Recently in Happiness Category

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/36649379#36649379

Whenver we think about college students and their addictive behaviors, what comes to mind is alcohol and drugs.  Reeve (2009) states that addictive drugs, such as psychostimulants, are especially potent reinforcers because their repeated usage produces hypersensitivity to dopamine stimulation.  This is what is being compared to the feeling people get after tanning.  The behavioral approach system is related to the reward responsiveness feeling, which these tanners feel when they are just getting out of the booth. 

Now, studies have shown an addictive behavior to tanning, especially around the season of prom, graduation, and spring break.  Doctors have said that some people just have addictive behaviors and people who are addicted to tanning, are usually addicted to other things such as alcohol and drugs. In one study done on Northeast college students one third of them are shown to have a tanning addiction.  People feel better after they just got done tanning and that they have some sort of anxiety which they think tanning eliviates.

Although people know that it causes skin cancer, college students feel that they can't get skin cancer that young.  Experts think that tanning booths need to start screening tanners for an addictive behavior.

 

How many times have you asked yourself about the goals you want to accomplish before you die? If not, why haven't you? Have you ever heard the quote "Carpe Diem" which means to seize the day. Or even enjoy being a kid while you can, because it goes by too fast. Well the Buried Life guys have, and according to them life moves fast, so we should slow down and enjoy it.

 

You might have met the Buried Life guys if you're a fan of any shows on MTV. It is likely that you have seen a trailer/shows for the TV show called The Buried Life. Meet Ben, Dave, Jonnie, Duncan, four guys who share the same ideas about life and the world around them.

These four guys were originally from the same town, and knew of each other; however it wasn't until 2006 when they discovered that they had the same goals and aspirations about their life, focusing on the question "What do you want to do before you die?" This question led to these four guys making a list of things they wanted to do before they died, starting out at 50 items. After making this first list, they set out on a journey to complete these tasks, and making a documentary of it. Along the way, they wanted to help others cross of things on their lists as well. On their first trip they were able to cross off 26 items on their list, and help 24 people. This led to the development of the list with 100 items on it, and the guys decided they did not want to put a quantity for the number of people they wanted to help, they just want to help as many people as they can. The Buried life eventually are going to making a film of their documentary of all of the 100 items they accomplish.

 

When talking about these guys, we have to go back to the basics of motivation which of course is goals. Their 100 item list is of course their goals. These goals come in a variety of skill level, some more difficult to achieve than others. Along with that, Ben, Dave, Jonnie, and Duncan all have high levels of the need for achievement. You can see this just by looking at how far they have come in achieving all of their goals. These guys first started out just talking about this journey in 2006, and its now 2010, and they have crossed off yet another item on their list "Making a badass TV show" with their show The Buried Life on MTV. Their ultimate goal consists of every item being checked off, and a documentary film to show it all. Along with their goals, they try to help others achieve a goal of theirs. With this, the Buried Life guys are gaining feedback from the people that they help. This feedback is obviously positive, and provides feelings of happiness, joy, and even feeling accomplished.

 

Although it appears that the Buried Life guys are just trying to complete a list just to be able to say they did those things, I think it is something a little more than that. Reeve (2009) talks about the six dimensions of psychological well-being, including self-acceptance, positive relations with others, autonomy, environmental mastery, purpose in life, and personal growth. By pursuing these six dimensions, individuals are ultimately defining your concept of self. The Buried Life Guys are continuously working on many of these dimensions. While helping others along their journey to complete their lists of things to do before they die, the Buried Life Guys are establishing positive relations with other people. Not only that, they are networking, and establishing connections which benefit not only themselves, but also the people that they would like to help. It is evident that these four guys also have high levels of autonomy because they have chosen to take on these goals, and to go to great lengths to achieve them despite if others don't believe that they can. Overall, through everything the Buried Life guys are accomplishing, or going to accomplish, they are building and figuring their purpose in life, and have high levels of personal growth.  I'm not sure if the Buried Life Guys would agree, but I would say it seems like their purpose in life is to help others. It seems like they received a lot of joy and happiness out of it, and it helps them grow as a person as well.

Ben, Dave, Jonnie, and Duncan have motivated other people to make their own lists of goals to do before they die. The Buried Life has even influenced a networking site called The Buried Life Network. If you're interested in watching their show on MTV or just learning more about the Buried Life visit these two websites. http://www.theburiedlife.com or http://www.mtv.com/shows/buried_life/episodes.jhtml.

 

As Ben, Dave, Jonnie and Duncan state, if they ever come to your town, you better be ready to answer the question "What do you want to do before you die?"

http://www.consumerismcommentary.com/2008/02/19/smart-women-marry-for-money-and-heres-why/

I was interested in finding a good article on "Gold Diggers" but found this article about why women marry for money.

Having a marriage is like having a business.

"It's like running a corporation. A business venture. You have to go into it knowing that it could fail or it could succeed beyond your wildest dreams and make you rich... If the employees don't share the vision, believe in the vision and work together, the endeavor will fail. Some businesses will get rich. Some will barely make ends meet. Some will never make a dime. The money does not measure success. The sense of accomplishment will come from the daily struggle... the love of what you do, working together day in and day out."

A lot of marriages end in divorThe reality is that personal finance issues are the leading cause of divorce and in order to live happily ever after, you must be on the same page as far as your finances are concerned.

The article goes on to talk about why smart women do marry for the money which includes

-A man with a plan

-Aligned Financial Values

-.Motivated by Money to Create the Life They Want

I chose this article to show how a women has psychological needs to have a fulfilling/ the life they want. These type of women have a high need for autonomy because they want what is best for them. Reeve (2009) states that autonomy is the psychological need to experience self-direction and personal endorsement in the initiation and regulation of one's behavior (p.146).

Do you think these facts would make you change your perception about marrying for love or money? Or what are your morals before and after reading this article? 

I recently read an article from The New York Times that spoke negatively of a practice we as a society routinely engage in--small talk. It seems to be difficult for us be comfortable with silence, and instead of talking about deep topics like the state of the world or life's meaning, we talk about petty things that have no real breadth or substance (e.g. Did you see American Idol last night?). Dr. Matthias Mehl, a psychologist with the University of Arizona, has recently published a study on the topic. He is quoted as saying, "By engaging in meaningful conversations, we manage to impose meaning on an otherwise pretty chaotic world, and interpersonally, as you find this meaning, you bond with your interactive partner, and we know that interpersonal connection and integration is a core fundamental foundation of happiness." The happiest person in his study had twice as many substantive conversations, and only one-third of the amount of small talk as the unhappiest. Could this be true, or do we simply have deeper conversations with those that we have already established deeper relationships with? Dr. Mehl suggests that we attempt to have one substantive conversation a day for the next five days and see how happy we feel. In what ways do you feel you can positively enhance your everyday social exchanges?

Check out this site for a Guide to Having More Meaningful Conversations.

This article talks about Two Ways To Be a Happier Parent. It's a sociologists perspective on being a parent and dealing with the stressful times. According to her it comes down to two questions:

1. When are you happiest with your kids?

2. What part of the normal day with your family routinely causes suffering?

She goes on to give a specific example she dealt with personally, and she explains how she changed their routine as a family to decrease the stress levels in their household.

I think parenting is one of the hardest things to do in life, so it is helpful to have any tips. While reading how the sociologist adjusted her family's mornings it seemed a little too military like. If it works than maybe that's all that matters. I just don't know if I liked her approach.

http://www.news-medical.net/news/20100309/Activity-in-lateral-prefrontal-cortex-may-improve-emotion-regulation-in-day-to-day-life.aspx

 

I found this to be a rather interesting article. I think it directly relates to the material we studied in Chapter 3 (dealing with the emotional brain). One of the main reasons I found it interesting is because it seems to go against common sense, or at least against conventional wisdom. Many of us have undoubtedly heard others tell us not to go to bed angry, but this study suggests that "brain activity (specifically in the lateral prefrontal cortex) is a far better indicator of how someone will feel in the days following a fight with his or her partner." Generally those who had high activity in this area had a better mood than those who had low activity in this area. I believe what helps set this recent study apart is that it did not take place entirely in a laboratory, but also involved real situations/relationships. In other words, one can probably be more confident of its external validity.

 

In our textbook (starting on p. 61 in Chapter 3), Reeve writes about the relationship between the prefrontal cortex and affect. Here it mentions that, "the limbic system receives incoming sensory stimulation (that) activate rather automatic emotional reactions... stimulation of the cortex can generate emotional states." Reeve also makes the point that one must make a distinction between the left and right side of the prefrontal cortex because each is qualitatively different from the other. Reeve also makes reference to the Behavioral Inhibition System, which includes the two dimensions of personality, one of which is "how sensitive versus stable a person is to threats, punishments, and the experience of negative emotion (Reeve 2009, p.61)."

 

 I was actually rather impressed with the physiological measures used - researchers used an fMRI, recorded facial expressions, and tested cognitive skills. As I mentioned before, the researcher (Hooker) found that  the level of activity in their lateral prefrontal cortex may be a significant factor in predicting a person's experiences, ability to bounce back, etc.

 

The main reason why I chose this article and wanted to share it with others is because I am rather fascinated by the unconscious activity that takes place in the brain. As others probably have heard, there have been studies that suggest people actually have a tendency to make better decisions having slept on it - I think I heard about this in Social Psychology. I believe I also heard data that supports this in my BioPsychology course. While sleeping, our brain continues to process information. It's very interesting to think of the possibility that being angry while we go to sleep may actually help us better deal with our problems, confront them face on with our subconscious attention. This may be drifting a little bit from Motivation and Emotion, but I find it very interesting how I have often woken up with solutions to some of my problems that I had never thought of before - I believe my mental activity throughout the night has sometimes helped me come up with effective solutions.

 

In any case, this study  does provide insight and understanding into physiological activities, such as the activation of certain brain structures and subsequent impact on emotional states. For the reasons I have mentioned, I actually believe this type of research is very important and may lead to more effective interventions for people facing certain problems, such as depression.

 

The article ends with the following...

  

While Hooker acknowledges that more work must be done to develop clinical applications for the research, it may be that lateral prefrontal cortex function provides information about a person's vulnerability to develop mood problems after a stressful event. This raises the question as to whether increasing lateral prefrontal cortex function will improve emotion regulation capacity.

 

I liked this article because for one I think a lot of people are getting cabin fever, they are ready for sunshine and nice warm weather.  Let's face it, when a winter gets too long and cold we get grumpy.  Stress and how we cope with stress is a key factor in feeling happier.  How we react to events can make a difference in our lives.  With midterms going on things around all of us can get very stressful.  Take a deep breath and try these four things.
-Too much of a good thing, is a bad thing
-Now is the moment.  Enjoy it!
-Find your mouse hole
-Conflict can be okay
What do you do to be happy?  What relieves your stress?

My roommates love watching horror/suspense movies. It almost seems like every time we have a movie night, a horror flick is on the list to watch. For my roommates, their top favorites include the Saw movies, the recent hit Paranormal Activity, and the Haunting in Connecticut. Myself on the other hand, I'm not a super huge fan like my roommates. I would actually prefer a comedy over a horror flick, yet I still enjoy watching horror movies sometimes. I'm the wuss that covers my face though when something too scary comes on the screen. Thinking about all this, I was wondering what would motivate people to endure the feelings of fear and suspense, especially for the very popular horror flicks. I came across several different theories on reasons why people enjoy feeling fear and suspense.

On Psychology Today, Why are there Horror Movies?, this article talked about the reason behind it is the fact that because it is fiction we are able to enjoy it rather than it being reality where we have to make a choice. This article didn't satisfy me however, so I kept searching.

On ScienceDaily.com, Why do People Love Horror Movies?, it argued that people enjoy being scared because they feel both negative and positive emotions at the same time. The sense of relief is not the only positive of the outcome of watching a scary movie, its more the the happiness of being scared.

On Live Science, Horror Movies: Why People Love Them., it talks about severaly different topics. First it talks about how people don't watch movies just like the Saw movies for the blood and gore, but because they experience a thrill of assessing threat levels. Next it talks about how people have the ability to control what effects their emotions and what does not while watching horror films. Lastly it talks about fear being more than just an emotion, and that it is a biological factor that starts with our amygdala.

As far as these three articles go, I'm not sure if my question was answered as to why people enjoy fear while watching horror/suspense films. Why do you like or dislike these types of movies? What are other factors that could be involved in developing the liking of horror films?

I know a lot of people especially girls want to get married someday, and want to find their true love so I researched what motivates us to find true love and found this article which I found very interesting.

http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/independent-woman/love-sex/how-to-find-true-love-2051038.html

Helen Fisher the women who dedicates most of her life on How to find true love believes there are four personality types.

"all of us conform to one of four personality types, which are controlled by different chemicals in the brain. These chemicals mould us, and cause us to be attracted to people who complement our personality types (see panel). There is the Explorer, a sensation seeker ruled by dopamine; the Builder, a respecter of authority driven by serotonin; the Director, analytical and ruled by testosterone; and the Negotiator, intuitive and fired by oestrogen. Negotiators need to connect with others on a deeply personal level, are very trusting and good at talking."

What personality type are you? and if you have a boyfriend or girlfriend are they compatible with you according to Helen Fisher?

I got a puppy last summer, and it has been the most fun, loving, and rewarding experience I have ever had!  My mom actually read this book (100 Simple Secrets Why Dogs Make Us Happy: The Science Behind What Dog Lovers Already Know) and recommended I looked at it.  As I was glancing through the pages, it was really funny how much sense the book actually made.  Having a dog gives us a sense of belonging, love, companionship, and even achievement (when training and raising a dog).  Dogs also provide a constant motivator to get off the couch and play or go for a walk (for me at least).  I know that I also feel obligated to her to make sure that she is healthy and happy, which also fulfils my affiliation need. Although this is generally intended towards humans, I think that someone can definitely benefit from having a dog.  I have also learned in past classes that many therapists recommend getting a pet to their patients of depression or anxiety disorders.  Pets provide a sense of stability, and also can provide and endless amount of love and friendship. 

Having a dog can fulfill many of our psychological needs.  When training a dog, it presents a challenge to be overcome. Our desire to do well in training our dog can fulfill the need for achievement (Reeve, 175).  Succeeding in training your dog can be the most rewarding experience, creating a large amount of positive reinforcement and increasing the likelihood you will continue to train the dog.  Setting goals in training can also increase motivation to continue training (Reeve, 184). Having things in mind such as "I'll have my dog potty trained by the fall" can increase your motivation to work with your dog.  When your dog starts to understand the training techniques, it reinforces your behavior and increases the sense of achievement.

Another area were having a dog can fulfill psychological needs is affiliation and intimacy (Reeve, 192).  Establishing a good relationship with your dog can be very rewarding.  Dogs can provide constant, unconditional love when they have a strong bond with their owner.  Although affiliation is rooted within the fear of rejection, affiliation with your dog can start to calm those anxieties and create a more relationship oriented life style.  Dogs are also less likely to reject their owners, so someone with a high need for affiliation would likely have a good relationship with a dog.

The need for power may also be accomplished through owning a dog.  The leadership (Reeve, 196) that it takes to own a dog is crucial in training and maintaining a healthy pet.  Teaching the dog things that they can and cannot do is something that can create a very power-related relationship between the owner and the dog.  Dogs see everything as a power-related situation (this is why many times dogs can have problems with aggression if they feel they have power over the house or over other people, in the dog world it is referred to as "dominance") It is the responsibility of the owner to make sure that the power does not shift from the owner to the dog, or serious aggression and misbehavior problems can occur. With the power safely in the owner's hands, the relationship between dog and owner can be a very positive one.

The book also discusses how people with pets tend to live longer, happier lives than those who choose to live pet-free.  Here is a description of the book, which touches on many of the things that we have discussed in class (such as exercise to reduce stress, as well as communication).

From Harper Collins.com:

"Why do people who have dogs live happier, longer, and more fulfilling lives? Sociologists and veterinarians have spent years investigating the positive effects that dogs have on people's health and happiness yet their findings are inaccessible to ordinary people, hidden in obscure journals to be shared with other experts.

Now the international bestselling author of the 100 Simple Secrets series has collected the most current and significant data from more than a thousand of the best scientific studies on the profound relationship between humans and our canine companions. These findings have been boiled down to the one hundred essential ways dogs positively impact our lives. Each fact is accompanied by a inspiring true story. If you love your dog, and science tells us that you do, this book will inspire and entertain.

·  Communicate Better: It sounds odd to say a creature that communicates with barking and body language can have such a profound effect on human communication. But by providing a common point of reference and concern, dogs help us to feel a connection to other humans. That connection makes us feel more comfortable communicating with each other. When meeting a new person, the presence of a dog reduces the time before people feel comfortable while talking with each other by 45 percent.

·  Live Longer: There is perhaps no better gift that dogs offer us humans than this simple fact. People who care for a dog live longer, healthier lives than those who do not. On average, people who cared for dogs during their lives lived 3 years longer than people who never had a dog.

·  No Monkey Business: Primates are genetically more similar to humans than any other creature. But try to tell a chimpanzee something and you will be hard pressed to get your message across. Dogs are uniquely attuned to the messages we send. Dogs study humans and have evolved to build social skills that help them to function around us. Dogs are 52 percent more likely to follow human cues such as pointing toward a source of food than are primates.

·  Around the Block: Good habits are often misunderstood as difficult or unpleasant chores. But there is tremendous value in the simple act of taking a walk. Walking not only burns calories, it also decreases stress. Having a dog means regularly talking walks - it's something you do for your dog but in truth your dog is doing for you. Dog owners walk 79 percent farther in an average week than non-dog owners."

Are there other ways that dogs can help fulfill our needs?  Is it selfish to think this way? What are some other motivators that people may have to own a dog, or any pet?

Main Article:  

 

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Depression/feel-eat/story?id=4387456

 

          One reason I found this article very interesting is because I believe that each of us, including myself, do not often think about the effect that our diet has on our emotions and mood. The researchers in this study came to the conclusion that "Food really does have a lot of power." By properly maintaining a well-balanced diet we can significantly improve our mood. This article analyzes several different foods and provides the possible effects each one can have on a person's health.

 

     An important point here is that mood can affect your eating choices, and what you have eaten can subsequently affect your mood. In some ways, this can be a cyclical process. People who eat harmful foods may sometimes feel bad as a result of their nutritional effects and continue consuming the harmful food to (temporarily) get rid of the negative feelings. In psychological terms, there is negative reinforcement.

 

    This is a very important topic today, and I think each of us should take time to consider this study. As these researchers report, " the average consumer isn't eating a healthy enough diet, let alone a diet that will put them in a good mood." As of today, over a third of adults are obese - not just overweight, but obese. As they say in the article, "Though no studies show that mood disorders and increased obesity are directly related, many agree that there is some correlation."

      As I mentioned in my last article, the prevalence of fast food should be of great concern to us, and I say this for a few reasons. Fast food restaurants, such as McDonalds, often use addictive ingredients within their products that may taste very good and increase short-term feelings of happiness, but these artificial chemicals increase the motivation to eat more through grossly unnatural means. When I suggest that we may need to have higher standards on our food (fast food, grocery store products, etc.), I realize some of the criticisms that may arise. Some people would say that consumers could just make these foods in their own home, or people would just find ways around the standards. There are many European restaurants, however, that do have higher standards on fast food than we do. The food may not taste as good in the moment it is consumed, but it is much healthier for one's physical and mental health over the long term.

      There are a few psychological concepts at play here. To avoid the tastier, yet unhealthier foods a person must possess effective gratification delay strategies. Another important point here is that many people are not at a "natural" homeostasis level as determined by their DNA and genetic predisposition. I believe the problem here is largely cultural. Also, this is not just an obesity problem or mood problem - there are many factors at work here, and it may take a bit of critical thinking to get a grasp on what is actually going on. As these researchers reported, "(The) rising rates of depression and other mood disorders (parallel) the rise of obesity in the U.S... It is hard to establish cause and effect, but it's not by chance that stress has been going up and depression has been going up and obesity is going up." There is a very big difference between psychological disorders that require medication and mild mood impairments, but the effects of dietary behavior are a critical part of the equation. Some individuals with anxiety problems have shown significant improvement by simply eating a healthier diet. The effects of this problem are very widespread, long lasting, and have proven devastating to the lives of many people.  

      I would also like to focus on a few of the findings of this study as they relate to happiness in terms of neurotransmitters and overall mood. It mentions all of these foods in depth on the website, but I will try to summarize their information here. 

   Fast Food is known to be a "mood downer." These are the main points about them the article mentions...

 

- Unequivocally, fast foods are mood downers. While it may be cheap, fast, or just easy to reach for a donut, a bag of chips, or a hamburger, eventually, your mood will pay the price.

 

- The immediate effects of a high-fat or sugary snack can be misleading. Often, they give a quick burst of energy and may reduce tension. But these effects run in reverse rapidly. They shift to increase tension and reduce energy.

 

- Fast food and junk food are usually the most processed foods, where the nutrients are refined to the point where they are absorbed immediately or not at all, leaving no long-term sustenance for the body to feed off of. It is addictive to eat that sort of lipid-laden diet.

 

- Besides the poor nutrient content, fast food often contains many additives and preservatives that can affect mood negatively. Food colorings and preservatives, like benzoate, and added flavorings like monosodium glutamate (MSG), can cause anxiety, according to Scott.

 

-  Studies have shown that the omega-6 fatty acids often found in these foods, can compete with omega-3 fatty acids and an imbalance between the two can lead to obesity and depression. Since Americans often don't get enough omega-3s in their diets, consuming too many fast food items puts them at risk for mood problems.

 

   Luckily, we have a great variety of other choices, which include...

 

Salmon -  Salmon is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which help to improve one's mood, one's heart, and possibly even one's mind. Omega-3 fatty acids are used for building neurotransmitters like serotonin in the brain, and some studies have shown that eating plenty of these fats has depression-preventing qualities. Other foods with these acids include flaxseeds and walnuts.

In fact, countries where oily fish are a part of the diet, such as Japan, have lower rates of depression than other countries. These countries often have a healthier diet and lifestyle overall, but their omega-3 intake is higher as well.

 

Milk

- rich in calcium and the amino acid tryptophan

- bone-building properties

- calcium is known to calm nerves when feeling stressed or anxious

-  tryptophan is important for producing serotonin, which elevates mood.

 

Chocolate

- rich in a variety of mood-lifting ingredients (most concentrated in dark chocolate)

- dark chocolate is high in polyphenols, which are shown to improve cognitive function

- chocolate also contains phenylethylamines, a neurotransmitter that, in low levels, is associated with depression and in high levels can be associated with schizophrenia

- phenylethylamines work by releasing endorphins in the brain and promote feelings of attraction and giddiness.

- "Both sex and dark chocolate activate the same parts of the brain"

 

(additional foods are analyzed in the main article)

I chose this article because it explains the physiology behind one of my favorite past times: kissing / making out.  I was goofing around on the web the other day and through digg.com (great website - go to it!) I found the website below.  It's an article called "Why We Kiss: the Science of Sex." It's fascinating, so I wanted to share this article with you.

 

The article explains that although the use of pheromones to create attraction is thought to not work for humans, chemicals are still used in communication.  The article outlines how women are more attracted to the scent of a man who can help them to produce healthier children.  It also explains that twice as many adults turn their head to the right than the left while kissing.  (You're all thinking about which side you prefer, aren't you?)

 

Another cool topic covered by the site is that men and women see kissing differently.  Most women would never have sex with someone without kissing them first but most men would.  And men are more likely to initiate French kissing because saliva contains testosterone, and testosterone can increase arousal.  Indications show that men can also gauge the amount of estrogen a woman has (indicator of fertility) via this method.

 

However, the most fascinating part of the article (for me) was kissing's effects upon hormone levels.  In general, kissing releases a ton of hormones that make us feel all warm and fuzzy inside, but the site focuses on the levels of cortisol (the stress hormone) and oxytocin (the bonding hormone).  In long-term relationships, cortisol levels dropped after kissing. And oxytocin levels increased ONLY in the males.  My girlfriend wasn't too happy to hear this, but I now understand partly why I enjoy kissing so much.

 

During a quick search for more information, I found the other link.  At howstuffworks.com, they have a lot of information about how kissing works, its history, effects, and the anatomy of a kiss. It also includes more information on kissing's effects upon dopamine, serotonin, and adrenaline, too.

 

http://www.divinecaroline.com/22081/76045-kiss--science-sex

 

http://people.howstuffworks.com/kissing.htm

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20100222/sc_livescience/5thingsthatwillmakeyouhappier

 

 

I'm not sure if anyone else has seen this article, but it is about 5 things that will supposedly make a person happier. In short, they are...

 

1. Be grateful

2. Be optimistic

3. Count your blessings  

4. Use your strengths  

5. Commit acts of kindness

 

     Although this first one is rather obvious, there is some merit to mentioning it. I believe that trying to get into the habit of putting a positive spin can make life more enjoyable, but as we have read, each person has homeostasis level that will be resistant to change. (The researcher here seem to admit that people generally have certain dispositions and stable personalities throughout their life, but they argue that a significant amount of happiness can also be attributed to pro-active approaches to increasing one's happiness.) In any case, I suppose making an active effort to appreciate what you have may cause at least a minor increase in feelings of happiness.

 

Being Grateful  - One rather interesting note is that this finding of the study is largely based on an activity where people wrote letters expressing gratitude. In case you are thinking there might be a confound, such as relatedness or affiliation playing a role, I thought of that as well, but it was found that there was an increase in happiness even if people did not actually send the letters out.

 

Be optimistic - In the study, researchers actually had participants visualize "an ideal future" which included imagining having a loving, supportive partner and a great job. I am not sure if this strategy would necessarily lead to long term happiness though - the researchers did not mention whether or not this was exclusively short term happiness in their summarized report. The reason I say this is because I think over time significant cognitive dissonance would arise (people could become delusional) if there is a strong focus on a "perfect" life. If interpreted this way, this finding would actually seem to be in contrast to the first. If you are being appreciative of what you have, you will not be constantly focusing on the perfect, ideal life. I have heard that some studies have found striving for excellence can be much better than striving for perfection. I know the "being optimistic" strategy could probably be taken on a more moderate and healthy level, but I think the activity the researchers used does not necessarily seem healthy over the long term.

 

Count your blessings - I do not believe this one merits any further discussion because this "additional" finding seems to be very similar to "being grateful." In fact, there is no separate research mentioned for this in the article.

Use your strengths - The participants in the study (that contributed to this finding) focused on strengths such as using humor to increase others' happiness. I think this is perhaps related to competence, achievement, and relatedness - all concepts that we have recently mentioned in class. Being able to successfully use's one's abilities to accomplish a goal would lead to feelings of competence and achievement. Having someone identify with your achievement (in this case humor)

Commit acts of kindness - although we have not yet talked about pro-social very much in this class, this finding makes sense, and I think it also has something to do with relatedness.

http://ehstoday.com/news/ehs_imp_34809/

I am going to graduate this upcoming Spring, and I was considering my future work plans. Nothing too specific, but I was just wondering if employee incentives actually work. According to one of the grandest incentive program studies out there, incentives do have a positive effect on employees. After all, work is one of the biggest things that define an individual's life, however fortunate or unfortunate that fact might be. With that in mind it is important to look into incentive programs or discuss them with future employers if the company you work for does not participate in such programs.
Although the study took place back in 2001, it is apparently one of the most comprehensive studies out there investigating incentives at work. Some key findings from the study include:

• Incentive programs aimed at individual workers increase performance 27 percent.
• Programs aimed at teams increase performance 45 percent.
• Incentive programs have an equal, positive impact on both quality and quantity goals.
• Incentive programs structured with employee input work best; however only 23 percent of incentive systems were selected with employee input.
• Long-term incentives are more powerful than short term (44 percent gain vs. 20 percent gain).
  

The fourth bullet point is very interesting, especially how only 23% of incentive systems include employee input. This just goes to show the dominating structure of the upper echelon of workers, unwilling to sacrifice some autonomy for the sake of the employees. Because ultimately, job satisfaction influences life satisfaction, and both of those combined result in a great boost in job performance.

I work at the ROD library as a student assistant in the reference area. I don't expect many incentive opportunities for the lower level student employees, but if I were given the chance to increase the autonomy of my job, I would consider that an incentive. Examples might include having some legitimate input on some of the structural qualities of work, or something to that effect. This then would instill in me a deeper sense of intrinsic motivation, because right now I'm working the job mostly for the paycheck every other week. There are, however, some rewarding moments of helping patrons...

I found an interesting article on the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier website.

http://www.wcfcourier.com/lifestyles/health-med-fit/article_2ea45aab-df99-5e02-868e-ea221e16b85c.html

It was an article based off a study published in the European Heart Journal.  The article in the newspaper discussed the main point of the study which was happiness can help your heart and decrease risk for a heart attack.  Even if you aren't a naturally happy person, simply acting happy can help your heart, says Dr. Karina Davidson.  Being stressed damages heart muscles, blood vessels, clogs arteries with plaque. 

I thought this article was interesting because it supports the idea of satisfying psychological needs.  Being happy and positive increases our positive well-being.  An individual's understanding of his or her motivation or perceived locus of causality is important to note. 
A person's internal locus of causality reflects the individuals understanding of his or her behavior.  Being happy or even acting happy can provide positive health benefits and reduce the risk for cardiovascular disease.

http://money.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=1010030

This articles describes a millionaire that gave all of his money away. All of it. He was raised in a poor family and he was taught to work hard to earn what he wanted in life. He worked hard his whole life, thinking that a little more money and material possessions would finally make him happy, only to realize that it didn't. So, he gave it all away.

His story interests me for several reasons. His display of charitable behavior is one that many people applaud and see as highly altruistic. It's true that his action was extremely generous and will help many orphans gain a quality of life that they couldn't have without his help, but his actions are not altogether altruistic. The reason he gives his money away is because he is still seeking happiness. He first thought that making money and having stuff would make him happy, now he thinks that giving all of his money to people that need it more than him and living a very simple life will make him happy. While his latest search for happiness is definitely beneficial to many people, was his giving out of altruism and generosity alone, or was it motivated by seeking his own happiness?

I would argue that his generosity is still motivated by selfishness, making his giving not entirely altruistic. By no means am I saying that he shouldn't have done it, because I think it's wonderful that so many people in need will benefit from his action, but I think the most basic driving motivator in this case was still seeking his own satisfaction or happiness.

Do you think this decision will result in lasting happiness? Or will it, like the pursuit of money and material possessions, only last in the shorter-term scheme of a lifetime?

Inspired by LindsayR's post about personality types, and intrigued to delve deeper into finding out more about extroverts and introverts, I took a look in our textbook to see what Reeve has to say about the two main personality types.

  http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/09/science/09tier.html?bl

    

    This article talks about sociologists who set out to determine which types of gossip travels the fastest (whether people prefer good news, bad news, etc). The researchers studied a list of the New York Times' most emailed articles "checking it every 15 minutes for more than 6 moths... and controlling for factors like placement in the paper or on the Web Home page."

 

        The main researcher seemed to hypothesize that stories about sex and politics would be among the highest ranked. To his surprise, the stories that were most emailed actually tended to be those emotional in nature, with positive (those that "inspired awe") faring better than those that were negative. Those that are intellectually challenging and lengthy are also more often emailed. There were also a surprisingly high number of scientific articles that made the most emailed list.

 

       I was rather surprised by some of these results at first, but after thinking about the potential reasons behind the results I believe I understand this data better. Or, perhaps I am suffering from hindsight bias. In any case, I think it does make sense that people would want to send positive, awe-inspiring articles to their friends and loved ones because we very much want to increase others' feelings of happiness. Emotion is at the very core of our being. There is such an abundance of negative news presented on television, perhaps emailing positive articles is a way to help offset cable news' generally negative tone.

 

       The researchers made a quick observation about how one might have expected articles consisting of financial advice to be more popular. Their thinking was that if Person A gave person B great advice, then person B would return the favor at a later point in time. Another possible motivation they theorized was that some people might just send articles to "show off" and let others know that they stay well-informed.  

 

      I also found it a little surprising that articles a bit longer in length and "intellectually challenging" would be among the most popular. I have always been rather hesitant to send lengthy articles to friends because I worry that saturating them in an abundance of information that they might not even find remotely interesting could just make them mad. It does make sense though, that longer articles would be more likely to contain some type of interesting information in them than short articles. I wonder if social networking sites present a confound problem that creates a bias in favor of long articles - for example, if I read a short, interesting story and want to summarize what it said for my friends, I will often just post it on my facebook status.  

 

        The popularity of science articles was a bit baffling at first, but I think it does seem to make sense to me now. I believe people enjoy reading interesting science articles because they help us think in a new and different way. Scientific discoveries help us gain insight and perspective about the true physical and emotional nature of ourselves and our surrounding environment. I think reading about science can evoke feelings of transcendence - there is much we do not know and there is much we will never know, but with each additional step we take in studying the world, we come that much closer to solving the problems we face and that much more connected with the world around us.   

I just received the new edition of Cosmo.  After a few years of arguing with my mom about subscribing to the popular magazine, her comments about how "risque" and "sexual" the magazine's content is have settled down to a tolerable level.

I found an interesting article that looked at a study conducted that stated that people who used Facebook tended to be happier, however they missed one important variable with their participants, they were mostly all extroverts.  This article addresses the fact that most people who are more extroverted tend to use Facebook more and tend to be happier in general, not because of Facebook.  

My friend has been in a pretty turbulent relationship for the past year.  For the most part, I'm the "go-to" person when any of my friends have "life crises" - not because I'm perfect or have no problems, but because I'm someone who always answers, will put everything down to listen, and gives un-sugar-coated advice.  Recently, after a series of late-night phone calls and hysterical crying sessions, they have decided to break up.

The hormone Dopamine is known for generating good feelings, and lets face it, who doesn't want to feel good? Dopamine is also known to activate voluntary goal-directed approach responses, like staying motivated to get through the spring semester. With all this in mind, I have come across an article which gives tips on how to naturally increase dopamine levels in the body. This article also states that dopamine enhances decision-making abilities, control cravings, and higher levels of dopamine could help develop social skills. So, if you can never make a decision, are always 'craving' (aka wanting) food, or feel that you lack in your social skills area, maybe you might want to try these natural ways to increase your dopamine levels in your body. 

1. Eat Ripe Bananas
2. Eat foods rich in antioxidants (Like pomegranates)
3. Eat less sugary and saturated foods. (No more cookies, or whole bag of chips for your midnight cravings)
4. Drink Decaf Coffee, and Drink less alcoholic beverages on a daily basis. (This includes on the weekends as well. Maybe its time to learn to love being the DD.)
5. Instead of candy eat almonds or sunflower seeds as a snack.(There are flavored sunflower seeds if you don't like the plain ones.)
6. Get a natural amino acid supplement.(Don't forget your vitamins as well!)

I'm not sure if this will be a quick fix, or even it if works, however it goes along the line with living a healthier life, so maybe it would be for the best. Does anyone think that this would actually work? Do you think that dopamine actually helps in decision-making, controlling cravings, and improving social skills?

For the article go to: How to Naturally Increase Dopamine Levels

Say what you want, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity once I saw the title of this article on askmen.com.  (That's a great website for general information about almost any topic relating to real life - versus which celebrity is pregnant with Z's baby!)

 

The link is below.  The article is entitled, "Be More Like Edward."

 

If you've been living under a rock, then you obviously have not heard of the Twilight series and have no idea who Edward is.  The series is a collection of four books about how a human girl and a vampire boy fall in love.  It is extremely popular with girls (mostly) around the age of fourteen to their early twenties.  Personally, I hated the ending to the series and Bella's (the human girl) inability to make up her mind on which boy she wanted (Edward or Jake).  But that's just me.

 

Now, let's get back to the article.  The whole premise of this article is that girls around the world are now holding out for boys that are more like Edward.  I found the below quote at fmylife.com:

 

"Today, my girlfriend dumped me proclaiming she wanted someone more like her "Edward". I asked her who Edward was. She held up a copy her "Twilight" book. She was talking about a fictional vampire. FML"

 

Again, let's get back to the point of the article.  It lists these four reasons for why Edward is so attractive to women (and ways to one up him).

 

1) Edward chooses Bella

2) Edward sacrifices his own comfort to be with Bella

3) Edward has impeccable manners

4) Edward is a total contradiction

 

I know a lot of girls who have read these books and having read them myself, I can testify that they're fairly romantic.  There's a lot of chivalry and quaint events that I think the girls are responding to and yearning for in their relationships.  This is just a personal hypothesis, but I wouldn't be surprised if the romance they experience from books releases some dopamine and Oxytocin in their brains, and that's the cause of all this fuss.

 

Either way, the site gives some good tips on how to one up that jerk, and it could possibly respark your relationship or help you find one.

 

 

 

http://www.askmen.com/dating/heidi_300/368_be-more-like-edward.html

Reeve (2009) repeatedly talks about happiness.  Two such places were in chapter 3 and chapter 13.  Chapter 3 discussed that when a pleasant event is unexpected the brain releases more dopamine and we feel happier than if the event was expected.  Chapter 13 discussed the relationship between extraversion and happiness.   A presentation that I recently watched brougt up another aspect of happiness that I did not run into in Reeve (2009).  The video stated that there is also an element of making ourselves happy that plays a role in our emotions.   

In 2004 Dan Gilbert, a Harvard psychologist, gave a presentation entitled "Why are we happy?"  His main topic in the lecture was what he referred  to as "synthetic happiness.

I found this website:  Plugin ID; in the blogs I came across one titled "8 things to stop doing right now".  Of course this title really drew me in.  The author is very persistent in that you need to stop doing these things, not you should try to, but that you need to stop.

en    1. Doubting yourself -

A person needs to believe in themselves.

 

        2.Looking for answers -

 Some questions we should not be asking, or even wasting our time on.  The author gives the example of "Why do some people have all the luck?"

 

        3.Procrastinating -

Does procrastination really do anyone any good?  The author says that when doing a task and you start to procrastinate you need to ask yourself "Do I really want this?"

 

        4. Blaming someone else -

A person needs to take full responsibility for their acts.  You are in control of your life, you are the one in the driver seat, and you are the person who is responsible for the outcome you receive.

 

        5. Judging others -

When you a judge a person is there anything that you can gain? 

 

        6. Waiting to live -

A person should not wait for life to happen to them.  Life is occurring right now around us, and this is the only one we get, so we should enjoy what is going on in our lives now.

 

        7. Needing reasons to be happy -

No needs any particular reason to be happy.  You are in control over your emotions so what is to stop you from being happy for no good reason?

 

        8. Caring what people think

The author believes that if you stop doing those 8 things your happiness and self awareness would go up.  Also a person would be able to focus better on their goals.  What do you think?  Are there any other things that if we stopped doing them, that would overall benefit ourselves?  I think the author has hit the main ones and I believe that if a person was actually able to stop doing all of these things they would be much happier.  But with most of the items listed it is really hard not to do those things sometimes.

You can see the full article at: http://www.pluginid.com/stop-doing/

I came across this article a couple of days ago and haven't been able to stop thinking about it.  The article provides information about receiving stress relief from laughter.  I found it interesting because of the commonly used phrase, "laughter is the best medicine".  This article provides information about the short-term and long-term benefits from laughing and even offers multiple ways to gain a sense of humor. 

 A good laugh supplies some short-term benefits because laughing induces physicial changes to your body.  Some physical changes laughter provides includes stimulating organs, relieving stress, and soothing tension.  Being positive and finding humor in a variety of situations also offers long-term effects such as improving your immune system, relieving pain, and increasing personal satisfaction.  I found it interesting the article provided helpful hints on delevoping your own sense of humor in order to relieve stress.

I enjoyed reading this article.  It was interesting to learn some actual health benefits of laughter and having an overall positive view on your life.  I tend to be a positive person and enjoy laughing and having a good time any chance I can.  This article made me realize I am not completely crazy for laughing a majority of the time.  I am just staying healthy :)

http://health.msn.com/health-topics/anxiety/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100141551

http://www.themedguru.com/20100114/newsfeature/people-happiest-during-weekends-study-86131803.html

I found this article to be rather interesting, the study suggests that weekends have a significant effect on the body. Researchers suggest that, "simply being in charge of your own day, spending quality time with family, provides better mood, greater vitality and (fewer) physical ailments from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon."

 

While the results of this study are probably to be expected - most people are visibly happier on the weekends -  it is interesting to hear about what they believe specifically causes physiological changes, such as hormone release, and a more positive attitude overall.

 

They attribute some of these changes to higher feelings of autonomy. At first, I wondered if this effect was mainly seen in those with relatively low paying jobs (those with consistently low autonomy throughout the week), but the effect was found regardless of occupation, age, gender, or relationship status.

 

I actually found it very interesting that even those with high status jobs experience this effect on weekends. I have generally thought that workers with high status already tend to have significantly higher levels of autonomy and leisure, so the presence of the weekend would not make as much of a difference to them. According to this study, I may be wrong.

 

 I wonder if another reason for this affect is that people are often able to rest more on weekends. In BioPsychology I remember the author (John Pinel) mentioning that over time people can gradually reduce the amount of time they sleep to as little as two hours per night with only minor effects, but I have not yet looked at the studies on which he based those statements. I wonder how much of a role (perhaps 2 additional hours) additional sleep can play in improving one's mental and physical condition. I find studies involving sleep to be among the most interesting, and from what I have read it seems like much more research needs to be conducted in this area.   

 

Another question I have is, "Why don't the effects seem to carry past Sunday afternoon?" I suppose the answer may lie in their original report, but if it does it would be rather odd for them not to have included it in the article. I have often heard people say that they will be revitalized and refreshed for work after the weekend, but in my experience I'm not sure people tend to be any better or any worse at their jobs whether it is a Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. In any case, I think some of the questions that arise from this article merit further research.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100119133519.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+(ScienceDaily%3A+Latest+Science+News)

I was rather intrigued by the research presented in this article. The main finding is alluded to in the title of the article - recent research suggests that those less motivated to achieve will excel on tasks seen as fun and those more motivated to achieve will not perform as well on tasks that are intended to be for fun. Obviously, this suggests that different students may need different types of motivation to excel. The students that are competitive and serious tend to be significantly less motivated when they think the task is just being performed for fun. Many other students do not take academics so seriously and work better when the task is fun.

Although these two groups are not all-inclusive (plenty of people lie somewhere in the middle of the extremes), I believe these differences do exist in the real world. As some individuals strive for excellence, they can become rather obsessed with perfection and get in the habit of avoiding anything fun-related to maximize their reputation of achievement. Given the incredible amount of time that many of these perfectionists put into their work, it is very hard for others to remain competitive without also putting a tremendous amount of effort into their academics. Because of this, I think many people stick to a more balanced (and perhaps more natural) life, in which they strive for excellence rather than perfection and are okay with not being labeled "the best."

Although I think many people are able to eventually find a balance between work and fun, there will always be those who are unable to achieve such a balance. I have not read much of the literature pertaining to this subject, but I wonder what the common causes of "overacheiving" are. It seems likely to me that some of these overly competitive individuals may be trying to compensate for low feelings of self-worth and others may be motivated by a need to feel superior. Whatever the reasons may be, I think most people realize is better for one's physical and mental health to not be overly competitive, but as people get older I think it becomes increasingly difficult for such people to change because the tendency to be that way has become a fundamental component of their personality. I think this research supports the idea that we can get too carried away and we can be overly motivated. Moderation is key in a great many areas of life.

 

Another questions that arises here is, "Does this research support the idea that people motivated by different approaches should be taught in separate groups (each given the learning style that works best for them)?" If we put more and more highly competitive people together into a single class though, would we also be creating the potential for even higher, even more unhealthy work ethics to arise? I suppose the questions I am posing here rest on the assumption that it can be unhealthy to be overly competitive, but I think this assumption is justified considering that those highly motivated become less able to do tasks that are supposed to be fun.

I am currently in a class that talks a lot about marriage and family relationships. The other day we started talking about how important it is to be motivated to have a healthy relationship and how motivation can play a big part in the outcome of a relationship. I wanted to find an article talking more in-depth on the motivation behind marriage and found an interesting one at psychologytoday.com. The article is called "The Marriage Quiz" and offers the quiz as a opportunity to look at problems in your marriage.
Motivation comes into the article when the author explains that many people in relationships use negative emotions and instead of using them as a motivation to improve, they use the emotions as a tool of blame. The author goes on to explain, "In reducing self-doubt, it eliminates the motivation to heal, improve, and repair, leaving in its place a chronic and impotent resentment. It keeps their consciousness locked on how unhappy, even "damaged" they are at the hands of their partners."  The main point of the article is that to keep a marriage healthy and strong, you must be able to effectively heal and repair problems, which is only achieved when both parties involved are motivated to do so.
The article can be found at:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/anger-in-the-age-entitlement/200909/the-marriage-quiz

Discussion Questions:
Is the motivation to keep a relationship working all it takes?
What happens when one party is motivated to work at the relationship but the other it not?