539">New year's resolutions: how to get your stress levels in check</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223973/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kirsty Ross does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A stressed out and tired brain will be more likely to overthink. Deep thinkers, people who are prone to anxiety or low mood, and those who are feel emotions deeply are also more likely to overthink.Kirsty Ross, Associate Professor and Senior Clinical Psychologist, Massey UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2190572024-02-28T12:33:37Z2024-02-28T12:33:37ZMental fatigue has psychological triggers − new research suggests challenging goals can head it off<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574501/original/file-20240208-20-qjkjml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=27%2C9%2C6108%2C4093&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Feeling wiped out by mental work has different causes than what drives physical fatigue.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/stressed-business-woman-working-from-home-on-laptop-royalty-free-image/1249628154">nensuria/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Do you ever feel spacey, distracted and worn down toward the end of a long work-related task – especially if that task is entirely a mental one? For over a century, psychologists have been trying to determine whether mental fatigue is fundamentally similar to physical fatigue or whether it is governed by different processes. </p>
<p>Some <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2003.11.001">researchers have argued</a> that exerting mental effort depletes a limited supply of energy – the same way physical exertion fatigues muscles. The brain consumes <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.92.2.325">energy in the form of glucose</a>, which can run low.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/h0069511">Other researchers</a> see mental fatigue as more of a psychological phenomenon. Mind-wandering means the current mental effort is not being sufficiently <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brainresrev.2008.07.001">rewarded</a> – or opportunities to do other, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X12003196">more enjoyable activities are being lost</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=JGWPdcMAAAAJ">My</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=1fv9jBIAAAAJ">colleagues</a> and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=I5HWMl8AAAAJ">I</a> have been <a href="https://doi.org/10.3758/s13414-023-02803-4">trying to resolve this question</a>. Our research suggests mental fatigue is in large part a psychological phenomenon – but one that can be modified by setting goals.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577994/original/file-20240226-26-701pnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="spiraling clock face suggesting infinity" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577994/original/file-20240226-26-701pnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577994/original/file-20240226-26-701pnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577994/original/file-20240226-26-701pnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577994/original/file-20240226-26-701pnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577994/original/file-20240226-26-701pnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577994/original/file-20240226-26-701pnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577994/original/file-20240226-26-701pnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Tedious tasks can be especially hard to stick with diligently.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/rendering-classic-round-clock-with-infinity-time-royalty-free-image/1303651536">RB Stocker/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Vigilance is hard to sustain</h2>
<p>We began by reviewing the science related to mental fatigue. </p>
<p>Psychologists in the World War II era studied why soldiers monitoring radar were losing focus during their shifts. Psychologist Norman Mackworth designed the “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/17470214808416738">clock test,</a>” in which military participants were asked to watch a large “clock” on a wall for up to two hours. The second hand ticked at regular intervals. But rarely and unpredictably, it would jump twice the usual distance. The task was to detect those tiny variations. </p>
<p>Within the first 30 minutes, the subjects’ performance dropped dramatically – and then continued to decline more gradually. Psychologists named the necessary mental focus “vigilance” – and concluded it was fundamentally limited in humans. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.117.2.230">Decades of research</a> since has confirmed that vigilance is difficult to maintain, even over brief intervals. In studies, people report <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/00187208211011333">feeling stressed and fatigued</a> following even a brief vigilance task. In 2021, one study even showed a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/00187208211011333">reduction of blood flow through the brain</a> during vigilance. </p>
<p>My colleagues and I wondered: Are all forms of mental work like vigilance? Surely, there are instances where people can engage with mental work without feeling fatigued. </p>
<h2>Setting goals</h2>
<p>We decided to study whether <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/mot0000127">goal-setting</a> could improve mental focus and ran <a href="https://doi.org/10.3758/s13414-023-02803-4">three experiments</a> to test this idea. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574499/original/file-20240208-26-nh4c3j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Man in front of computer screen showing four horizontal lines, with an X on one of them." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574499/original/file-20240208-26-nh4c3j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574499/original/file-20240208-26-nh4c3j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=799&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574499/original/file-20240208-26-nh4c3j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=799&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574499/original/file-20240208-26-nh4c3j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=799&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574499/original/file-20240208-26-nh4c3j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574499/original/file-20240208-26-nh4c3j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574499/original/file-20240208-26-nh4c3j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Where’s the X?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Lauren D. Garner</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the first experiment, we showed 108 undergraduate students at the University of Oregon a screen with four empty white boxes against a gray background. Every one to three seconds, an X appeared in one of the four boxes. Their task was to indicate where that symbol appeared as quickly as possible. After each response, the participant was given feedback about both their accuracy and their speed, such as “Correct! Reaction time = 400 milliseconds.” </p>
<p>Periodically during the 26-minute test, we also asked participants to rank their mental state as task-focused, distracted or mind-wandering. This gave us data about how they felt, in addition to how they did.</p>
<p>We randomly gave half of them a specific goal: Keep their reaction times under 400 milliseconds while staying as accurate as possible. We gave no goal to the other half. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.3758/s13414-023-02803-4">Our results</a> were mixed. People who were given a goal did not experience as many slow reaction times, but having goals didn’t increase their top speed. It also didn’t change how often people reported feeling distracted. </p>
<h2>Setting increasingly harder goals</h2>
<p>We decided to tweak the test for our second experiment. Again, we randomly assigned a goal to half of the 112 fresh participants and no goal to the other half. But this time, as the experiment progressed, we increased the difficulty of the goal from a 450-millisecond reaction time to 400 milliseconds and then to 350 by the final block. Setting these harder-over-time goals had a huge effect on performance. </p>
<p>Compared with the participants assigned a set goal in the first experiment, the participants assigned increasingly more difficult goals in the second experiment had faster reaction times by an average of 45 milliseconds – about a 10% improvement. Participants in the second experiment also reported fewer instances of mind-wandering and showed no slowing of reaction times throughout the experiment. In other words, they showed no signs of mental fatigue. And we didn’t have to make the task easier. In fact, we made it harder. </p>
<p>Our first two experiments were conducted online because of shutdowns related to COVID-19. Our third study – a repeat of our second study – was conducted in person. We got the same results. </p>
<p>These findings, combined with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/xhp0001148">other recent work</a> we’ve conducted, have changed the way my colleagues and I consider mental fatigue. It’s clear that when people strive for specific and hard-to-reach goals, they report feeling more motivated and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/mac0000141">they do not report feeling as drained</a> by mental work. </p>
<p>If you’re wondering how to implement these findings in your life, make simple, direct and specific goals for yourself. Mark when you complete the goals – the feedback can help you keep going. If you’re feeling particularly drained, take short breaks. Even <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2014.10.001">brief rests</a> of less than two minutes can restore capacity for mental work.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219057/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew Robison's laboratory receives funding from the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory and the Army Research Institute. </span></em></p>Setting specific, hard-to-reach goals seems to help people maintain motivation, while preventing them from feeling as drained by mental tasks.Matthew Robison, Assistant Professor of Psychology, University of Texas at ArlingtonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2238482024-02-27T23:45:01Z2024-02-27T23:45:01ZWe talked to dozens of people about their experience of grief. Here’s what we learned (and how it’s different from what you might think)<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577495/original/file-20240222-26-pcdtt5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C7%2C4899%2C3258&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/pensive-single-caucasian-pretty-young-woman-1819708136">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Have you ever felt a sudden pang of sadness? A bird seems to stop and look you in the eye. A photo drops out of a messy drawer from long ago, in the mundanity of a weekend spring clean. </p>
<p>Your day is immediately derailed, unsettled. You are pulled into something you thought was past. And yet, in being pulled back, you are grateful, reconnected, and grief-stricken all over again. </p>
<p>“You’ll get over it”. “Give it time”. “You need time to move on”. These are common cultural refrains in the face of loss. But what if grief doesn’t play by the rules? What if grief is a different thing altogether? </p>
<p>We talked to 95 people about their experiences of grief surrounding the loss of a loved one, and <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00380261241228412">their stories</a> provided a fundamentally different account of grief to the one often presented to us culturally.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/not-all-mourning-happens-after-bereavement-for-some-grief-can-start-years-before-the-death-of-a-loved-one-221629">Not all mourning happens after bereavement – for some, grief can start years before the death of a loved one</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Disordered grief?</h2>
<p>Grief is often imagined as a time-bound period in which one processes the pain of loss – that is, adjusts to absence and works toward “moving on”. The bereaved are expected to process their pain within the confines of what society deems “normal”. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-the-dsm-and-how-are-mental-disorders-diagnosed-9568">DSM-5 psychiatric manual</a> says if grief drags on too long, in fact, it becomes a pathology (a condition with a medical diagnosis). “Prolonged grief disorder” is the name given to “persistent difficulties associated with bereavement that exceeded expected social, cultural, or religious expectations”.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577498/original/file-20240223-24-k2d40c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two people hold the hands of a third person to comfort them" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577498/original/file-20240223-24-k2d40c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577498/original/file-20240223-24-k2d40c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577498/original/file-20240223-24-k2d40c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577498/original/file-20240223-24-k2d40c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577498/original/file-20240223-24-k2d40c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577498/original/file-20240223-24-k2d40c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577498/original/file-20240223-24-k2d40c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Prolonged grief disorder is a useful diagnosis for some, but for others, it’s putting arbitrary timeframes on grieving.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/asia-people-adult-child-help-middle-2274180457">Shutterstock</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>While there can be <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-prolonged-grief-should-be-listed-as-a-mental-disorder-4262">value</a> in clinical diagnostic categories such as this, the danger is they put artificial boundaries around emotions. The pathologisation of grief can be deeply alienating to those experiencing it, for whom the pressure to “move on” can be hurtful and counterproductive. </p>
<p>The stories we gathered in our research were raw, complex and often fraught. They did not sit comfortably with commonsense understandings of how grief “should” progress. As bereaved daughter Barbara told us:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Grief is not in the little box, it doesn’t even come close to a little box.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Grief starts early</h2>
<p>The tendency is to think of grief as something that happens post death. The person we love dies, we have a funeral, and the grief sets in. Then it slowly subsides with the steady march of time. </p>
<p>In fact, grief often begins earlier, often in a clinical consultation where the words “terminal” or “nothing more we can do” are used. Or when a loved one is told “go home and get your life in order”. Grief can begin months or even years before bereavement. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-homesick-for-ourselves-the-hidden-grief-of-ageing-202754">Friday essay: homesick for ourselves – the hidden grief of ageing</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>As the people we interviewed experienced it, loss was also cumulative. The gradual deterioration of a loved one’s health in the years or months before their death imposed other painful losses: the loss of chosen lifestyles, the loss of longstanding relational rhythms, the loss of shared hopes and anticipated futures. </p>
<p>Many participants felt their loved ones – and, indeed, the lives they shared with them – slipping away long before their physical deaths. </p>
<h2>Living with the dead</h2>
<p>Yet the dead do not simply leave us. They remain with us, in memories, rituals and cultural events. From <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-ancient-cultures-teach-us-about-grief-mourning-and-continuity-of-life-86199">Mexico’s Dia de los Muertos</a> to <a href="https://theconversation.com/japans-obon-festival-how-family-commemoration-and-ancestral-worship-shapes-daily-life-179890">Japan’s Opon</a>, festivals of the dead play a key role in cultures around the world. In that way, remembering the dead remains a critical aspect of living. So too does <a href="https://theconversation.com/theres-not-always-closure-in-the-never-ending-story-of-grief-3096">the ongoing experience of grief</a>. </p>
<p>Events of this kind are not merely celebratory. They are critical forms through which life and death, joy and grief, are brought together and integrated. The absence of remembering can hold its own trouble, as our participants’ accounts revealed. As bereaved wife Anna explained:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I just find it really frustrating and I do get quite angry and upset sometimes. I know that life goes on. I’d be talking to girlfriends and stuff like that and it’s like they’ve forgotten that I’ve lost my husband. They haven’t, but nothing really changed in their life. But for me, and my family, it has.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Part of the problem, here, is the ambivalent role grief plays in advanced industrialised societies like ours. Many of our participants felt pressure to perform resilience or (in clinical terms) to <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1363459317724854">“recover” quickly after loss</a>.</p>
<p>But whose interests does a swift recovery serve? An employer’s? Friends who just want to get on with a death-free life? And, even more importantly, mightn’t ongoing connections with the dead enable better living? Might bringing the dead along with us actually make for better deaths and better lives? </p>
<p>Many of our participants felt their loved ones remained with them, and experienced their “absent presence” as a source of comfort. Grieving, in this context, involved spending time “with” the dead. Anna described her practice as follows:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I had a diary, so I just write stuff in it about how I’m feeling or something happened and I’ll say to [my deceased husband], it’s all to [my deceased husband], “Do you remember, blah, blah, blah.” I’ll just talk about that memory that I have of that particular time and I find that that helps.</p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-did-he-leve-me-5-things-grieving-children-want-to-know-about-the-death-of-a-loved-one-215881">'Why did he Leve Me?' 5 things grieving children want to know about the death of a loved one</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Caring for those who grieve</h2>
<p>Grief does not begin at death, but neither do relationships end there.</p>
<p>To rush the bereaved through grief – to usher them towards “recovery” and the more comfortable territories of happiness and productivity – is to do them a disservice. </p>
<p>And, perhaps more critically, ridding our lives of the dead and grief may, in the end, make for more limited and muted emotional lives.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223848/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michelle Peterie receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alex Broom receives funding from the Australian Research Council </span></em></p>There are many social assumptions about how to best ‘get through’ grief. We interview 95 people about their experiences of loss and found we need to rethink what grief looks and feels like.Michelle Peterie, Research Fellow, Sydney Centre for Healthy Societies, University of SydneyAlex Broom, Professor of Sociology & Director, Sydney Centre for Healthy Societies, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2231432024-02-27T12:41:34Z2024-02-27T12:41:34ZHow psychology can help people live more climate-friendly lives – lessons from around the world<p>Quick and easy interventions that inspire people to take direct climate action are the holy grail. Behavioural scientists and policymakers are keen to learn which small steps can make the biggest difference. One of the largest experiments ever conducted in climate change psychology shows that the same interventions have different outcomes depending on the specific context, and crucially, the country in which change is being driven. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adj5778">New research</a> by an international team of more than 250 scientists studied several environmental interventions and the way people responded to them in 63 countries. </p>
<p>In Austria, one of the best ways to increase effective pro-environmental behaviour, such as time spent planting trees, is to present people with information that shows climate change is already happening now, it is negatively affecting Europe and it is harmful to people nearby. This is what behavioural scientists call <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/risa.12601">reducing psychological distance</a>. This framing makes the risks and dangers of climate change feel more immediate and relatable, which encourages people to act against it.</p>
<p>But in Germany, a country that shares a similar language, culture and long history with Austria, the same intervention had a very different outcome. Participants tended to believe less in climate change, were less likely to support climate change mitigation policies and were less likely to plant trees.</p>
<h2>The global outlook</h2>
<p>Our team tested the effectiveness of 11 strategies designed to increase climate change awareness and climate action around the globe. </p>
<p>More than 59,000 participants were shown one of 11 possible interventions designed to influence their climate change beliefs, such as writing a letter to one’s nephew or reading information about climate change as though its effect were to occur very close to the reader. Then participants were surveyed to assess their belief in climate change, support for mitigation policies and involvement in different types of environmental action, such as planting trees. </p>
<p>Overall, 86% of people surveyed believed that climate change is happening, is a dangerous problem and is largely caused by humans. Support for important climate mitigation policies was measured at an impressive 72%. </p>
<p>Another key measure was effortful behaviour: completing a tedious task, such as identifying specific number combinations, in exchange for a donation to plant a tree. More than half of the participants planted more than 300,000 trees, suggesting that most people do not question climate change, they endorse policies meant to mitigate it and are willing to do whatever they can to stop it.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577941/original/file-20240226-26-f2ut7z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Hands of adult on left and Asian girl on right, holding tiny tree sapling about to plant in soil" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577941/original/file-20240226-26-f2ut7z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577941/original/file-20240226-26-f2ut7z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577941/original/file-20240226-26-f2ut7z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577941/original/file-20240226-26-f2ut7z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577941/original/file-20240226-26-f2ut7z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577941/original/file-20240226-26-f2ut7z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577941/original/file-20240226-26-f2ut7z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Tree planting was one of 11 environmental actions measured within a new study into the climate psychology of making change happen at both personal and policy levels.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/asian-little-child-girl-helping-her-562012174">A3pfamily/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Before conducting this experiment, we hoped to find out which interventions would work in all contexts. Instead, we found some really interesting results that have spurred even more scientific investigation in this domain.</p>
<p>When we put all the data together, we found that one intervention, like reducing psychological distance, worked well in one context but then backfired in another, as is the case in Austria and Germany. This is probably due to the large amount of diversity in the data. </p>
<p>There could be further differences that our data has not accounted for. Complicating things even more, interventions had different effects depending on the variable we were targeting. If one intervention worked at increasing belief in climate change, it tended to backfire on effortful behaviour.</p>
<p>No one solution will stimulate climate change mitigation internationally. Both top-down regulations from policymakers and individual behaviour shifts are necessary pieces of the puzzle and context is key.</p>
<h2>A new app</h2>
<p>We have used our findings to help design a new <a href="https://climate-interventions.shinyapps.io/climate-interventions/">climate intervention app</a> that can empower people to make more environmentally conscious decisions at governmental, community and household levels. Based on the vast pool of data used in our research, anyone can explore how effective interventions have been in specific countries, within certain age ranges or even according to political identity, ideally by looking at samples with more than 30 people for the best results. </p>
<p>This free and easy-to-use app could be particularly useful for policymakers and climate change communicators. For example, if you want to know how to best increase policy support in Europeans who are over 50 years old, emphasising how those policies will affect future generations, especially their own children and grandchildren, might be your best bet. </p>
<h2>Voting for change</h2>
<p>Whenever making personal choices related to climate change, such as opting for a slow train or booking a quick flight, you can use these results to help make your decision easier. Log into the app and see what works well for people of a similar age to you living in the same country. You can then consider the intervention before making your decision. </p>
<p>If reducing psychological distance is the best acting intervention, you can remind yourself of all the ways that climate change is already affecting people close to you. This will help you prioritise what is important to you in the context of that decision and make the whole process simpler. </p>
<p>Voting is a choice that can have a huge effect on climate. Voting for candidates and parties that prioritise climate change can help curb greenhouse gas emissions. Similarly, one of the top predictors of whether a climate policy will be adopted is public support. </p>
<p>Being vocal about climate policies that you support may help to spread awareness and increase the likelihood that the policy is adopted. That might involve writing letters to your local representatives, talking to friends and family or posting on social media. </p>
<p>Our paper sheds new light on the effectiveness of various types of climate messaging and the app offers practical ways to help facilitate climate action. By streamlining the more targeted deployment of effective interventions, less time and money will be wasted on interventions that won’t feasibly work in that scenario. Coordinating efforts at all levels of governance is necessary to effectively tackle the climate crisis because time is of the essence.</p>
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<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><strong><em>Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?</em></strong>
<br><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/imagine-57?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Imagine&utm_content=DontHaveTimeTop">Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead.</a> Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/imagine-57?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Imagine&utm_content=DontHaveTimeBottom">Join the 30,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.</a></em></p>
<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223143/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Insight from one of the largest experiments ever conducted in climate change psychology sheds light on how people could make more effective decisions about their lifestyle and also wider policies.Chiara Longoni, Associate Professor, Marketing and Social Science, Bocconi UniversityKimberly Doell, Senior Researcher in Environmental and Climate Change Psychology, Universität WienLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2231942024-02-27T05:35:56Z2024-02-27T05:35:56ZHow to be kind to yourself (without going to a day spa)<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575550/original/file-20240214-26-e51x1x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C1%2C998%2C664&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/mature-african-woman-looking-outside-window-2003674943">Ground Picture/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>“I have to be hard on myself,” Sarah told me in a recent telehealth psychology session. “I would never reach my potential if I was kind and let myself off the hook.”</p>
<p>I could empathise with this fear of self-compassion from clients such as Sarah (not her real name). From a young age, we are taught to be kind to others, but self-kindness is never mentioned.</p>
<p>Instead, we are taught success hinges on self-sacrifice. And we need a healthy inner critic to bully us forward into becoming increasingly better versions of ourselves.</p>
<p>But <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0146167212445599">research shows</a> there doesn’t have to be a trade-off between self-compassion and success. </p>
<p>Self-compassion can help you reach your potential, while supporting you to face the inevitable stumbles and setbacks along the way.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/self-love-might-seem-selfish-but-done-right-its-the-opposite-of-narcissism-205938">'Self-love' might seem selfish. But done right, it's the opposite of narcissism</a>
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</em>
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<hr>
<h2>What is self-compassion?</h2>
<p><a href="https://self-compassion.org/">Self-compassion</a> has <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15298860309027">three</a> key ingredients.</p>
<p><strong>1. Self-kindness</strong></p>
<p>This involves treating yourself with the same kindness you would extend towards a good friend – via your thoughts, feelings and actions – especially during life’s difficult moments.</p>
<p>For instance, if you find yourself fixating on a minor mistake you made at work, self-kindness might involve taking a ten-minute walk to shift focus, and reminding yourself it is OK to make mistakes sometimes, before moving on with your day.</p>
<p><strong>2. Mindfulness</strong></p>
<p>In this context, mindfulness involves being aware of your own experience of stress or suffering, rather than repressing or avoiding your feelings, or over-identifying with them. </p>
<p>Basically, you must see your stress with a clear (mindful) perspective before you can respond with kindness. If we avoid or are consumed by our suffering, we lose perspective.</p>
<p><strong>3. Common humanity</strong></p>
<p>Common humanity involves recognising our own experience of suffering as something that unites us as being human. </p>
<p>For instance, a sleep-deprived parent waking up (for the fourth time) to feed their newborn might choose to think about all the other parents around the world doing exactly the same thing – as opposed to feeling isolated and alone.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/i-was-an-expert-advisor-on-the-documentary-how-to-thrive-heres-what-happened-after-this-wellbeing-experiment-191500">I was an expert advisor on the documentary 'How to Thrive'. Here's what happened after this wellbeing experiment</a>
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</em>
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<hr>
<h2>It’s not about day spas, or booking a manicure</h2>
<p>When Sarah voiced her fear that self-compassion would prevent her success, I explained self-compassion is distinct from self-indulgence.</p>
<p>“So is self-compassion just about booking in more mani/pedis?” Sarah asked. </p>
<p>Not really, I explained. A one-off trip to a day spa is unlikely to transform your mental health.</p>
<p>Instead, self-compassion is a flexible <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-22348-8_7">psychological resilience factor</a> that shapes our thoughts, feelings and actions. </p>
<p>It’s associated with a suite of benefits to our <a href="https://iaap-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/aphw.12051">wellbeing</a>, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15298868.2011.639548">relationships</a> and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17437199.2019.1705872">health</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575551/original/file-20240214-20-zag2w0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Massage therapist massaging woman's back" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575551/original/file-20240214-20-zag2w0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575551/original/file-20240214-20-zag2w0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575551/original/file-20240214-20-zag2w0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575551/original/file-20240214-20-zag2w0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575551/original/file-20240214-20-zag2w0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575551/original/file-20240214-20-zag2w0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575551/original/file-20240214-20-zag2w0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A one-off trip to a day spa is unlikely to transform your mental health.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/close-masseurs-hands-massaging-clients-back-181966475">baranq/Shutterstock</a></span>
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</figure>
<h2>What does the science say?</h2>
<p>Over the past 20 years, we’ve learned self-compassionate people enjoy a wide range of benefits. They tend to be <a href="https://iaap-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/aphw.12051">happier</a> and have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2012.06.003">fewer psychological symptoms</a> of distress.</p>
<p>Those high on self-compassion <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0146167212445599">persevere</a> following a failure. They say they are more motivated to overcome a personal weakness than those low on self-compassion, who are more likely to give up. </p>
<p>So rather than feeling trapped by your inadequacies, self-compassion encourages a <a href="https://hbr.org/2018/09/give-yourself-a-break-the-power-of-self-compassion">growth mindset</a>, helping you reach your potential.</p>
<p>However, self-compassion is not a panacea. It will not change your life circumstances or somehow make life “easy”. It is based on the premise that life is hard, and provides practical tools to cope.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/wellness-is-not-womens-friend-its-a-distraction-from-what-really-ails-us-177446">Wellness is not women's friend. It’s a distraction from what really ails us</a>
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</p>
<hr>
<h2>It’s a factor in healthy ageing</h2>
<p>I research menopause and healthy ageing and am especially interested in the value of self-compassion through menopause and in the second half of life. </p>
<p>Because self-compassion becomes important during life’s challenges, it can help people navigate physical symptoms (for instance, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378512214001649?via%3Dihub">menopausal hot flushes</a>), life transitions such as <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0956797611429466">divorce</a>, and <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-22348-8_7">promote healthy ageing</a>.</p>
<p>I’ve also teamed up with researchers at <a href="https://www.autismspectrum.org.au/">Autism Spectrum Australia</a> to explore self-compassion in autistic adults. </p>
<p>We found autistic adults report significantly <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10803-022-05668-y">lower levels</a> of self-compassion than neurotypical adults. So we developed an online <a href="https://www.autismspectrum.org.au/blog/new-online-self-compassion-program-for-autistic-adults">self-compassion training program</a> for this at-risk population.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/tiktok-is-teaching-the-world-about-autism-but-is-it-empowering-autistic-people-or-pigeonholing-them-192093">TikTok is teaching the world about autism – but is it empowering autistic people or pigeonholing them?</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Three tips for self-compassion</h2>
<p>You <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jclp.21923">can learn</a> self-compassion with these three exercises.</p>
<p><strong>1. What would you say to a friend?</strong></p>
<p>Think back to the last time you made a mistake. What did you say to yourself?</p>
<p>If you notice you’re treating yourself more like an enemy than a friend, don’t beat yourself up about it. Instead, try to think about what you might tell a friend, and direct that same friendly language towards yourself.</p>
<p><strong>2. Harness the power of touch</strong></p>
<p>Soothing human touch <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.555058/full">activates</a> the parasympathetic “relaxation” branch of our nervous system and counteracts the fight or flight response. </p>
<p>Specifically, self-soothing touch (for instance, by placing both hands on your heart, stroking your forearm or giving yourself a hug) <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666497621000655">reduces</a> cortisol responses to psychosocial stress.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575557/original/file-20240214-28-qoatq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Middle-aged man hugging himself" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575557/original/file-20240214-28-qoatq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575557/original/file-20240214-28-qoatq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575557/original/file-20240214-28-qoatq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575557/original/file-20240214-28-qoatq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575557/original/file-20240214-28-qoatq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575557/original/file-20240214-28-qoatq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575557/original/file-20240214-28-qoatq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Yes, hugging yourself can help.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/middle-age-hoary-man-wearing-brown-1667780113">Krakenimages.com/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p><strong>3. What do I need right now?</strong></p>
<p>Sometimes, it can be hard to figure out exactly what self-compassion looks like in a given moment. The question “what do I need right now” helps clarify your true needs.</p>
<p>For example, when I was 37 weeks pregnant, I woke up bolt awake one morning at 3am.</p>
<p>Rather than beating myself up about it, or fretting about not getting enough sleep, I gently placed my hands on my heart and took a few deep breaths. By asking myself “what do I need right now?” it became clear that listening to a gentle podcast/meditation fitted the bill (even though I wanted to addictively scroll my phone).</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223194/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lydia Brown occasionally works as a clinical psychologist in private practice.</span></em></p>A one-off trip to a day spa is unlikely to transform your mental health. But these expert tips might help you cut yourself some slack.Lydia Brown, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2074262024-02-26T19:00:43Z2024-02-26T19:00:43ZThe Secret promises we can ‘manifest’ what we want. But if that’s true, why aren’t we all rich and famous?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576648/original/file-20240220-26-k72tyz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C8%2C5991%2C3979&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mikhail Nilov/Pexel</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Our cultural touchstones series looks at influential books.</em></p>
<p>Imagine you really wanted something and all you had to do was ask the universe and you would get it. That’d be awesome, right?! </p>
<p>I present this to my students in my first-year Research Methods in Psychology course, in the first session of the semester. Then I ask them what they think. </p>
<p>The first respondent is usually bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. They say something like: “Absolutely! You can achieve anything you want if you put your mind to it!” Emboldened, a handful of others express similar sentiments. Naturally, there are also sceptical students, but at this point it doesn’t suit my agenda to give them much oxygen. </p>
<p>Next, I tell the students I presume they’d all love to achieve High Distinctions in my course. I tell them it is, in fact, possible, and I’m going to share how it can be done. At this point, even the most sceptical students are intrigued. </p>
<p>I tell them all they need to know is … The Secret. </p>
<h2>A self-help megaseller</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52529.The_Secret">The Secret</a> is a 2006 feature-length film and then book created by Australian Rhonda Byrne, who was a television executive when she came up with it. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576699/original/file-20240220-20-t5u99s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576699/original/file-20240220-20-t5u99s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576699/original/file-20240220-20-t5u99s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=773&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576699/original/file-20240220-20-t5u99s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=773&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576699/original/file-20240220-20-t5u99s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=773&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576699/original/file-20240220-20-t5u99s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=972&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576699/original/file-20240220-20-t5u99s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=972&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576699/original/file-20240220-20-t5u99s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=972&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<p>The book has sold more than 35 million copies and been translated into more than 50 languages. Byrne has gone on to produce several related books, including The Greatest Secret, and associated merchandise, like a card deck. </p>
<p>It was even adapted as a romantic drama film, <a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-secret-dare-to-dream-movie-review-2020">The Secret: Dare to Dream</a>, starring Katie Holmes and released in 2020. (<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/jul/30/the-secret-dare-to-dream-review-hokey-wish-fulfillment-soap">The Guardian described it</a> as “inoffensively middling […] with nothing of note other than a few laughably dumb moments”.)</p>
<p>Others have also got in on the act. For example, there’s a DVD titled <a href="https://www.amazon.com.au/Secret-Behind-Abraham/dp/B000O76WTW">The Secret Behind The Secret</a>, in which a self-help guru purports to channel a spiritual being called Benjamin. </p>
<p>The Secret’s fundamental claim is that a law of attraction operates within the universe: we become or attract what we think about most. In effect, positive things happen to positive people and negative things happen to negative people. Importantly, we are not passive recipients of our outcomes. Rather, we manifest our outcomes by actively thinking about them. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The Secret: Dare to Dream, the 2020 adaptation starring Katie Holmes, was described as ‘inoffensively middling’.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Oprah Winfrey, who <a href="https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1944527_1944528_1944309,00.html">lavishly embraced The Secret</a>, devoting two episodes of her talk show to it in 2006, said it embodied the message she’d been trying to share for 21 years: “you are responsible for your life”.</p>
<p>As others have pointed out, these ideas are not a secret and they’re not new. </p>
<p>The Secret is effectively a repackaging of the “power of positive thinking” <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-rise-of-pop-psychology-can-it-make-your-life-better-or-is-it-all-snake-oil-158709">pop psychology</a> from recent decades – and, centuries earlier, the quackery of the metaphysical movement. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-avoid-toxic-positivity-and-take-the-less-direct-route-to-happiness-170260">How to avoid 'toxic positivity' and take the less direct route to happiness</a>
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<h2>Victim blaming</h2>
<p>Much <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F0033-2909.131.6.803">empirical psychological research</a> suggests thinking and feeling positively is likely to be associated with more positive outcomes. </p>
<p>But there’s a stark gap between the blithe blanket statements of The Secret and the <a href="https://people.clas.ufl.edu/shepperd/files/moderators.pdf">empirical studies</a> that have tested the qualifications and nuances of the effects of positive expectations. </p>
<p>It’s in that gap where The Secret becomes an easy target.</p>
<p>For instance, The Secret is good news for anyone fortunate enough to be blessed with an eternally sunny disposition, but less so for anyone struggling with chronic depression. The Secret suggests depression and its consequences are the fault of the victim. If only they could think more positively! </p>
<p>Taken on face value, the principles espoused in The Secret should mean the end of poverty and war. Perhaps we’re not wishing hard enough? </p>
<p>Elsewhere, The Secret has <a href="https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/is-the-secret-law-of-attraction-considered-quantum-physics-do-you-support-it.397994/">offended physicists</a> with its misappropriation of quantum physics principles to explain the “law of attraction” (in itself a pseudoscientific idea). </p>
<p>And yet … people love this stuff. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-causes-depression-what-we-know-dont-know-and-suspect-81483">What causes depression? What we know, don’t know and suspect</a>
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<h2>An alluring fiction</h2>
<p>On Amazon, more than 40,000 customers have taken the time to review the book. The average rating is 4.6/5. Perhaps this should not be surprising. </p>
<p>The Secret (superficially) taps into a spiritual realm and research demonstrates that spirituality <a href="https://downloads.hindawi.com/archive/2012/278730.pdf">nurtures and comforts many</a>. The Secret speaks to a search for meaning and we know feeling a sense of purpose in life <a href="https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.141">provides a measure of happiness</a>. The Secret proposes the individual has the power to control their own destiny – and research demonstrates the role a <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-007-4276-5_19">sense of personal control</a> has in people’s lives. </p>
<p>And The Secret encourages <a href="https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1348/026151004772901140">magical thinking</a>, which some people may be prone to more than they realise. The Secret promises the alluring fiction that – just for once – things in life might be easy. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The Chaser’s War on Everything questioned The Secret’s ability to deliver almost 15 years ago.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Back in the classroom, in <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-america-enduring-a-slow-civil-war-jeff-sharlet-visits-trump-rallies-a-celebrity-megachurch-and-the-manosphere-to-find-out-203948">this Trumpian age</a> where truth is in the eye of the beholder, The Secret reminds us the principles of the scientific method are still important when it comes to critically consuming information. </p>
<p>There are several ways of <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267098119_Conducting_Research_in_Psychology_Measuring_the_Weight_of_Smoke">knowing about the world</a>. We can defer to authority. We can rely on our intuition. We can employ logic. And we can make observations based on our experiences.</p>
<h2>Pseudo ‘experts’</h2>
<p>To some extent, Rhonda Byrne and her devotees leverage these knowledge sources to help give credence to The Secret. For example, it has been endorsed by high-profile influencers (like Winfrey) and prominent US personal development gurus (like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MulLAfffQoQ">Bob Proctor</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_mJiImlcXQ">John Assaraf</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEgaSB7udDg">Jack Canfield</a>). Byrne claims eminent historical figures – including Plato, Shakespeare and Einstein – knew the secret and employed its principles. </p>
<p>All these people are experts, or at least present themselves as experts. So they must know what they’re talking about. As they’re authority figures, we intuit they can be trusted. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, it’s the equivalent of toothpaste advertisers dressing an actor in a white coat to imply they’re a scientist, who recommends a particular brand of toothpaste. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Oprah Winfrey embraced The Secret, helping to make it a bestseller.</span></figcaption>
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<p>To persuade you, The Secret takes you down the peripheral route, the one where you don’t put much effort into your research – “Einstein used it! There must be something to it!” – rather than the central route, where you think critically about claims. “Just because she says Einstein used it doesn’t make it valid. And how does she know he used it?”</p>
<p>The Secret appeals to intuition, by appropriating spiritual and scientific language. To the extent an individual believes in a spiritual dimension to this world, or that they can control their own destiny, The Secret speaks loudly. </p>
<p>On the other hand, anyone who thinks critically about its claims presumably finds themselves arriving at the maxim that if it sounds too good to be true, it is. </p>
<h2>Positive thinking plus effort</h2>
<p>Back in the lecture theatre, my students unpack the claims of The Secret. Quite reasonably, they suggest a whole bunch of important ingredients are needed in addition to “positive thinking”, if someone really is going to manifest their deepest desires. Things like hard work, perseverance, motivation, skill and ability.</p>
<p>The Secret is less able to appeal to logic, though it attempts to by referring to the pseudoscientific “law of attraction”. Again, the secret of The Secret’s success lies in the suggestibility of association. Referring to a “law” implies there is a scientific basis to the principles – and we all know science is logical, right? </p>
<p>A key component of the scientific method is that theories must be testable. Testing theories requires making observations – that is, collecting data. </p>
<p>If personal experience is one form of empirical evidence, then The Secret performs very impressively. There are thousands of testimonials on the internet from people around the world attesting to its ability to deliver results. </p>
<p>But dig a little deeper, and it’s clear this anecdotal evidence (“it happened to me, therefore it’s a thing”) almost always reflects the problem of the illusory correlation. Two events occur in close proximity to the other and rather than putting it down to coincidence, for example, people presume the first event caused the second. </p>
<p>This is even more likely to occur when an individual is <a href="https://www.donchristoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/nickerson1998.pdf">looking to confirm</a> – rather than test – their beliefs. </p>
<p>So, individuals wanting to see evidence The Secret works will find it. They ask the universe for a pay increase and two weeks later they get it. The possibility the pay increase was always on its way, due to their previous hard work and diligence, does not seem to be relevant. </p>
<p>Before my students leave, I wish them all the best for the course and their other university studies. I tell them I hope they all achieve the outcomes they desire. </p>
<p>And I remind them some of the principles embraced by The Secret do have some merit and are supported by empirical psychological research. Particularly, the idea that having a positive attitude tends to produce positive outcomes – though not always, and not because some magical connection with the universe made it so.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207426/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Strelan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A psychology professor debunks Rhonda Byrne’s world-bestselling book and film – and her theory of personal success through a magical connection with the universe.Peter Strelan, Professor, School of Psychology, University of AdelaideLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2223922024-02-26T00:35:18Z2024-02-26T00:35:18ZFrom viral social media ‘pranks’ to hooning, what makes teens behave so badly?<p>Two teens were arrested in Melbourne last month after horrific <a href="https://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/south-east/calls-for-teens-to-be-locked-up-after-pushing-man-79-off-pier/news-story/1d837321ac8e6a99959251825ac7410f">video footage</a> of them pushing an unsuspecting elderly fisherman off a pier went viral.</p>
<p>The “prank” appeared to have been undertaken and filmed for the purpose of social media content. The man had to be rescued by good samaritans and the teens have been charged. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="TiktokEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.tiktok.com/@9newsmelbourne/video/7324857167754923265"}"></div></p>
<p>Soon after this, a schoolboy made headlines after being filmed on a footbridge pouring a whole <a href="https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/milk-prankster-escapes-serious-action-from-police/news-story/533d6a87c84f968455cb20cdd901f7d3">bottle of milk</a> on women enjoying a boat ride on Melbourne’s Yarra River.</p>
<p>It is easy to explain this behaviour away as poor parenting, problem children or with the old rationale that “kids will be kids”. But we can better explain human behaviour by considering biological, psychological and social influences. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-do-young-children-sometimes-steal-and-what-should-parents-do-about-it-200906">Why do young children sometimes steal? And what should parents do about it?</a>
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<h2>Invisible risks, invisible consequences</h2>
<p>Perhaps the most important factor to consider is the development of a young person’s brain. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK499919/#:%7E:text=One%20of%20the%20last%20places,and%20then%20react%20to%20them">The evidence</a> is clear that a person’s brain does not fully mature until they are well into their 20s. </p>
<p>The prefrontal cortex of the brain is the last part to develop fully. The function of the prefrontal cortex is higher-order tasks such as decision-making and emotional regulation. Importantly, this is the part of the brain that considers information that is not immediately obvious.</p>
<p>So when a child rides their bike on a footpath, the adult behind them might tell them to slow down just in case a car reverses from a driveway. But the child doesn’t foresee this risk because there is no car to be seen. The <em>potential</em> risk is clear to the adult but, as it isn’t immediately identifiable, it is <em>invisible</em> to the child. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575239/original/file-20240213-16-q8f5ol.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575239/original/file-20240213-16-q8f5ol.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575239/original/file-20240213-16-q8f5ol.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575239/original/file-20240213-16-q8f5ol.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575239/original/file-20240213-16-q8f5ol.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575239/original/file-20240213-16-q8f5ol.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=598&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575239/original/file-20240213-16-q8f5ol.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=598&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575239/original/file-20240213-16-q8f5ol.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=598&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">If risks aren’t immediate to children, parents’ warnings about them can fall flat.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/happiness-mother-son-on-bicycles-funning-288735896">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Humans have a self-preservation instinct: when we understand the risk of death, we avoid it. When a usually sensible young man drives his car too fast, he is not consciously taking a risk. He is simply enjoying the rush of going fast. The risk is not tangible or visible, and therefore not present in his decision-making. </p>
<p>For the teenaged boys in the viral videos, they’re in the same prank-like mindset of an annoying older brother. It is not that they are <em>choosing</em> to ignore potential consequences, it’s just that not all the consequences are visible to them. They might be driven by the immediate attention of laughs or internet notoriety, but harm to others, police charges and potential school expulsion are probably not in their thought process.</p>
<h2>Personalities formed through nature and nurture</h2>
<p>Some people have a larger appetite for risk. One child will dive head-first into an ocean and another won’t get their feet wet. </p>
<p>This is likely due to a combination of environmental and biological factors: some people are more comfortable with the feeling of fear, whereas some may have had parents who were overprotective, or perhaps an early life experience of trouble near water that has left a legacy. </p>
<p>These factors all contribute to a person’s psychology. A person who is risk-averse is more likely to be “scared” of pranks or unsafe behaviour. This is not necessarily because they are cognitively more able to think through the potential outcomes, but because they are acting on their fear of new or unknown environments. A new situation elicits fear and, in turn, cautionary behaviour. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576086/original/file-20240215-16-6wvf33.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A young boy hugs the leg of his dad" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576086/original/file-20240215-16-6wvf33.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576086/original/file-20240215-16-6wvf33.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576086/original/file-20240215-16-6wvf33.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576086/original/file-20240215-16-6wvf33.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576086/original/file-20240215-16-6wvf33.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576086/original/file-20240215-16-6wvf33.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576086/original/file-20240215-16-6wvf33.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Some children have a higher capacity for fear than others.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sad-son-hugging-his-dad-near-307192661">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>A young person who is less fearful will be less reluctant in new environments. So it’s not a coincidence that the “good” child who appears not to make “reckless” decisions is often the same child who struggles more with adapting to life changes, such as starting school. Similarly, the “naughty” toddler or the “class clown” might be the most adaptable and open to new environments. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/its-real-to-them-so-adults-should-listen-what-children-want-you-to-know-to-help-them-feel-safe-113834">'It's real to them, so adults should listen': what children want you to know to help them feel safe</a>
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<h2>The urge to fit in</h2>
<p>Finally, our behaviour is influenced by those around us. When we are in a group we behave differently from when we are alone. We are all driven by a desire to fit in, to be liked, and sometimes we might do things we would not normally to be included. </p>
<p>For young people today, this is amplified through social media. Their audience is not only those right near them, but those who are in their wider digital circle. There is an instant reinforcement of a behaviour when there is a large, online audience.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577220/original/file-20240222-22-vthtyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A group of teenagers sit outside and use their smartphones" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577220/original/file-20240222-22-vthtyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577220/original/file-20240222-22-vthtyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=367&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577220/original/file-20240222-22-vthtyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=367&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577220/original/file-20240222-22-vthtyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=367&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577220/original/file-20240222-22-vthtyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577220/original/file-20240222-22-vthtyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577220/original/file-20240222-22-vthtyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Young people are often driven by a desire to fit in, especially on social media.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/teens-using-phones-outdoors-concept-youth-2154896429">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Frequently, we see prankster behaviour when young people are on school holidays. They are bored and looking for entertainment. </p>
<p>There are few spaces that are welcoming for groups of teenagers to simply “hang out”, and there are many that are actively hostile to groups of youths. <a href="https://youthlaw.asn.au/learn-about-the-law/orders-to-move-on-and-stay-away/#:%7E:text=or%20stay%20away%3F-,A%20police%20officer%20or%20a%20PSO%20can%20order%20you%20to,likely%20to%20breach%20the%20peace">Move-on laws</a> for example, were designed with the intention of being able to prohibit young people from gathering. </p>
<p>Finally, a crucial factor is the construction of gender, where boys’ larrikinism can be seen as hyper-masculine and cool, making these types of behaviours more likely to be socially endorsed. </p>
<h2>What can be done?</h2>
<p>Unfortunately, not a lot. You cannot expedite the development of a brain and you can’t do much about someone’s psychology. School programs might be understood by some young people but not by others, and are expensive to deliver. Nationwide organisations like <a href="https://www.lifeedvic.org.au/schools/pricing">Life Education</a>, which offers a program of health education to primary school students, and <a href="https://www.elephanted.com.au/">Elephant Ed</a>, which is increasingly used by schools to deliver sex education, are provided at cost to the school.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/teenage-brain-matures-with-onset-of-puberty-6210">Teenage brain matures with onset of puberty</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>However, social influences can be changed, albeit slowly. </p>
<p>If we can provide young people with social places to be where they are engaged, they will then be less bored. The <a href="https://www.youthaodtoolbox.org.au/adolescent-community-reinforcement-approach">Adolescent Community Reinforcement Approach</a> (an intervention developed to reduce “antisocial” behaviours by connecting people to their communities) is based on the premise that behaviour change shouldn’t be focused on stopping a problem behaviour. </p>
<p>Instead, it should provide young people with opportunity for positive “prosocial activity”. So for example, offering more access to free basketball courts for young people interested in basketball gives them a positive way to spend their time. </p>
<p>When we continue to see young people as wild criminals who have no respect, we create a greater divide between young people and ourselves.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222392/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kathryn Daley has received funding from FARE Australia and Melbourne City Mission. She is a member of the Women's Correctional Services Advisory Committee. She was formerly a youth worker at the Youth Support and Advocacy Service (YSAS).</span></em></p>In the wake of a series of viral ‘pranks’, many are wondering why teens do such bad things. It’s not as simple as you think.Kathryn Daley, Senior Lecturer, Youth Work & Youth Studies, Social Equity Research Centre, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2236452024-02-22T02:44:21Z2024-02-22T02:44:21ZOutrage culture is a big, toxic problem. Why do we take part? And how can we stop?<p>“Outrage culture” is pervasive in the digital age. It refers to our collective tendency to react, often with intense negativity, to developments around us.</p>
<p>Usually this ire is directed at perceived transgressions. The internet wasted <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/culture/celebrity/the-taylor-swift-backlash-is-here-was-it-inevitable-20240208-p5f3dn.html">no time</a> in <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@uzumakihottie/video/7332848140459986218">raging at</a> Taylor Swift when she received Album of The Year at the Grammys, seemingly frustrated by her lack of acknowledgement of Celine Dion, who presented the award.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1754363124465946669"}"></div></p>
<p>Whether or not Swift’s behaviour could be considered rude isn’t the point. The point is the backlash arguably wasn’t <a href="https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=2024-02-05%202024-02-07&q=taylor%20celine,gaza%20war&hl=en">proportionate</a> to the crime. This so-called “snub” incident is, therefore, a good example of how quickly and easily people will jump on the online hate train.</p>
<p>Modern outrage culture, which is also known as <a href="https://briarpatchmagazine.com/articles/view/a-note-on-call-out-culture">call-out culture</a> and is linked to <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/12/30/20879720/what-is-cancel-culture-explained-history-debate">cancel culture</a>, often devolves into a toxic spiral. People wanting clout compete to produce the meanest and most over-the-top commentary, <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-cancel-culture-silencing-open-debate-there-are-risks-to-shutting-down-opinions-we-disagree-with-142377">stifling open dialogue</a> and demonising those who make mistakes.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-news-sites-online-comments-helped-build-our-hateful-electorate-70170">How news sites' online comments helped build our hateful electorate</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>A tale as old as time</h2>
<p>Collective outrage isn’t a new phenomenon – nor is it necessarily bad. Humans <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2012-24858-004.html">have adapted</a> to become highly sensitive to the threat of social exclusion. Being called out hurts our feelings, which <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00040/full">motivates us to change</a>. We learn how this feels for us and we learn how to use it to influence others.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://philpapers.org/rec/NIRTIA-2">pre-digital societies</a>, expressing outrage to shame someone as a group served crucial social functions. It reinforced group norms, deterred potential rule-breakers, and fostered a sense of order and accountability within communities.</p>
<p>Expressing outrage can also challenge norms in a way that leads to positive societal change. The <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-human-being-not-just-mum-the-womens-liberationists-who-fought-for-the-rights-of-mothers-and-children-182057">women’s liberation movement</a> in the latter part <a href="https://theconversation.com/i-am-woman-review-helen-reddy-biopic-captures-the-power-and-excitement-of-womens-liberation-143344">of the 19th century</a> is a good example of this.</p>
<p>The technological innovations of the internet, smartphones and social media have now enabled communal outrage on a global scale. Multiple societies can be affected at once, as witnessed with the <a href="https://theconversation.com/women-take-a-hit-for-reporting-sexual-harassment-but-metoo-may-be-changing-that-116794">#MeToo movement</a>.</p>
<h2>When outrage spirals</h2>
<p>We’ve all seen it play out. Someone says or does something “controversial”, some posts draw attention to it and soon enough a whirlwind of comments appears, echoing over and over the person in question is fundamentally <em>bad</em>. </p>
<p>The Johnny Depp and Amber Heard <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-johnny-depp-amber-heard-defamation-trial-shows-the-dangers-of-fan-culture-182557">defamation trial</a> is an example where, regardless of how you feel about the case, it’s hard to deny the discourse <a href="https://www.theswaddle.com/anti-amber-heard-campaign-one-of-the-worst-instances-of-cyberbullying-report">turned toxic</a>.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1517690080080629760"}"></div></p>
<p>The collective moral outrage that drives such negativity spirals has parallels with people brandishing their pitchforks during the 1690s Salem <a href="https://socialpsyq.com/2014/10/31/the-salem-witch-trials-groupthink-at-its-worst/">witch trials</a>. Sharing <a href="https://theconversation.com/group-think-what-it-is-and-how-to-avoid-it-161697">similar beliefs</a> helps us feel like we’re part of the group. </p>
<p>Beyond that, the conviction we witness in others’ comments and behaviour on an issue can stir up our own emotions, in what’s called “<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4066473/">emotional contagion</a>”. With our own emotions heightened and our convictions strengthened, we may feel <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.1618923114">compelled to join</a> the choir of negative discourse. </p>
<p>The overall tone and style of language used by others can also influence how <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2056305116664220">we act and feel</a>. <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2014-24373-001">Social modelling</a> dictates that if many others are piling on with negative comments, it can make it seem okay for us to do so, too. </p>
<p>And the more exposed we are to one-sided discourse, the more likely we are to resist alternative viewpoints. This is called “<a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/basics/groupthink">groupthink</a>”. </p>
<p><a href="https://sproutsocial.com/insights/social-media-algorithms/">Social media algorithms</a> are also generally <a href="https://theconversation.com/wrong-elon-musk-the-big-problem-with-free-speech-on-platforms-isnt-censorship-its-the-algorithms-182433">set up to feed</a> us more of what we’ve previously clicked on, which further contributes to the one-sidedness of our online experience. </p>
<p>Scholars have <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2024292118">suggested</a> algorithms can prioritise certain posts in a way that shapes the overall <a href="https://insight.kellogg.northwestern.edu/article/social-media-algorithms-have-hijacked-social-learning">nature of commentary</a>, essentially fuelling the flames of negativity.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/feed-me-4-ways-to-take-control-of-social-media-algorithms-and-get-the-content-you-actually-want-204374">Feed me: 4 ways to take control of social media algorithms and get the content you actually want</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Two sides of speaking up</h2>
<p>Unlike Salem in the late 1690s, today’s outrage culture is multiplied in intensity and scale due to changing cultural norms around “speaking up”. Combined with the anonymity and global reach afforded by the internet, the culture of speaking up has likely fuelled the kind of vocalisation we see online. </p>
<p>For example, in the past two decades there has been growing societal recognition that it’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/bullying-why-most-people-do-nothing-when-they-witness-it-and-how-to-take-action-181746">good to speak up</a> against bullying. This can be associated with <a href="https://kidshelpline.com.au/teens/issues/bullying">more education on bullying</a> in schools. There’s also a growing trend of encouraging <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-employees-hesitate-to-speak-up-at-work-and-how-to-encourage-them-154357">a speak-up culture</a> in workplaces. So it’s not surprising many people now <a href="https://consciousyouth.co.uk/over-70-of-young-people-feel-more-confident-than-ever-sharing-their-views-online/">report feeling confident</a> in voicing their opinions online. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576946/original/file-20240221-18-tkzr3l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576946/original/file-20240221-18-tkzr3l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576946/original/file-20240221-18-tkzr3l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576946/original/file-20240221-18-tkzr3l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576946/original/file-20240221-18-tkzr3l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576946/original/file-20240221-18-tkzr3l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576946/original/file-20240221-18-tkzr3l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576946/original/file-20240221-18-tkzr3l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Encouraging speaking up is important in many contexts, but more vocal people online means more opportunity for conflict.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It’s also easier to express negative opinions online since we can <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1359178923000435">remain anonymous</a>. We don’t directly witness the emotional pain inflicted upon our target. Nor do we have to worry about the potential threat to our personal safety that would be associated with saying the same horrible thing to a person’s face. As summed up <a href="https://theconversation.com/should-taylor-swift-be-taught-alongside-shakespeare-a-professor-of-literature-says-yes-223312">by Taylor Swift</a> herself in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dkk9gvTmCXY">You Need to Calm Down</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Say it in the street, that’s a knock-out. But you say it in a tweet, that’s a cop-out.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/43R5OQQTMas?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<h2>How can we combat negativity?</h2>
<p>Navigating the pitfalls of outrage culture requires us to adopt a more reflective approach before participating in public condemnation. Consider also that outrage culture runs counter to the moral ideals most of us admire, such as:</p>
<ul>
<li>everyone makes mistakes </li>
<li>people are worth more than their worst actions</li>
<li>people are capable of growth and change, and deserve second chances</li>
<li>it’s okay to have different opinions to others </li>
<li>the punishment should fit the crime.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/23294884231200244">Research suggests</a> positive comments can be a productive counter-influence on negativity spirals. So it’s worth speaking up if you do witness matters getting out of hand online. Before clicking the send button, consider asking yourself: </p>
<ul>
<li>do I really believe what I’m about to say or am I going along with the group?</li>
<li>how might this comment affect the person receiving it, and am I okay with that?</li>
<li>would I communicate like this if it was a face-to-face situation? </li>
</ul>
<p>By encouraging reflection, <a href="https://theconversation.com/compassionate-courage-moves-beyond-cancel-culture-to-challenge-systemic-racism-but-its-hard-work-158264">empathy</a> and open dialogue, we can avoid toxic outrage culture – and instead use our collective outrage as a <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-backlash-against-black-lives-matter-is-just-more-evidence-of-injustice-85587">force for positive change</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-cannot-deny-the-violence-of-white-supremacy-any-more-86139">We cannot deny the violence of White supremacy any more</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223645/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Shane Rogers does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Have you ever joined an online hate spiral for the sake of it, and not because you actually cared all that much?Shane Rogers, Lecturer in Psychology, Edith Cowan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2224732024-02-21T13:22:53Z2024-02-21T13:22:53ZAre our fears of saying ‘no’ overblown?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576255/original/file-20240216-28-feso3m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=50%2C8%2C5540%2C3724&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">We can be unduly hard on ourselves as we grapple with the implications of declining an invitation.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/man-using-cell-phone-behind-translucent-glass-royalty-free-image/1015918742?phrase=typing%2Bno%2Bthank%2Byou%2Binto%2Bphone">Yifei Fang/Moment via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Everyone has been there. You get invited to something that you absolutely do not want to attend – a holiday party, a family cookout, an expensive trip. But doubts and anxieties creep into your head as you weigh whether to decline.</p>
<p>You might wonder if you’ll upset the person who invited you. Maybe it’ll harm the friendship, or they won’t extend an invite to the next get-together.</p>
<p>Should you just grit your teeth and go? Or are you worrying more than you should about saying “no”? </p>
<h2>An imaginary faux pas</h2>
<p>We explored these questions <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000443">in a recently published study</a>.</p>
<p>In a pilot study that we ran ahead of the main studies, we found that 77% of our 51 respondents had accepted an invitation to an event that they didn’t want to attend, fearing blowback if they were to decline. They worried that saying no might upset, anger or sadden the person who invited them. They also worried that they wouldn’t be invited to events down the road and that their own invitations would be rebuffed.</p>
<p>We then ran a series of studies in which we asked some people to imagine declining an invitation, and then report their assumptions about how the person extending the invite would feel. We asked other participants to imagine that someone had declined invitations they had extended themselves. Then we asked them how they felt about the rejection. </p>
<p>We ended up finding quite the mismatch. People tend to assume others will react poorly when an invitation isn’t accepted. But they’re relatively unaffected when someone turns down an invite they’ve extended.</p>
<p>In fact, people extending invites were much more understanding – and less upset, angry or sad – than invitees anticipated. They also said they would be rather unlikely to let a single declined invitation keep them from offering or accepting invitations in the future.</p>
<p>We found that the asymmetry between people extending and receiving invites occurred regardless of whether it involved two friends, a new couple or two people who had been in a relationship for a long time.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="One speech bubble with a question mark in it, and another with an ellipses, indicating contemplation or a brief moment of speechlessness." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576254/original/file-20240216-16-93bp3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576254/original/file-20240216-16-93bp3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576254/original/file-20240216-16-93bp3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576254/original/file-20240216-16-93bp3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576254/original/file-20240216-16-93bp3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576254/original/file-20240216-16-93bp3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576254/original/file-20240216-16-93bp3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">People are pretty understanding when their invitations are rebuffed.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/question-bubble-and-chatting-bubble-royalty-free-image/1448380909?phrase=saying+No&adppopup=true">Carol Yepes/Moment via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Why does this happen? </p>
<p>Our findings suggest that when someone declines an invitation, they think the person who invited them will focus on the cold, hard rejection. But in reality, the person extending the invite is more likely to focus on the thoughts and deliberations that ran through the head of the person who declined. They’ll tend to assume that the invitee gave due consideration to the prospect of accepting, and this generally leaves them less bothered than might be expected.</p>
<p>Interestingly, while our research examined invitations to fun events – dinners out to restaurants with a visiting celebrity chef and trips to quirky museum exhibits – <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/xap0000457">other studies</a> have found that the same pattern emerges when someone is asked to do a favor and they decline. </p>
<p>Even with these less enjoyable requests, people overestimate the negative implications of saying no.</p>
<h2>Lay the groundwork for future invites</h2>
<p>There are a few things you can do to make things easier on yourself as you grapple with whether to decline an invitation.</p>
<p>First, imagine that you were the one extending the invitation. Our research shows that people are less likely to overestimate the negative implications of declining an invitation after they envision how they would feel if someone turned down their invite.</p>
<p>Second, if money is a reason you’re considering passing on a dinner or a trip, share that with the person who invited you – as long as you feel comfortable doing so, of course. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/jcpy.1226">Other research</a> has found that people are especially understanding when people cite finances as their reason for declining.</p>
<p>Third, consider the “no but” strategy <a href="https://www.self.com/story/saying-no-to-invitations">that some therapists suggest</a>. Decline the invitation, but offer to do something else with the person who invited you.</p>
<p>With this method, you’re making it clear to the person who invited you that you’re not rejecting them; rather, you’re declining the activity. A bonus with this strategy is that you have the opportunity to suggest doing something that you actually want to do. </p>
<p>Of course, there’s a caveat to all of this: If you decline every invitation sent your way, at some point they’ll probably stop coming.</p>
<p>But assuming you aren’t a habitual naysayer, don’t beat yourself up if you end up declining an invitation every now and then. Chances are that the person who invited you will be less bothered than you think.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222473/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Nearly 80% of people have accepted invitations to events they didn’t want to attend.Julian Givi, Assistant Professor of Marketing, West Virginia UniversityColleen P. Kirk, Assistant Professor of Marketing, New York Institute of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2219602024-02-21T13:18:55Z2024-02-21T13:18:55ZI’ve been studying astronaut psychology since Apollo − a long voyage to Mars in a confined space could raise stress levels and make the journey more challenging<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573911/original/file-20240206-24-4temqb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C33%2C5551%2C3667&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Crew members in space will spend lots of time together during future missions to Mars. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/SpaceXCrewReturn/41b0e682eeec43f6aac091d3c00d4cb2/photo?Query=astronauts%20in%20orbit&mediaType=photo&sortBy=&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=656&digitizationType=Digitized&currentItemNo=28&vs=true&vs=true">NASA via AP</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Within the next few decades, NASA aims to land humans on the Moon, set up a lunar colony and use the lessons learned to send people to Mars as part of its <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis/">Artemis program</a>.</p>
<p>While researchers know that space travel can stress space crew members both physically and mentally and test their ability to work together in close quarters, missions to Mars will amplify these challenges. Mars is far away – <a href="https://www.space.com/16875-how-far-away-is-mars.html">millions of miles from Earth</a> – and a mission to the red planet will take two to two and a half years, between travel time and the Mars surface exploration itself.</p>
<p><a href="https://nickkanas.com/home/">As a psychiatrist</a> <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17571662/">who has studied</a> space <a href="https://doi.org/10.3357/ASEM.2430.2009">crew member interactions</a> in orbit, I’m interested in the stressors that will occur during a Mars mission and how to mitigate them for the benefit of future space travelers.</p>
<h2>Delayed communications</h2>
<p>Given the great distance to Mars, <a href="https://blogs.esa.int/mex/2012/08/05/time-delay-between-mars-and-earth/">two-way communication between crew members and Earth</a> will take about 25 minutes round trip. This delayed contact with home won’t just hurt crew member morale. It will likely mean space crews won’t get as much real-time help from Mission Control during onboard emergencies. </p>
<p>Because these communications travel at the speed of light and can’t go any faster, experts are coming up with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-16723-2">ways to improve communication efficiency</a> under time-delayed conditions. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-18869-0">These solutions might include</a> texting, periodically summarizing topics and encouraging participants to ask questions at the end of each message, which the responder can answer during the next message.</p>
<h2>Autonomous conditions</h2>
<p>Space crew members <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-16723-2">won’t be able to communicate</a> with Mission Control in real time to plan their schedules and activities, so they’ll need to conduct their work <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-18869-0">more autonomously</a> than astronauts working on orbit on the International Space Station.</p>
<p>Although studies during space simulations on Earth have suggested that crew members can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-16723-2">still accomplish mission goals</a> under highly autonomous conditions, researchers need to learn more about how these conditions affect crew member interactions and their relationship with Mission Control. </p>
<p>For example, Mission Control personnel usually advise crew members on how to deal with problems or emergencies in real time. That won’t be an option during a Mars mission.</p>
<p>To study this challenge back on Earth, scientists could run a series of simulations where crew members have varying degrees of contact with Mission Control. They could then see what happens to the interactions between crew members and their ability to get along and conduct their duties productively.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nM_fmLxzqhQ?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Simulations, like the Mars500 mission, could help researchers learn about the effects of isolation and autonomy astronauts will deal with during a Mars mission.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Crew member tension</h2>
<p>Being <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-16723-2">confined with a small group of people</a> for a long period of time can lead to <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-319-18869-0">tension and interpersonal strife</a>. </p>
<p>In my research team’s <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-16723-2">studies of on-orbit crews</a>, <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-319-18869-0">we found that</a> when experiencing interpersonal stress in space, crew members might <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17571662/">displace this tension</a> by blaming Mission Control for scheduling problems or not offering enough support. This can lead to crew-ground misunderstandings and hurt feelings.</p>
<p>One way to deal with interpersonal tension on board would be to schedule time each week for the crew members to discuss interpersonal conflicts during planned “bull sessions.” <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17571662/">We have found</a> that commanders who are supportive can improve crew cohesion. A supportive commander, or someone trained in anger management, could facilitate these sessions to help crew members understand their interpersonal conflicts before their feelings fester and harm the mission.</p>
<h2>Time away from home</h2>
<p>Spending <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-16723-2">long periods of time</a> away from home can <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-319-18869-0">weigh on crew members’ morale</a> in space. Astronauts miss their families and report being concerned about the well-being of their family members back on Earth, especially when someone is sick or in a crisis.</p>
<p>Mission duration can also affect astronauts. A Mars mission will have three phases: the outbound trip, the stay on the Martian surface and the return home. Each of these phases <a href="https://doi.org/10.3357/AMHP.5857.2021">may affect crew members differently</a>. For example, the excitement of being on Mars might boost morale, while boredom during the return may sink it.</p>
<h2>The disappearing-Earth phenomenon</h2>
<p>For astronauts in orbit, seeing the Earth from space <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actaastro.2018.08.004">serves as a reminder</a> that their home, family and friends aren’t too far away. But for crew members traveling to Mars, watching <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-16723-2">as the Earth shrinks</a> to an insignificant dot in the heavens could result in a <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-319-18869-0">profound sense of isolation and homesickness</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573914/original/file-20240206-22-v522cp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Earth, shown from space, against a dark background." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573914/original/file-20240206-22-v522cp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573914/original/file-20240206-22-v522cp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573914/original/file-20240206-22-v522cp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573914/original/file-20240206-22-v522cp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573914/original/file-20240206-22-v522cp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573914/original/file-20240206-22-v522cp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573914/original/file-20240206-22-v522cp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Seeing Earth disappear could make crew members feel isolated.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/Apollo8/59f63a61bbc043a5905411daa45d9dba/photo?Query=earth%20from%20space&mediaType=photo&sortBy=&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=457&digitizationType=Digitized&currentItemNo=4&vs=true&vs=true">AP Photo</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Having telescopes on board that will allow the crew members to see Earth as a beautiful ball in space, or giving them access to virtual reality images of trees, lakes and family members, could help mitigate any disappearing-Earth effects. But these countermeasures could just as easily lead to deeper depression as the crew members reflect on what they’re missing.</p>
<h2>Planning for a Mars mission</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1134/S1019331614020063">Researchers studied</a> some of these issues during the <a href="https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Mars500/Mars500_study_overview">Mars500 program</a>, a collaboration between the Russian and other space agencies. During Mars500, six men were isolated for 520 days in a space simulator in Moscow. They underwent periods of delayed communication and autonomy, and they simulated a landing on Mars. </p>
<p>Scientists learned a lot from that simulation. But many features of a real Mars mission, <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/learning-resources/for-kids-and-students/what-is-microgravity-grades-5-8/">such as microgravity</a>, and some dangers of space – meteoroid impacts, the disappearing-Earth phenomenon – aren’t easy to simulate. </p>
<p>Planned missions under the <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis/">Artemis program</a> will allow researchers to learn more about the pressures astronauts will face during the journey to Mars.</p>
<p>For example, NASA is planning a <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission/gateway/">space station called Gateway</a>, which will orbit the Moon and serve as a relay station for lunar landings and a mission to Mars. Researchers could simulate the outbound and return phases of a Mars mission by sending astronauts to Gateway for six-month periods, where they could introduce Mars-like delayed communication, autonomy and views of a receding Earth. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0vDkDYHvg8E?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">NASA’s planned Gateway space station will orbit the Moon.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Researchers could simulate a Mars exploration on the Moon by having astronauts conduct tasks similar to those anticipated for Mars. This way, crew members could better prepare for the psychological and interpersonal pressures that come with a real Mars mission. These simulations could improve the chances of a successful mission and contribute to astronaut well-being as they venture into space.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221960/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nick Kanas received research funding as a Principal Investigator from NASA and the National Space Biomedical Research Institute from 1995 to 2010.</span></em></p>Can astronauts spend prolonged time in close quarters millions of miles from Earth without killing each other?Nick Kanas, Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry, University of California, San FranciscoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2228312024-02-21T13:18:19Z2024-02-21T13:18:19ZMaking it personal: Considering an issue’s relevance to your own life could help reduce political polarization<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576054/original/file-20240215-28-zbjze5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C7%2C1720%2C1732&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Thinking about issues’ impact on their own lives can help people envision more common ground.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/polarization-in-the-united-states-royalty-free-image/1436162554?phrase=political+polarization&adppopup=true">wildpixel/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Political polarization can be reduced when people are told to think about the personal relevance of issues they might not care about at first glance.</p>
<p>We, <a href="https://www.hamilton.edu/academics/our-faculty/directory/faculty-detail/Rebecca-Dyer">a social psychologist</a> and <a href="https://www.hamilton.edu/academics/our-faculty/directory/faculty-detail/keelah-williams">an evolutionary psychologist</a>, decided to investigate this issue with two of our undergraduate students, and recently published <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0296177">our results</a> in the science journal PLOS One.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015141">Previous research</a> has found that conservatives tend to judge “disrespecting an elder” to be more morally objectionable behavior than liberals do. But when we had liberals think about how “disrespecting an elder” could be personally relevant to them – for example, someone being mean to their own grandmother – <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0296177">their immorality assessments increased</a>, becoming no different than conservatives’.</p>
<p>When people consider how an issue relates to them personally, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/pac0000567">an otherwise neutral event seems more threatening</a>. This, in turn, increases someone’s perception of how morally objectionable that behavior is.</p>
<p>The pattern was different with conservative participants, however. When conservatives considered the personal relevance of what is typically considered a more “liberal” issue – a company lying about how much it is contributing to pollution – their judgments of how immoral that issue is did not significantly change. </p>
<p>Contrary to what we expected, both conservatives and liberals cared relatively equally about this threat even without thinking about its personal relevance. While some people did focus on the environmental aspect of the threat, as we intended, others focused more on the deception involved, which is less politically polarized. </p>
<p>All participants, no matter their politics, consistently rated more personally relevant threats as more immoral. The closer any threat feels, the bigger – and more wrong – someone considers it to be.</p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>In the United States today, it can feel like conservatives and liberals are <a href="https://insight.kellogg.northwestern.edu/article/political-divide-america-beyond-polarization-tribalism-secularism">living in different realities</a>. Our research speaks to a possible pathway for narrowing this gap. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576815/original/file-20240220-22-4q8cod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two rows of seated people, seen from the back, listen to four people speaking as they face the audience." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576815/original/file-20240220-22-4q8cod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576815/original/file-20240220-22-4q8cod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576815/original/file-20240220-22-4q8cod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576815/original/file-20240220-22-4q8cod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576815/original/file-20240220-22-4q8cod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576815/original/file-20240220-22-4q8cod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576815/original/file-20240220-22-4q8cod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Thinking about issues as closer to your own life – happening sooner, nearer or to people you care about – can change how you view them.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/rear-view-photo-of-audience-listening-to-panel-royalty-free-image/1179025358?phrase=%22town+hall%22+meeting&adppopup=true">SDI Productions/E+ via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>People often think of moral beliefs as relatively fixed and stable: Moral values feel ingrained in who you are. Yet our study suggests that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0296177">moral beliefs may be more flexible</a> than once thought, at least under certain circumstances. </p>
<p>To the extent that people can appreciate how important issues – like climate change – could affect them personally, that may lead to greater agreement from people across the political spectrum.</p>
<p>From a broader perspective, personal relevance is just one dimension of something called “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/a0018963">psychological distance</a>.” People may perceive objects or events as close to or far away from their lives in a variety of ways: for example, whether an event occurred recently or a long time ago, and whether it is real or hypothetical.</p>
<p>Our research suggests that psychological distance could be an important variable to consider in all kinds of decision-making, including financial decisions, deciding where to go to college or what job to take. Thinking more abstractly or concretely about what is at stake might lead people to different conclusions and improve the quality of their decisions.</p>
<h2>What still isn’t known</h2>
<p>Several important questions remain. One relates to the differing pattern that we observed with conservative participants, whose assessments of a stereotypically “liberal” threat did not change much when they considered its relevance to their own lives. Would a different threat – maybe gun violence or mounting student loan debt – lead to a different pattern? Alternatively, perhaps conservatives tend to be more rigid in their beliefs than liberals, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000446">as some studies have suggested</a>.</p>
<p>In addition, how might these findings contribute to actual problem-solving? Is increasing the personal relevance of otherwise-neutral threats the best way to help people see eye to eye?</p>
<p>Another possibility might be to push things in the opposite direction. Making potential threats seem less personally relevant, not more, might be an effective way to bring people together to work toward a realistic solution.</p>
<p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take on interesting academic work.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222831/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Changing the ‘psychological distance’ someone feels toward an issue can shift their attitudes in ways that might help people on opposite sides of an issue see more eye to eye.Rebecca Dyer, Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology, Hamilton CollegeKeelah Williams, Associate Professor of Psychology, Hamilton CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2239592024-02-21T01:15:23Z2024-02-21T01:15:23ZWhat ‘psychological warfare’ tactics do scammers use, and how can you protect yourself?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576717/original/file-20240220-16-rxym6r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=84%2C30%2C4836%2C3326&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/stressed-out-broke-woman-checking-her-1844709379">christinarosepix/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Not a day goes by without a headline <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/qjvaym/people-share-worst-scam-stories">about a victim being scammed</a> and losing money. We are constantly warned about new scams and staying safe from cybercriminals. Scamwatch has <a href="https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/research-and-resources/tools-resources/online-resources/spot-the-scam-signs">no shortage of resources</a>, too.</p>
<p>So why are people still getting scammed, and sometimes spectacularly so?</p>
<p>Scammers use sophisticated psychological techniques. They exploit our deepest human vulnerabilities and bypass rational thought to tap into our emotional responses.</p>
<p>This “<a href="https://www.thecut.com/article/amazon-scam-call-ftc-arrest-warrants.html">psychological warfare</a>” coerces victims into making impulsive decisions. Sometimes scammers spread their methods around many potential victims to see who is vulnerable. Other times, criminals focus on a specific person. </p>
<p>Let’s unpack some of these psychological techniques, and how you can defend against them.</p>
<h2>1. Random phone calls</h2>
<p>Scammers start with small requests to establish a sense of commitment. After agreeing to these minor requests, we are more likely to comply with larger demands, driven by a desire to act consistently.</p>
<p>The call won’t come from a number in your contacts or one you recognise, but the scammer may pretend to be someone you’ve engaged to work on your house, or perhaps one of your children using a friend’s phone to call you.</p>
<p>If it is a scammer, maybe keeping you on the phone for a long time gives them an opportunity to find out things about you or people you know. They can use this info either immediately or at a later date.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-risky-is-it-to-give-card-details-over-the-phone-and-how-do-i-reduce-the-chance-of-fraud-216833">How risky is it to give card details over the phone and how do I reduce the chance of fraud?</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<h2>2. Creating a sense of urgency</h2>
<p>Scammers fabricate scenarios that require immediate action, like claiming a bank account is at risk of closure or an offer is about to expire. This tactic aims to prevent victims from assessing the situation logically or seeking advice, pressuring them into rushed decisions.</p>
<p>The scammer creates an artificial situation in which you are frightened into doing something you wouldn’t ordinarily do. Scam calls <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-have-filed-a-case-under-your-name-beware-of-tax-scams-theyll-be-everywhere-this-eofy-162171">alleging to be from the Australian Tax Office</a> (ATO) are a great example. You have a debt to pay (apparently) and things will go badly if you don’t pay <em>right now</em>.</p>
<p>Scammers play on your emotions to provoke reactions that cloud judgement. They may threaten legal trouble to instil fear, promise high investment returns to exploit greed, or share fabricated distressing stories to elicit sympathy and financial assistance.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australians-lost-more-than-10-million-to-scammers-last-year-follow-these-easy-tips-to-avoid-being-conned-109728">Australians lost more than $10 million to scammers last year. Follow these easy tips to avoid being conned</a>
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</em>
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<h2>3. Building rapport with casual talk</h2>
<p>Through extended conversation, scammers build a psychological commitment to their scheme. No one gets very far by just demanding your password, but it’s natural to be friendly with people who are friendly towards us. </p>
<p>After staying on the line for long periods of time, the victim also becomes cognitively fatigued. This not only makes the victim more open to suggestions, but also isolates them from friends or family who might recognise and counteract the scam.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576715/original/file-20240220-30-l51qa3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man with dark hair and beard looking tired while listening to someone on the phone" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576715/original/file-20240220-30-l51qa3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576715/original/file-20240220-30-l51qa3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576715/original/file-20240220-30-l51qa3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576715/original/file-20240220-30-l51qa3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576715/original/file-20240220-30-l51qa3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576715/original/file-20240220-30-l51qa3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576715/original/file-20240220-30-l51qa3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Keeping you on the line for a long period of time is bound to create fatigue and make you more vulnerable to unusual requests.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-depressed-man-crying-while-talking-1641825148">Jojo Photos/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>4. Help me to help you</h2>
<p>In this case, the scammer creates a situation where they help you to solve a real or imaginary problem (that they actually created). They work their “IT magic” and the problem goes away. </p>
<p>Later, they ask you for something you wouldn’t normally do, and you do it because of the “social debt”: they helped you first.</p>
<p>For example, a hacker might attack a corporate network, causing it to slow down. Then they call you, pretending to be from your organisation, perhaps as a recent hire not yet on the company’s contact list. They “help” you by turning off the attack, leaving you suitably grateful. </p>
<p>Perhaps a week later, they call again and ask for sensitive information, such as the CEO’s password. You <em>know</em> company policy is to not divulge it, but the scammer will ask if you remember them (of course you do) and come up with an excuse for why they really need this password.</p>
<p>The balance of the social debt says you will help them.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576716/original/file-20240220-28-x2hybs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman with dark curly hair listening to someone on the phone" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576716/original/file-20240220-28-x2hybs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576716/original/file-20240220-28-x2hybs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576716/original/file-20240220-28-x2hybs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576716/original/file-20240220-28-x2hybs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576716/original/file-20240220-28-x2hybs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576716/original/file-20240220-28-x2hybs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576716/original/file-20240220-28-x2hybs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">By pretending to be someone from your company, a scammer who’s earned a ‘social debt’ can get you to agree to unusual requests.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/depressed-young-african-woman-not-able-577535227">Cast of Thousands/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>5. Appealing to authority</h2>
<p>By posing as line managers, officials from government agencies, banks, or other authoritative bodies, scammers exploit our natural tendency to obey authority.</p>
<p>Such scams operate at varying levels of sophistication. The simple version: your manager messages you with an <em>urgent</em> request to purchase some gift cards and send through their numbers.</p>
<p>The complex version: your manager calls and asks to urgently transfer a large sum of money to an account you don’t recognise. You do this because <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/fraudsters-use-ai-to-mimic-ceos-voice-in-unusual-cybercrime-case-11567157402">it sounds exactly</a> like your manager on the phone – but the scammer <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2021/10/14/huge-bank-fraud-uses-deep-fake-voice-tech-to-steal-millions/?sh=1329b80e7559">is using a voice deepfake</a>. In a recent major case in Hong Kong, such a scam even involved a <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2024/02/04/asia/deepfake-cfo-scam-hong-kong-intl-hnk/index.html">deepfake video call</a>.</p>
<p>This is deeply challenging because artificial intelligence tools, such as Microsoft’s VALL-E, can create <a href="https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2023/01/microsofts-new-ai-can-simulate-anyones-voice-with-3-seconds-of-audio/">a voice deepfake</a> using just three seconds of sampled audio from a real person.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/voice-deepfakes-are-calling-heres-what-they-are-and-how-to-avoid-getting-scammed-201449">Voice deepfakes are calling – here's what they are and how to avoid getting scammed</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>How can you defend against a scam?</h2>
<p>First and foremost, <strong>verify identity</strong>. Find another way to contact the person to verify who they are. For example, you can call a generic number for the business and ask to be connected.</p>
<p>In the face of rampant voice deepfakes, it can be helpful to <strong>agree on a “safe word” with your family members</strong>. If they call from an unrecognised number and you don’t hear the safe word just hang up.</p>
<p>Watch out for <strong>pressure tactics</strong>. If the conversation is moving too fast, remember that someone else’s problem is not yours to solve. Stop and run the problem past a colleague or family member for a sanity check. A legitimate business will have no problem with you doing this.</p>
<p>Lastly, if you are not sure about even the slightest detail, the simplest thing is to hang up or not respond. If you really owe a tax debt, the ATO will write to you.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223959/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mike Johnstone received funding from the EU for a project on authentication and authorisation and from the Australian Government for a project on Forensic Identification of Deep Fakes. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Georgia Psaroulis does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>With so much advice available, how are we still getting scammed? It’s because cybercriminals use sophisticated psychological techniques to trick us and wear us down.Mike Johnstone, Security Researcher, Associate Professor in Resilient Systems, Edith Cowan UniversityGeorgia Psaroulis, Postdoctoral research fellow, Edith Cowan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2236772024-02-20T12:25:59Z2024-02-20T12:25:59ZThe psychology of great artists: beyond the myth of the lone, tortured genius<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575954/original/file-20240125-29-o4c74x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C13%2C2995%2C1670&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/es/image-photo/talented-female-artist-works-on-abstract-1540650071">Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In our constant quest to understand artists and their genius, we often put them on a pedestal, or we assume that they are otherworldly beings with incomprehensible thoughts. This myth, though common, distances us from everything they share with us. It makes us feel that their feats and successes are far beyond our reach. </p>
<p>It is important to demystify the idea that artists are radically different from us. We can do this by looking at how their behaviour is connected to our shared experience as humans.</p>
<p>For years, I have researched the personality and character of historical figures, looking deeply into the figure of <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/350382743_Ludwig_van_Beethoven_in_a_Snapshot_Exploring_His_Own_Words">Beethoven in particular from a psychological perspective</a>. I have also delved more widely into academic literature on the psychology of some of history’s most famed creative minds.</p>
<p>Though each artist is different, there are certain traits and patterns in their personalities that merit attention. By understanding these, we can bring ourselves closer to their creative worlds without feeling like outsiders. </p>
<p>We can do this by looking at the “<a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/big-5-personality-traits">Big Five</a>” psychological pillars of personality: extroversion, conscientiousness, neuroticism, agreeableness, and openness to experience.</p>
<p><strong>Introversion and extroversion: a delicate but necessary balance</strong></p>
<p>Artists, by and large, tend to be <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/introversion">introverts</a>. This is natural, given that they often have to spend a lot of time working in solitude, and in the noise and chaos of society it is much harder to work creatively. This does not mean that they avoid all opportunities to socialise, nor that they do not enjoy being surrounded by friends and loved ones. Like all of us, finding the right balance is what matters.</p>
<p><a href="https://books.google.es/books/about/Daily_Rituals.html?id=xTAAAQAAQBAJ&source=kp_book_description&redir_esc=y">Pablo Picasso</a> is a good example. In his apartment in Montparnasse, Paris, he dedicated the largest room to painting, and forbade anyone from entering without his permission. In there, he surrounded himself with painting supplies, other miscellaneous articles and his pets: a dog, three cats and a monkey. He would work until nightfall, and although he appreciated visits and was a good host, he hated unwanted distractions.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571486/original/file-20240125-28-jwmljh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Picasso also socialised. He is pictured here in the centre, with Modigliani and André Salmon in front of the Café de la Rotonde, Paris." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571486/original/file-20240125-28-jwmljh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571486/original/file-20240125-28-jwmljh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571486/original/file-20240125-28-jwmljh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571486/original/file-20240125-28-jwmljh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571486/original/file-20240125-28-jwmljh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=596&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571486/original/file-20240125-28-jwmljh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=596&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571486/original/file-20240125-28-jwmljh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=596&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Picasso also socialised. He is pictured here in the centre, with Modigliani and André Salmon in front of the Café de la Rotonde, Paris. Photo taken by Jean Cocteau in Montparnasse, Paris, in 1916.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Modigliani,_Picasso_and_Andr%C3%A9_Salmon.jpg">Modigliani Institut Archives Légales, Paris-Rome</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>Conscientiousness: navigating order and ambition</strong></p>
<p>The concept of <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/conscientiousness">conscientiousness</a> in artists is often misunderstood. It is often associated with order and organisation, while artists tend to be perceived as more chaotic or absent minded. However, they have other aspects of conscientiousness, such as a need for achievement, a strong desire to excel, and a high level of discipline.</p>
<p>We can look to Mexican painter <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09540261.2023.2258959?src=">Frida Kahlo</a> for an example of conscientiousness in artists. Despite experiencing health problems in childhood, and being left bedridden after a bus accident at the age of 18, she made huge efforts to carry on her work, leaving an artistic legacy and and example for the world.</p>
<p><strong>Neuroticism: sensitivity and emotional stability</strong></p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571487/original/file-20240125-19-jhuibc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man at a lectern with raised hand." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571487/original/file-20240125-19-jhuibc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571487/original/file-20240125-19-jhuibc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=909&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571487/original/file-20240125-19-jhuibc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=909&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571487/original/file-20240125-19-jhuibc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=909&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571487/original/file-20240125-19-jhuibc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1142&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571487/original/file-20240125-19-jhuibc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1142&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571487/original/file-20240125-19-jhuibc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1142&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The orchestra conductor Leonard Bernstein juggled his career with a complex personal life.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Leonard_Bernstein_repeteert_met_Concertgebouworkest,_Bestanddeelnr_934-0954.jpg">Bart Molendijk / Anefo</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There is a lot of speculation surrounding the subject of artists and <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/neuroticism">neuroticism</a>, or mental illness. Many artists do undeniably show a certain intensity in expressing their emotions, or have suffered from unstable, psychologically difficult periods. However, psychological science <a href="https://academic.oup.com/book/41155">has found no correlation between greater neuroticism and increased artistic ability</a>.</p>
<p>Heightened emotional sensitivity does not always translate into instability. This does not, however, mean that artists do not use their output to express emotional difficulty, pain or trauma, nor that feelings cannot be channelled into artistic expression.</p>
<p>In her recent book <a href="https://books.google.es/books/about/Saved_by_a_Song.html?id=z8D3DwAAQBAJ&source=kp_book_description&redir_esc=y">Saved by a Song</a>, US American singer-songwriter Mary Gauthier recounts history of trauma and addiction, and how songwriting and music offered her a sense of purpose and a way out. She is currently in good mental health, as reflected in her musical performances and her way of engaging with her audience.</p>
<p><strong>Agreeableness: the delicate balance of originality</strong></p>
<p>The trait of <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/agreeableness">agreeableness</a>, which involves trust in others, modesty, and a desire to cooperate, may appear to be lacking among many artists. Their inclination towards solitude and their dedication to their work may create an image of them as unfriendly and distrustful.</p>
<p>However, does not imply selfishness or a lack of sympathy. Those engaged in art feel compelled to develop a sense of their own uniqueness and originality, driving many to show their art to the world and earn a living from it. What we call <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/cambridge-handbook-of-creativity-and-personality-research/FAD51C0730BC0126A35737A7631B1183">creative self-concept</a> is sometimes misinterpreted as arrogance.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571491/original/file-20240125-15-nucqdx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Director Greta Gerwig on the set of Barbie looking at a screen and surrounded by actors." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571491/original/file-20240125-15-nucqdx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571491/original/file-20240125-15-nucqdx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571491/original/file-20240125-15-nucqdx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571491/original/file-20240125-15-nucqdx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571491/original/file-20240125-15-nucqdx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571491/original/file-20240125-15-nucqdx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571491/original/file-20240125-15-nucqdx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cinematic achievements, like Greta Gerwig’s 2023 film Barbie, cannot be made in isolation from others.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.filmaffinity.com/es/filmimages.php?movie_id=506593">FilmAffinity</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In an interview, the Spanish ballet dancer and choreographer <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djHPe-rXnus">Nacho Duato</a> hinted at a need to separate himself from others in order to grow personally and professionally. At the same time, he was also modest in recognising his own work, defining himself as an “artisan of movement”. </p>
<p><strong>Openness to experience: the key to creativity</strong></p>
<p>The one trait that stands out among artists is <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/openness">openness to experience</a>. This involves curiosity, a desire to discover new things, an appreciation of beauty, and the will to expand horizons. Being open to new experiences allows fresh, original ideas to be created, which can drive innovation in the artistic field. </p>
<p>A classic example of this trait can be found in the German composer Beethoven. He always respected where he had come from and what he had learned, but he also felt a strong need to experiment and push boundaries. He asked piano makers to add keys to instruments, and defied the comfortable, safe and predictable musical conventions of his time. One of his major innovations was including vocal parts in a symphony, a style of composition which had hitherto been exclusively instrumental. </p>
<h2>Beyond the myths</h2>
<p>Though unique in some respects, the personality of artists shares many similarities with the common human experience. As you explore these traits yourself, you may well discover that you too harbour a creative spark that deserves to be expressed. </p>
<p>The main difference between artists and other people might just be the courage to listen to yourself, to observe yourself, and to dare to show what is original within yourself.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223677/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Abigail Jareño Gómez is a member of the Psychobiography Group of the Psychohistory Forum.</span></em></p>We often put artists on a pedestal, but if we look at their personalities closely, we see that they aren’t so different from the rest of us.Abigail Jareño Gómez, Profesor de Psicología, Universidad CEU San PabloLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2238732024-02-19T17:10:03Z2024-02-19T17:10:03ZFrom bridge to chess, why men outperform women at ‘mindsports’ – and what to do about it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576463/original/file-20240219-24-m3v5sz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=28%2C40%2C3805%2C3414&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Elite bridge player Margherita Chavarria from Italy.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Francesca Canali from the World Bridge Federation</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Why do men strongly outperform women at “mindsports” such as chess and bridge? <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00948705.2018.1520125?journalCode=rjps20">Mindsports</a> mainly use the brain and require skills such as memory, critical thinking, problem solving, strategic planning, mental discipline and judgment. Without physical differences in strength, how do we explain why the top level of such games tends to be dominated by men? </p>
<p>A defining characteristic of bridge, which I study, is that it is always <a href="https://www.scipod.global/professor-samantha-punch-benefits-of-bridge-the-partnership-mindsport/">played in partnership</a>. Each game consists of four players divided into two pairs who compete against each other to win tricks. Major bridge events have open and women’s categories, often held concurrently, with very few women playing in the open. </p>
<p>While this allows women to compete at an international level, it feeds into perceptions about women’s <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/16078055.2022.2051068">inability to succeed</a> at the highest level.</p>
<p>Women have <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00222216.2021.1887782">limited visibility</a> at the top levels of bridge. The chief tournament directors and those on international executive committees are most often men (although this is starting to change). The captains and coaches of the women-only teams are nearly always men. Female sponsors <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41978-021-00099-y">prefer to hire male professional players</a> as partners and teammates.</p>
<p>Male domination at both the top levels of administration and of the game means there can be a lack of recognition of the structural barriers for women. </p>
<p>Research conducted by the academic project <a href="https://bridgemindsport.org/">Bridge: A MindSport for All (Bamsa)</a> <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14927713.2022.2160787">found that</a> gender stereotypes and <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-neurosexism-is-holding-back-gender-equality-and-science-itself-67597">“neurosexism”</a> (claiming there are differences between female and male brains that can explain women’s inferiority), can partly explain differences in achievement.</p>
<p>That’s because sexist arguments that male brains are superiorly wired for logic and mathematics can be used to offer men more opportunities and training than women. </p>
<p>This is despite the fact that modern research shows there <a href="https://theconversation.com/are-male-and-female-brains-really-different-54092">isn’t such a thing</a> as a distinctly male or female brain. Most brains <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.1509654112">are a mosaic</a> of what we think of as feminine and masculine features. And the more mixed our brains, <a href="https://theconversation.com/male-vs-female-brains-having-a-mix-of-both-is-common-and-offers-big-advantages-new-research-153242">the better our mental health</a>. </p>
<p>The brain also changes a lot depending on our environment – if we are constantly encouraged or discouraged to do certain things, such as nurturing, this will affect our brain wiring – a process called <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/neuroplasticity">neuroplasticity</a>.</p>
<p>Research has also shown that when people are reminded of a negative gender stereotype, such as women not being good at maths or men not being good at emotions, <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-terrifying-power-of-stereotypes-and-how-to-deal-with-them-101904">they actually perform worse</a> on tasks measuring such ability. Men also <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/05/the-confidence-gap/359815/">have higher levels of general confidence</a> than women, which is a reflection of society and can be an advantage in mindsports. </p>
<p>In my research, I interviewed 52 top bridge players (20 women and 32 men) from Europe and the US. We discovered that some bridge players, both men and women, believed that female brains are simply better suited to emotion, nurturing and multi-tasking than to mental toughness and competitiveness.</p>
<p>We discovered that many <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14927713.2022.2160787">used outdated neuroscientific arguments</a> about the gendered brain as a purely biological organ, fixed in its processes and isolated from the external world. There seemed to be a general acceptance that male players are inevitably “better”. </p>
<p>The damage of such widespread beliefs is down to a general lack of knowledge of contemporary neuroscience. Neurosexist arguments and gendered stereotyping, whether intentional or not, create social barriers. These can have negative consequences on participation and inclusion in bridge and other mindsports. </p>
<p>Players themselves may also inadvertently engage in casual sexism and discriminatory language. In the competitive bridge environment, for example, “<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/16078055.2022.2051068">playing like a man</a>” provides the most status for women. Such dialogue can become normalised “banter”, leading to less respect or recognition of the expertise of top female bridge players.</p>
<p>The Bamsa research suggests that men’s dominance in elite mindsport can ultimately be explained through historic and structural <a href="https://bridgemindsport.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/BAMSA-Bridging-Brains-Poster.pdf">opportunities that privilege men</a> rather than brain differences. For example, women may be constrained by factors such as childcare and other caring duties, which reduces time to practice, play and concentrate. </p>
<p>Research on chess has similarly shown that the underperformance of female chess players can be <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ejsp.440">largely attributed to gender stereotypes</a> and socialisation. </p>
<h2>The paradox of women-only events</h2>
<p>Given the <a href="https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/26652/">everyday sexism</a> that exists in the worlds of bridge, chess and beyond, women-only events are important spaces. These can help women develop and compete in a less pressured arena relatively free of discrimination and the male gaze. </p>
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<p>The women-only game can be considered a valuable space given wider constraints and expectations of society. However, at the same time, the existence of the women-only game serves to reinforce deeply entrenched ideas about women’s abilities to play top-level tournaments. To get rid of women’s bridge or chess would be to remove a needed women-only space, but to keep it reinforces difference and skill-based inequality. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/16078055.2022.2051068">paradox of the women’s game</a> is that it both enables and constrains women, it is simultaneously both the problem and the solution. Given the complexity of the issue, there is no simple fix to the conundrum. What is clear is that stereotyping and sexism are unlikely to encourage younger women to dedicate the necessary time and effort to becoming an elite player. </p>
<p>Possible solutions include a gender policy at the world level, raising awareness and unconscious-bias training. The new Bamsa project is focusing on developing mindsport education in schools. The future continuity of bridge relies on it being inclusive and welcoming (as well as competitive and challenging). </p>
<p>As a <a href="https://bridgemindsport.org/home/research/bridging-gender/">result of the Bamsa research</a>, the European Bridge League has recently also <a href="https://sites.google.com/view/wbc-onlinetraining/policy">developed a gender policy</a> that raises awareness of gender-based obstacles, suggests best practices and outlines what disciplinary action should be taken if the policy is breached. It is anticipated that this can be extended globally via the World Bridge Federation.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223873/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Samantha Punch has collaborated on this research with Jessica Cleary - University of Stirling, Dr Elizabeth Graham - University of Stirling, Dr Charlotte McPherson - King's College London, Dr Ashley Rogers - University of Stirling and Dr Miriam Snellgrove - University of Glasgow. She receives research funding for the project Bridge: A MindSport for All from a Keep Bridge Alive Crowdfund Campaign within the global bridge community (players, clubs and bridge organisations): <a href="https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/u5c0e5e7810869">https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/u5c0e5e7810869</a> </span></em></p>Male domination in bridge means there can be a lack of recognition of the structural barriers for women.Samantha Punch, Professor of Sociology, University of StirlingLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2232192024-02-12T17:16:27Z2024-02-12T17:16:27ZDating apps: how the order you view potential matches can affect which way you swipe<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574896/original/file-20240212-22-sx5reu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C16%2C5536%2C3895&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The order in which you view faces may affect which way you swipe</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/beautiful-happy-woman-sending-love-text-599470442">pathdoc/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you’re planning to celebrate Valentine’s Day with a new partner, there’s a good chance that <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.1908630116">you met online</a>, which surveys suggest is fast becoming the most popular way people get together. Of course, searching through profile after profile brings with it a variety of difficulties. </p>
<p>Perhaps surprisingly, research shows that one of those problems is simply trying to avoid being influenced by the order in which you view those profiles.</p>
<p>“Sequential effects” (or “serial dependence”) is a type of bias known in the field of psychology. Researchers have found that the previous item in a sequence affects how you judge the current item, whether this involves grading <a href="https://theconversation.com/our-psychological-biases-mean-order-matters-when-we-judge-items-in-sequence-70942">Olympic performances</a> or <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0013164410387344">students’ essays</a>. </p>
<p>We also know that people’s judgements of <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1068/p7116">facial attractiveness</a> show this bias. The direction of the effect can go in one of two ways – the attractiveness of the current face is either pulled towards our opinion of the previous one (assimilation) or pushed away from it (contrast). </p>
<p>This may depend on how similar we think the two faces are in other aspects like <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0082226">gender or ethnicity</a>. High similarity between faces tends to lead to more assimilation. Low similarity produces less assimilation, or may even lead to contrast. </p>
<p>For instance, if the last photo you saw was very attractive and the one you’re currently considering shares several features in common (for example, both are south Asian women with long, dark hair) then you’re more likely to rate this one as attractive too.</p>
<p>These biases also apply to <a href="https://jov.arvojournals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2778156">other trait judgements</a> like trustworthiness, intelligence and dominance. So in the same way that our opinions about attractiveness are influenced by the previous face we saw, judgements about numerous other qualities are too.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Man swiping and liking profiles on relationship site or application" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574897/original/file-20240212-26-yb5mcw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574897/original/file-20240212-26-yb5mcw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574897/original/file-20240212-26-yb5mcw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574897/original/file-20240212-26-yb5mcw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574897/original/file-20240212-26-yb5mcw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574897/original/file-20240212-26-yb5mcw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574897/original/file-20240212-26-yb5mcw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">It can be worth taking a moment before you swipe.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/dating-app-site-mobile-phone-screen-1204256557">Tero Vesalainen/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To complicate matters, it isn’t clear whether these sequential effects are caused by a perceptual bias (what we thought of the previous face might change how we see the current one) or a response bias (how we physically responded to the previous face might affect our next response) since researchers typically ask participants to rate every face during the study. </p>
<p>But <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13506285.2021.1995558">one UK study from 2021</a> tried to separate out these explanations by asking participants to view (but not respond to) the previous face before rating the current one. The results showed a contrast effect, where judgements of the current face shifted away from the attractiveness of the face seen before it (given by a different set of participants). Therefore, the direction of bias might depend on whether we’re simply viewing faces or having to actively judge them.</p>
<p>Of course, attractiveness judgements often take the form of a binary decision (“hot or not”) when viewing dating profiles, much like the left or right swipe used by platforms such as Tinder. Researchers have also found sequential effects with <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/srep22740">this type of judgement</a>. </p>
<p>Participants in a 2016 study viewed a sequence of faces and decided whether each was “attractive” or “unattractive”. The results demonstrated an assimilation effect – participants were more likely to rate a face as attractive when they thought the preceding face was attractive than when it was unattractive.</p>
<p>While research has shown that photos play <a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/1357054.1357181">the biggest role</a> in a dating profile’s overall attractiveness, other factors such as <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0265407519878787">language errors</a> in the text can influence our judgements. Interestingly, in one study where pictures and text from the same dating profile were rated by different people, there was <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563211001786">a correlation</a> between the rated attractiveness given to the photos and the (separately rated) text that accompanied them. </p>
<p>Since ratings of perceived confidence were also collected, the researchers were able to show that physically attractive people tended to write accompanying text which came across as more confident, with this text judged to be more attractive by others.</p>
<p>So what can we take away from all these studies? You may already know about plenty of biases that people show when perceiving the world. For instance, people are susceptible to spotting <a href="https://kids.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frym.2017.00067">faces in inanimate objects</a> or more likely to attribute positive qualities <a href="https://theconversation.com/halo-effect-do-attractive-people-really-look-less-guilty-how-the-evidence-is-changing-220349">to attractive people</a>. </p>
<p>However, you may not have been aware that viewing sequences of things can change your judgements. That’s not to say that choosing your current partner was entirely due to the quality of the profile that happened to pop up before theirs, but it may well have played a role.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223219/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robin Kramer does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Something to bear in mind if you find yourself swiping through profiles on a dating app later today.Robin Kramer, Senior Lecturer in the School of Psychology, University of LincolnLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2059382024-02-11T19:05:24Z2024-02-11T19:05:24Z‘Self-love’ might seem selfish. But done right, it’s the opposite of narcissism<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574314/original/file-20240208-16-qv7i63.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=13%2C0%2C4479%2C2991&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Bart Larue/Unsplash</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>“To love what you are, the thing that is yourself, is just as if you were embracing a glowing red-hot iron” <a href="https://archive.org/details/jungsseminaronni0000jung">said psychonalyst Carl Jung</a>.</p>
<p>Some may argue this social media generation does not seem to struggle with loving themselves. But is the look-at-me-ism so easily found on TikTok and Instagram the kind of self-love we need in order to flourish? </p>
<p>The language of <a href="https://theconversation.com/teaching-positive-psychology-skills-at-school-may-be-one-way-to-help-student-mental-health-and-happiness-217173">positive psychology</a> can be – and often is – appropriated for all kinds of self-importance, as well as cynical marketing strategies.</p>
<p>Loving yourself, though, psychological experts stress, is not the same as behaving selfishly. There’s a firm line between healthy and appropriate forms of loving yourself, and malignant or <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-many-types-of-narcissist-are-there-a-psychology-expert-sets-the-record-straight-207610">narcissistic</a> forms. But how do we distinguish between them? </p>
<p>In 2023, researchers Eva Henschke and Peter Sedlmeier conducted <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/355152846_What_is_self-love_Redefinition_of_a_controversial_construct">a series of interviews</a> with psychotherapists and other experts on what self-love is. They’ve concluded it has three main features: self-care, self-acceptance and self-contact (devoting attention to yourself). </p>
<p>But as an increasingly individualistic society, are we already devoting too much attention to ourselves? </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574312/original/file-20240208-28-9w9ojl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574312/original/file-20240208-28-9w9ojl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574312/original/file-20240208-28-9w9ojl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574312/original/file-20240208-28-9w9ojl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574312/original/file-20240208-28-9w9ojl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574312/original/file-20240208-28-9w9ojl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574312/original/file-20240208-28-9w9ojl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574312/original/file-20240208-28-9w9ojl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Loving yourself, the experts stress, is not the same as behaving selfishly.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Polina Kovaleva/Pexels</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Philosophy and self-love</h2>
<p>Philosophers and psychology experts alike have considered the ethics of self-love.</p>
<p>Psychology researcher Li Ming Xue and her colleagues, <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.585719/full">exploring the notion of self-love in Chinese culture</a>, claim “Western philosophers believe that self-love is a virtue”. But this is a very broad generalisation. </p>
<p>In the Christian tradition and in much European philosophy, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10848770.2020.1839209">says philosopher Razvan Ioan</a>, self-love is condemned as a profoundly damaging trait.</p>
<p>On the other hand, <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2107991">many of the great Christian philosophers</a>, attempting to make sense of the instruction to love one’s neighbour as oneself, admitted certain forms of self-love were virtuous. In order to love your neighbour as yourself, you must, it would seem, love yourself. </p>
<p>In the Western philosophical context, claim Xue and her colleagues, self-love is concerned with individual rights – “society as a whole only serves to promote an individual’s happiness”.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574315/original/file-20240208-26-onei4e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574315/original/file-20240208-26-onei4e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574315/original/file-20240208-26-onei4e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=776&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574315/original/file-20240208-26-onei4e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=776&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574315/original/file-20240208-26-onei4e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=776&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574315/original/file-20240208-26-onei4e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=975&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574315/original/file-20240208-26-onei4e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=975&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574315/original/file-20240208-26-onei4e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=975&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Aristotle.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Francesco Hayez/Gallerie Accademia Venice</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This individualistic, self-concerned notion of self-love, they suggest, might come from the Ancient Greek philosophers. In particular, Aristotle. But <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/philosophy-stirred-not-shaken/201502/love-yourself-love-your-character">Aristotle thought only the most virtuous</a>, who benefited the society around them, should love themselves. By making this connection, he avoided equating self-love with self-centredness. </p>
<p>We should love ourselves not out of vanity, he argued, but in virtue of our capacity for good. Does Aristotle, then, provide principled grounds for distinguishing between proper and improper forms of self-love? </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-3-ways-philosophy-can-help-us-understand-love-155374">Friday essay: 3 ways philosophy can help us understand love</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Bar too high?</h2>
<p>Aristotle might set the bar too high. If only the most virtuous should try to love themselves, this collides head-on with the idea loving yourself can help us improve and become more virtuous – as <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9781137383310_6">philosophers Kate Abramson and Adam Leite have argued</a>.</p>
<p>Many psychologists claim self-love is important for adopting the kind and compassionate self-perception crucial for overcoming conditions that weaponise self-criticism, like <a href="https://theconversation.com/clinical-perfectionism-when-striving-for-excellence-gets-you-down-43704">clinical perfectionism</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-many-people-have-eating-disorders-we-dont-really-know-and-thats-a-worry-121938">eating disorders</a>.</p>
<p>More broadly, some argue compassion for oneself is necessary to support honest insights into your own behaviour. They believe we need warm and compassionate self-reflection to avoid the defensiveness that comes with the fear of judgement – even if we’re standing as our own judge. </p>
<p>For this reason, a compassionate form of self-love is often necessary to follow Socrates’ advice to “know thyself”, says <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10677-015-9578-4">philosopher Jan Bransen</a>. Positive self-love, by these lights, can help us grow as people. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574316/original/file-20240208-20-bikmly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574316/original/file-20240208-20-bikmly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574316/original/file-20240208-20-bikmly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574316/original/file-20240208-20-bikmly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574316/original/file-20240208-20-bikmly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574316/original/file-20240208-20-bikmly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574316/original/file-20240208-20-bikmly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574316/original/file-20240208-20-bikmly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Positive self-love can help us grow as people.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Nashua Volquezyoung/Pexels</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Self-love ‘misguided and silly’</h2>
<p>But not everyone agrees you need self-love to grow. The late philosopher <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/2005/nov/29/guardianobituaries.obituaries">Oswald Hanfling</a> was deeply sceptical of this idea. In fact, he argued the notion of loving oneself was misguided and silly. His ideas are mostly rejected by philosophers of love, but pointing out where they go wrong can be useful. </p>
<p>When you love someone, he said, you’re prepared to sacrifice your own interests for those of your beloved. But he thought the idea of sacrificing your own interests made no sense – which shows, he concluded, we can’t love ourselves. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/3751159">He wrote</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I may sacrifice an immediate satisfaction for the sake of my welfare in the future, as in the case of giving up smoking. In this case, however, my motive is not love but self-interest. What I reveal in giving up smoking is not the extent of my love for myself, but an understanding that the long-term benefits of giving it up are likely to exceed the present satisfaction of going on with it.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>We often have conflicting interests (think of someone who is agonising over two different career paths) – and it’s not at all strange to sacrifice certain interests for the sake of others. </p>
<p>This is not just a question of sacrificing short-term desires in favour of a long-term good, but a matter of sacrificing something of value for your ultimate benefit (or, so you hope). </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-love-in-pop-culture-love-is-often-depicted-as-a-willingness-to-sacrifice-but-ancient-philosophers-took-a-different-view-187159">What is love? In pop culture, love is often depicted as a willingness to sacrifice, but ancient philosophers took a different view</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Self-compassion</h2>
<p>Hanfling fails to consider the role of compassionate self-love. While we might understand it’s in our interests to do something (for instance, repair bridges with someone we’ve fallen out with), it might take a compassionate and open disposition towards ourselves to recognise what’s in our best interests. </p>
<p>We might need this self-compassion, too, in order to admit our failures – so we can overcome our defensiveness and see clearly how we’re failing to fulfil <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10677-015-9578-4">these interests</a>.</p>
<p>Self-acceptance in this context does not mean giving ourselves licence to run roughshod over the interests of those around us, nor to justify our flaws as “valid” rather than work on them. </p>
<p>Self-love, as promoted by contemporary psychologists, means standing in a compassionate relationship to ourselves. And there’s nothing contradictory about this idea. </p>
<p>Just as we strive to develop a supportive, kind relationship to the people we care about – and just as this doesn’t involve uncritical approval of everything they do – compassionate self-love doesn’t mean abandoning valid self-criticism. </p>
<p>In fact, self-compassion has the opposite effect. It promotes comfort with the kind of critical self-assessment that helps us grow – which leads to resilience. It breeds the opposite of narcissistic self-absorption.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205938/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ian Robertson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>What is healthy self-love? Psychology experts and philosophers have long debated the question.Ian Robertson, PhD Candidate (Teaching roles at Macquarie & Wollongong), University of WollongongLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2176542024-02-08T13:40:39Z2024-02-08T13:40:39ZAnger, sadness, boredom, anxiety – emotions that feel bad can be useful<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573800/original/file-20240206-18-uxu2ut.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=199%2C0%2C5697%2C3550&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A bad feeling can trigger behavior that leads to something better.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/diverse-people-holding-emoticon-royalty-free-image/935941772">Rawpixel/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Remember the sadness that came with the last time you failed miserably at something? Or the last time you were so anxious about an upcoming event that you couldn’t concentrate for days?</p>
<p>These types of emotions are unpleasant to experience and can even feel overwhelming. People often try to avoid them, suppress them or ignore them. In fact, in psychology experiments, people will <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-012-9394-7">pay money to not feel many negative emotions</a>. But recent research is revealing that emotions can be useful, and even negative emotions can bring benefits.</p>
<p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=fzHtrJIAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">In my</a> <a href="https://emotionsciencelab.com">emotion science lab</a> at Texas A&M University, we study how emotions like anger and boredom affect people, and we explore ways that these feelings can be beneficial. We share the results so people can learn how to use their emotions to build the lives they want.</p>
<p>Our studies and many others have shown that emotions aren’t uniformly good or bad for people. Instead, different emotions can result in better outcomes in particular types of situations. Emotions seem to function like a Swiss army knife – different emotional tools are helpful in specific situations.</p>
<h2>Sadness can help you recover from a failure</h2>
<p>Sadness occurs when people perceive that they’ve lost a goal or a desired outcome, and there’s nothing they can do to improve the situation. It could be getting creamed in a game or failing a class or work project, or it can be losing a relationship with a family member. Once evoked, sadness is associated with what psychologists call a deactivation state of doing little, without much behavior or <a href="https://dictionary.apa.org/arousal">physical arousal</a>. Sadness also brings <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/ap.12232">thinking that is more detailed and analytical</a>. It makes you stop <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721412474458">and think</a>.</p>
<p>The benefit of the stopping and thinking that comes with sadness is that it <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77619-4_4">helps people recover from failure</a>. When you fail, that typically means the situation you’re in is not conducive to success. Instead of just charging ahead in this type of scenario, sadness prompts people to step back and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/a0016242">evaluate what is happening</a>.</p>
<p>When people are sad, they process information in a deliberative, analytical way and want to avoid risk. This mode comes with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.75.2.318">more accurate memory</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02699939108411048">judgment that is less influenced</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2004.11.005">by irrelevant assumptions or information</a>, and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2008.04.010">better detection of other people lying</a>. These cognitive changes can encourage people to understand past failures and possibly prevent future ones.</p>
<p>Sadness can function differently when there’s the possibility that the failure could be avoided if other people help. In these situations, people tend to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8986.1994.tb01049.x">cry and can experience</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10286-018-0526-y">increased physiological arousal</a>, such as quicker heart and breathing rates. Expressing sadness, through tears or verbally, has the benefit of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/147470491301100114">potentially recruiting other people to help you</a> achieve your goals. This behavior appears to start in infants, with <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/1127506">tears and cries signaling caregivers to help</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573801/original/file-20240206-18-9r5azc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman yells into a phone with her hair blowing up and back" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573801/original/file-20240206-18-9r5azc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573801/original/file-20240206-18-9r5azc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=470&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573801/original/file-20240206-18-9r5azc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=470&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573801/original/file-20240206-18-9r5azc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=470&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573801/original/file-20240206-18-9r5azc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=590&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573801/original/file-20240206-18-9r5azc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=590&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573801/original/file-20240206-18-9r5azc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=590&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Anger can prepare you to blast through any roadblocks holding you back.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/woman-is-shouting-into-phone-royalty-free-image/108876267">Betsie Van der Meer/Stone via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Anger prepares you to overcome an obstacle</h2>
<p>Anger occurs when people perceive they’re losing a goal or desired outcome, but that they could improve the situation by removing something that’s in their way. The obstacle could be an injustice committed by another person, or it could be a computer that repeatedly crashes while you’re trying to get work done. Once evoked, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/a0024244">anger is associated with a “readiness for action,”</a> and your <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-8869(02)00313-6">thinking focuses on the obstacle</a>.</p>
<p>The benefit of being prepared for action and focused on what’s in your way is that it motivates you to overcome what’s standing between you and your goal. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1754073913512003">When people are angry</a>, they <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2420240104">process information and make judgments rapidly</a>, want to take action, and are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2010.03.010">physiologically aroused</a>. In experiments, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2010.04.017">anger actually increases the force of people’s kicks</a>, which can be helpful in physical encounters. Anger results in better outcomes in situations that involve challenges to goals, including confrontational games, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000350">tricky puzzles</a>, video games with obstacles, and responding quickly on tasks.</p>
<p>Expressing anger, facially or verbally, has the benefit of <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000292">prompting other people to clear the way</a>. People are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.86.1.57">more likely to concede in negotiations</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2012.12.015">give in on issues</a> when their adversary looks or says they are angry.</p>
<h2>Anxiety helps you prepare for danger</h2>
<p>Anxiety occurs when people <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/070674371105601202">perceive a potential threat</a>. This could be giving a speech to a large audience where failure would put your self-esteem on the line, or it could be a physical threat to yourself or loved ones. Once evoked, anxiety is associated with being prepared to respond to danger, including increased physical arousal and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01701.x">attention to threats and risk</a>.</p>
<p>Being prepared for danger means that if trouble brews, you can respond quickly to prevent or avoid it. When anxious, people detect threats rapidly, have fast reaction times and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01701.x">are on heightened alert</a>. The eye-widening that often comes with fear and anxiety even <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.2138">gives people a wider field of vision</a> and improves threat detection.</p>
<p>Anxiety prepares the body for action, which improves performance on a number of tasks that involve motivation and attention. It motivates people to prepare for upcoming events, such as devoting time to study for an exam. Anxiety also prompts protective behavior, which can help prevent the potential threat from becoming a reality.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573803/original/file-20240206-32-tb0hax.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A bored man at desk leans his head in his hand while looking at a computer." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573803/original/file-20240206-32-tb0hax.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573803/original/file-20240206-32-tb0hax.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573803/original/file-20240206-32-tb0hax.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573803/original/file-20240206-32-tb0hax.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573803/original/file-20240206-32-tb0hax.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573803/original/file-20240206-32-tb0hax.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573803/original/file-20240206-32-tb0hax.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Boredom may be trying to tell you that your current situation needs a shakeup.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/shot-of-a-young-businessman-looking-bored-while-royalty-free-image/1348347595">Jay Yuno/E+ via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Boredom can jolt you out of a rut</h2>
<p>There is less research on boredom than many other emotions, so it is not as well understood. Researchers debate <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2023.02.002">what it is</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/bs3030459">what it does</a>.</p>
<p>Boredom appears to occur when someone’s current situation is <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/bs3030459">not causing any other emotional response</a>. There are three situations <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-011-9234-9">where this lack can occur</a>: when emotions fade, such as the happiness of a new car fading to neutral; when people don’t care about anything in their current situation, such as being at a large party where nothing interesting is happening; or when people have no goals. Boredom does not necessarily set in just because nothing is happening – someone with a goal of relaxation might feel quite content sitting quietly with no stimulation.</p>
<p>Psychology researchers think that the benefit of boredom in situations where people are not responding emotionally is that it <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/emo0000433">prompts making a change</a>. If nothing in your current situation is worth responding to, the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/jocb.154">aversive experience of boredom can motivate you</a> to seek new situations or change the way you’re thinking. Boredom has been related to more risk seeking, a desire for novelty, and creative thinking. It seems to function like an emotional stick, nudging people out of their current situation to explore and create.</p>
<h2>Using the toolkit of emotion</h2>
<p>People want to be happy. But research is finding that a satisfying and productive life includes a <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000292">mix of positive and negative emotions</a>. Negative emotions, even though they feel bad to experience, can motivate and prepare people for failure, challenges, threats and exploration.</p>
<p>Pleasant or not, your emotions can help guide you toward better outcomes. Maybe understanding how they prepare you to handle various situations will help you feel better about feeling bad.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217654/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Heather Lench does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Lots of people will do a lot to avoid feeling negative emotions. But researchers are figuring out how these unpleasant feelings actually have benefits.Heather Lench, Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.